Team Needs: After I suggested that they draft a perimeter player in Rodney Carney with their twelfth overall pick, they now need to look for a frontcourt threat.

Outlook: The Hornets don?t need much change in order to make a strong run at the playoffs in 2007. Adding Carney to play with Rookie of the Year Chris Paul in the backcourt could give New Orleans one of the most talented guard duos in the league for many years to come.

Now all that Coach Bryon Scott needs in someone to help bang inside with David West. Depth is exactly the reason why New Orleans faded down the stretch this spring, so adding strength down low should help the Hornets stay a significant threat in the Southwest Division.

Of course there isn?t a player in the draft that could help them contend with the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

Most Suitable Prospects:
Shelden Williams ? Williams may not have the potential that some of the other big men in this draft possess, but he?s a sure thing to work hard and provide decent production. His size will become a problem when the Hornets are matched up against bigger opponents, but in a draft without too many inside threats Williams is worth a lottery pick.

Hilton Armstrong ? Armstrong may need some work on the offense end, but the Hornets can live with him simply changing opponents shots and crashing the boards during his first few seasons. He?s also very quick and not a bad ballhandler for someone of his size. Rookie or not, he?d be an improvement over most of the Hornets options at center. P.J. Brown could teach both Armstrong and Williams the ropes early on.

Cedric Simmons ? Early on it looked as though a guy like Simmons might fall into the later half of the first round, but recently he?s leaping up several expert?s mock drafts. If Simmons does fall to the Hornets and the fifteenth pick he might become the 2006 verison of Danny Granger, a player that would probably go in the top-five if the draft was held a year later. Also, as RealGM?s own J.T. Magee pointed out Simmons played in the Princeton offense at N.C. State, which is the same offense Scott uses in New Orleans.

Best Case Scenario: Cedric Simmons falls to New Orleans at the fifteenth pick, and he proves his tremendous upside by contributing as a rookie and helping the Hornets make the postseason next April.

Worst Case Scenario:  Not only is Simmons gone, but so it Shelden Williams. That would leave the Hornets will just Hilton Armstrong and a few other post-threats as options at the fifteenth pick.