NBA Rumors: New Orleans Hornets Must Not Trade Their Second Draft Pick

The New Orleans Hornets have been given the luxury of having two top 10 picks in the upcoming 2012 NBA Draft, and they would be foolish to get rid of their No. 10 overall pick.

Hornets GM Dell Demps said Friday that his team will make a move if the right deal presents itself, John Reid of the Times Picayune reports. 

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"Yes, we will if it makes sense." Demps said.

“There’s been some teams that have put young guys around a top pick. Some of the other teams have put veterans around the pick. Some have been successful both ways."

"I think we’re just going to look at what is best for our situation.’’

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With the plethora of top talent in this year's NBA draft, the best thing the Hornets could do would undoubtedly be to stay put with their pick. 

They already have their future franchise player locked up in Anthony Davis, a game-changing presence that every team would gladly snatch up. But it's safe to say that New Orleans doesn't have much going on other than the incoming Davis.

Losing Chris Paul is still having its effects on this team, as they've struggled to find a decent replacement. But they wouldn't have to look very far with their No. 10 overall pick to find a decade-long replacement for Paul, and the quality they'd find with such a high pick could translate into one of the league's premier point guards in a couple of years.

Davis surely had an awe-inspiring season with Kentucky, but it's important to remember the talent that he played beside. I mean, they could have as many as six players drafted in the first round. Six! 

North Carolina stud floor general Kendall Marshall would be a natural fit in the Hornets offense. His ability to move the ball and get his teammates involved is unparalleled in college basketball and is even hard to find in the NBA. Plus, he's gained experience playing on a team loaded with NBA talent alongside sure-fire first-round picks Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson. 

But there's always the chance that a team in front of New Orleans falls in love with Marshall and decides to take him off the board. If so, Demps still has options to better his team. 

Weber State standout Damian Lillard has been pegged by B/R's own Brad Ross as the 11th overall pick in the draft, just after the Hornets' pick. Lillard is a bit less of a natural point guard than Marshall, but he possesses more of a scoring touch and will have more success putting points on the board.

So, the question comes down to this: Which stud do they take? 

It's hard to find two players at the biggest position of need fall right in your lap, but that's exactly what has happened with the 2012 draft and New Orleans' No. 10 pick. How does that somehow make you interested in publicly shopping the pick? 

I understand that they're looking to build a great team right now behind Davis, who's only 19 years of age but boasts a type of game beyond his years. That usually indicates picking up talent already found in the NBA, but in this case, you can pick up a great talent that could be a star in a couple of years. 

With picking up players from other teams, you know what you're getting. This is part of the pleasure of doing so, but also part of the pain. Teams often know that their acquisition doesn't have the ability to become a top-five player at his position.

Sure, picking a rookie point guard isn't a sure-fire success. But it's impossible to look at either Marshall or Lillard and believe that they don't have any ability to become a star.