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2005 Draft Reaction
HORNETS FIRST-ROUND PICK CHRIS PAUL (on getting picked) I'm too excited about this opportunity. When I came and worked out for the Hornets, it went great and getting a chance to meet Coach Scott and all the staff was great. Coach Scott told me when I came to workout, they really needed a point guard and he wanted to run. (on learning the offense) It helps me a lot because it won't be a big adjustment. I'll come in and just keep my ears open and try to do whatever my coach needs. (on playing J.R. Smith) It's going to be too exciting to play alongside J.R. He loves to play above the rim and I love to put it above the rim for him to catch it. I'm just excited because he's a young, up-and-coming player just like myself. (on the expectations the team and fans may have for him) You just have to stay humble and be able to learn. You can't come in like you know everything. I'm just excited about coming in and having a chance to play in the NBA. (on the biggest challenge) I think the biggest challenge is to keep working hard. For some guys, they let this be the highlight of their career, but I feel like this is just another stepping stone. I'm going to try and be the best player that I can. HORNETS SECOND-ROUND PICK BRANDON BASS (on going early second round) I thought I was going to get drafted early. It was a great fit. (on playing the three or four) I'm working to expand my game. I'm slowly expanding my game. (on playing Chris Paul--the two played on the same McDonald's All-American squad) We'll be great together. I feel blessed right now, so I'm just ready to play. GENERAL MANAGER ALLAN BRISTOW (on the selection of Chris Paul) We just feel like it’s a huge step in the right direction. With Chris and J.R. (Smith) in our backcourt, that’s got to be potentially one of the best backcourts there is in the NBA. We feel like it’s going to be that way for a long, long time. I think they’re both potential all-stars and it’s hard to really see any flaws in Chris’ game. It’s a great day for New Orleans and a great day for Chris Paul. (on if he was worried the Utah trade would change things) It turned out the best. I feel like we got the best player in the draft. I think that we’re very fortunate at the fourth spot to get Chris and I think there was a lot of talk over the past couple of weeks whether Chris was going to Atlanta. His workouts have been unbelievable. When you start studying him and start dissecting his game, it’s difficult to find any flaws. (on having two young players in the backcourt) There probably will be some growing pains. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take time because of the makeup of our team now. The big key is you see growth, you see the kind of potential that these two players have in the backcourt. We’re not finished. We’ve still got a ways to go but all the players should be excited because I think one of the things that we were missing throughout the year was a consistent point guard and when you have a great point guard, it makes everybody better and he will make J.R., Jamaal Magloire, P.J. better. All of our guys. It’s amazing how once you start elevating your play at the point guard position how quickly you can get better. (on if the team received any serious offers to trade the 4th pick) No. Not any to the point (of considering a trade). I felt this way, as far as the all-stars, there might be…I’m sure there is going to be an all-star past four, but I didn’t see it. I’ll be honest with you. I felt like the first four positions were this year’s draft (impact players). You needed to be in those top four. You have to pay the price to get into it and Utah paid the price. That’s why so many teams right behind us worked so hard to try to get to the fourth spot. I’ve never been in a draft where you were not the number one pick and so many teams wanted the number four pick. (on Chris Paul being the best offensive creator in the draft) There is no question he was the best creator in the draft and I would say last year’s draft. You can go back, not just say this draft, you can go back a few drafts. With the ball, he’s very, very explosive. He freezes you defensively. He’s got so many tools on him that there are things every night that you are going to see something different. It’s just very exciting. He’s a very exciting player to watch and to be around. (on why the team liked Brandon Bass) We followed Brandon the last two or three years. A lot of things...I think the way he has matured over the last couple of years. When he first went to LSU, he was overweight. I thought that he was really just going to play center for his collegiate career. I thought that he had no shot for developing into any kind of NBA potential player. In the last two years, his body did a transformation. He is as sculpted, body-wise, as they come. He is very impressive. I'd compare him a little bit to Larry Johnson. HEAD COACH BYRON SCOTT (on how happy he was that Chris Paul was available with the 4th selection) We were thrilled to death. Chris Paul was ranked the best point guard out there. We felt like he was the nest point guard out there. He came in here and he just wowed us with his workout. We knew right then that we were going to get a great point guard. We got lucky and got Chris and we are just extremely excited about that. (on the pick of Brandon Bass) We brought Brandon in and we got a chance to see him and were impressed with his work ethic. I was impressed with his athleticism. He's about as strong as anybody we have on this team right now. He probably works as hard as anybody on this team, on and off the court. I just think that he's a guy that's a forward. I don't label him as a small forward or a power forward. I think he's a forward. I think he's a basketball player. I think he has a chance to come in and help us on this basketball team. We thought he was terrific in our workouts plus he's a great kid. He's a very, very intelligent young man. We think he's going to be a tremendous asset to this organization. HORNETS GUARD JR SMITH (on playing with Paul in the backcourt) I can’t wait. I’m so anxious. I’m ready to play right now. I’ve seen him play throughout his two years in college. I’ve seen him play in high school, so I pretty much studied his game ever since we were back in high school playing against each other.
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