2012 NBA Draft: Can New Orleans Hornets Become the New Oklahoma City Thunder?

It's a great time to be a New Orleans Hornets fan. They ran away with the 2012 NBA Draft, which to me, was characterized with a class that wasn't super heavy in top-level talent, but very deep. Unless you got to pick Anthony Davis, of course. He's a can't miss prospect—ultra-talented physically and has all the tools you need to be a superstar at the NBA level. 

It wasn't long ago that the Hornets were the latest in a long line of teams holding on to an unhappy superstar in Chris Paul. When you're a small-market team holding on to a superstar who wants out, it usually doesn't end well. Now, with Anthony Davis, No.10 pick and Duke standout, Austin Rivers, and Davis' former teammate, Darius Miller, the Hornets have suddenly added to a good young core that has everyone intrigued.

Can they follow the model that built this year's Western Conference champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder? They certainly are starting a huge youth movement. They got rid of Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza for Rashard Lewis' contract. They can save about $10 million on Lewis' owed $24 million this season, and his cap hit will come off the books after 2013, leaving them with a ton of cap space.

This isn't to make a huge run at a free agent, Miami Heat style. This is classic rebuilding "in house" like an OKC. They will guard that cap space like it's gold during a recession; they need a chunk of it to use for an extension to Eric Gordon, and another chunk of it for when Davis and Rivers are done their rookie deals.

Now, they suddenly have a young lineup of Davis, Miller, incumbent young talents Al-Farouq Aminu and Gordon, with Jarrett Jack as a projected starting lineup. Rivers figures to be a dynamic sixth man.

They're going to start a couple of swing forwards who can shoot the three and are long and talented. They have an electric scorer who can get to the rim, and a veteran point guard. They have an ultra-long, ultra-talented shot blocker who has developing offensive game. They have a super-sub coming off the bench who can explode and look like he should start any given game. I have a hard time imaging their strength won't be running up and down the floor, filling it up in a hurry. 

Sounds somewhat similar to what OKC does, in terms of style, except that their superstar will be the shot-blocker, rather than the swing forward.

For them to achieve the level of success the Thunder have, Davis obviously needs to deliver on his talent. They need to pick up a cheap veteran in free agency who can guide these kids, but they already have the right coach in a no-nonsense guy in Monty Williams.

At the very least, they'll be competing for a playoff spot in a year. Tom Benson has brought some of the touch that made the New Orleans Saint's a perennial contender in the NFL over to the NBA. The rest of the Western Conference have been put on notice that the Hornets will be no joke for the next seven to 10 years.