Hornets expected to trade lottery pick

Coming into the NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets knew they wanted to add depth, while also realizing they didn’t necessarily have the financial flexibility to sign multiple players.

But the team did its best to push forward on draft night, despite those challenging conditions and will trade their original draft choice, Kansas center Cole Aldrich (No. 11 overall) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two of their selections, Iowa State forward Craig Brackins (No. 21 overall) and Washington guard/forward Quincy Pondexter (No. 26 overall).

Also going to the Thunder in the trade is forward Morris Peterson, and his hefty $6 million price tag.

Due to NBA rules, the trade cannot officially be completed until July 8, but Hornets’ general manager Jeff Bower said he feels confident things will get completed without a hitch.

“I wish I could tell you more, but I am restricted by the rules of the draft and the transaction,” Bower said. “But we anticipate nothing that would stop this from being completed … The idea that we liked was to be able to add multiple players. We thought two picks was something that we wanted to pursue, particularly the opportunity to add two different types of players. We felt like this presented us with those options should the deal be finalized.”

The way the NBA’s rookie pay scale is structured, a player is paid more for being a higher selection.

So by trading from the No. 11 spot down to No. 21 and No. 26, the Hornets will be able to pay Brackins and Pondexter combined just close to $100,000 more than the nearly $2 million Aldrich will make in 2010.

Add that two for one with the money the team will save by moving Peterson, and the Hornets trimmed roughly $5.6 million in salary on draft night, while still adding a pair of players.

The cost-cutting should put the team close to being below the NBA luxury tax – a mark team owner George Shinn would like to see accomplished this offseason.

“When things are concluded, it does create more flexibility for us,” Bower said. “It gives us more things we can look at and review as we move forward through the summer.”

While the Hornets burned the phone lines in regards to the draft, the team was not as active in fielding inquiries for All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Many experts said the team would shop the point guard on Thursday, but Bower said that never materialized.

“I didn’t have any discussions regarding Chris Paul tonight,” he said.

Who will N.O. get in the deal?

Assuming the trade goes through without a hitch, here is a bio and breakdown of the two newest Hornets.

CRAIG BRACKINS

Height: 6’9″

Weight: 225 pounds

School: Iowa State

Brackins shot onto everyone’s radar in 2009 when he posted a dominant sophomore season at Iowa State, averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game.

After flirting with the NBA following that season, he returned to school in an attempt to further polish his game.

Statistically, his junior season wasn’t as dominant, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game. But he did make improvements, nonetheless – especially with his perimeter shooting.

Brackins shot 32 percent from the 3-point arc in 2010, after shooting 28 percent as a sophomore.

The soon-to-be Hornets forward posted his name in virtually every category of Iowa State’s record book, ranking No. 12 in career points, No. 8 in career rebounds and No. 5 in career double-doubles.

QUINCY PONDEXTER

Height: 6’6″

Weight: 215 pounds

School: Washington

Like Brackins, Pondexter made a huge imprint on his college campus.

In his senior season at Washington, Pondexter was a First-Team All Pac-10 selection thanks to a 19 points and seven rebounds per game average.

While with the Huskies, Pondexter also represented his country playing on Team USA’s 2009 team at the World University Games.

Pondexter is the most active player in Washington history, having played in 136 career games over four seasons.

He is third in career scoring with 1,786 points and he is also third in field goals made and points in a season.

The high flying, explosive forward is expected to provide depth to the Hornets’ aging small forwards.

Peja Stojakovic is 33, and his backup, James Posey, will be 34 midway through the 2010-11 season.