Bower: Hornets Make ‘Wright’ Choice

June 28, 2007

Over two seasons at the University of Kansas, Julian Wright averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 55.5 percent from the field.

More than two hours before the New Orleans Hornets selected Kansas product Julian Wright with the No. 13 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, general manager Jeff Bower gave the team’s fans a not-so-subtle hint about his plans.

“As far as who we’re going to draft tonight,” a grinning Bower told a gathering of Hornets season-ticket holders in New Orleans Arena, “I think it’s going to be the RIGHT choice.” Many among the large group of fans immediately realized that Bower was alluding to Wright, who entered the draft after averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds over two seasons with the Jayhawks.

While Bower and the Hornets braintrust hoped Wright would be available at No. 13, they weren’t expecting him to still be on the board after the first dozen picks. New Orleans had the 6-foot-8 forward rated as the sixth-best prospect in the entire draft class.

“When you have a player ranked as high as we did, you certainly don’t expect him to be there at 13,” Bower said. “Of the scenarios we had laid out over the last week in trying to track the (first 12 picks), this is one that we were very hopeful for, but didn’t really think it would happen. We’re extremely happy and think we’ve added a quality young man to the franchise.”

“The one thing I told Jeff when he brought up (Wright’s) name (as a possibility at 13), I was like, ‘You’re crazy,’ ” head coach Byron Scott related. “I also said that I thought it would be a gift. We’re extremely excited about having a guy like this who can do so many things and is a proven winner from a big-time conference.”

Scott later described Wright as a “poor man’s Magic Johnson,” saying that the 20-year-old forward’s all-around game will give him a chance to become a difference-making NBA player.

“He’s able to do so many things,” Bower said. “He’s able to take a defensive rebound with his (ballhandling) and ability to make plays for other people. He’s able to go into the post, and I think that’s something you’ll see as he gets more and more comfortable with his offensive game.”

New Orleans was so sold on Wright’s potential as a pro that it selected him despite not bringing in him for a pre-draft workout. The Hornets tried to arrange a workout through Wright’s agent, but based on his projected draft status, Wright only worked out for teams picking in the top 10.

“We did the unthinkable,” Scott said of taking a player the Hornets had not seen work out. “We knew we weren’t going to get a chance to work him out, but we also knew that if he was on the board, we were going to take him.”

“When they declined the workout, we understood,” Bower said. “We relied on the body of work Wright put together throughout his college career, and also going back to his high school career as well. We had such confidence in his ability, we felt he was a prospect we wouldn’t pass up, even though he didn’t come in for a workout.”