The debate roared behind the scenes, Armstrong or Simmons, Simmons or Armstrong, but inevitably, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets landed both players in this year's NBA Draft.

With the 12 and 15 picks, the Hornets needed size and settled on Connecticut's Hilton Armstrong with the 12th pick, only to see the other player that they coveted, Cedric Simmons, drop to them at the 15th pick.

"We're about as happy as we could be right now," said Jeff Bower in his first draft as Hornets general manager. "We had them ranked back-to-back, and the scrutiny that went into placing one in front of the other was the most we had to put into a prospect decision in a long, long time. We really had a long process trying to put one of the two first. That's how even we felt they really were, and how comfortable we were with both of them."