Anthony Davis: Why Future No. 1 Pick Won't Make Hornets a Winner Immediately

The New Orleans Hornets were fortunate enough to get the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft and that pick will land them the most coveted big man, Anthony Davis. But the relief for a franchise in peril won't happen right away.

Head coach Monty Williams is no slouch on the bench, but there is still much work to be done if New Orleans hopes to get back to the playoffs and ultimately, to an NBA Finals.

Here's why Davis' addition to the Hornets won't make them winners right away.

Davis Needs Time to Develop

With only one year of experience in college at Kentucky, Davis is still pretty raw and has much work to be done if he wants to be an elite big man in the NBA moving forward.

Defensively, Davis will be a solid player as soon as he steps onto the floor. Sure, he can get better, but he already has the skills necessary to give opposing offenses headaches.

It will be his offensive game that will need the most work. Just being a solid defender won't make him a great big man and instead, Davis must work on developing his low post game to become a better all-around player.

That will be huge for the future success of not only Davis, but New Orleans as well.

In Need of Roster Help

Adding one franchise player won't be enough to put this team over the top whether Davis is great immediately or not.

Eric Gordon, one of the most talented players on the Hornets' roster, will be a restricted free agent on July 1st.

Obviously the Hornets would love to pair Gordon and Davis as a dangerous tandem for years to come. However, there is no guarantee that Gordon will return and despite having the money to re-sign him, there will be plenty of stiff competition for the guard.

It'll be interesting to see how high the Hornets are willing to go to match any offer that comes Gordon's way.

Chris Kaman, Marco Belinelli and Carl Landry are all set to hit the open market this summer and all are vital to this team taking the next step towards being a winning franchise next season.

Keeping these players will help the Hornets right now, but if they were to lose one, if not all of these guys, this team will have to begin rebuilding around their franchise player.

Even with the addition of Davis to this core of players, New Orleans' roster still doesn't scream playoffs. This organization must be active on the free-agent market this year and in the future if they want to surround their core players with enough talent to take that next step.

Tough Division

Being in such a tough division won't make getting better any easier for the Hornets.

They will have to deal with playoff teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies all year long. The Houston Rockets weren't fortunate enough to make the postseason this year, but are well on their way to being capable of such a feat.

If the Hornets can't get a lot more talent quickly, they will have a tough time getting out of their own division. They are by far the worst team in the Southwest.