http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/quotes_040622.html

Draft Workout: June 22, 2004

TIM PICKETT – 6-4, 207 lbs.
Florida State University

(on how the workout went)
It was real fun. I was out there guarding quicker guys, out
of position in Jameer (Nelson) and Rashad (Wright) and those
guys have a real quick first step. That's something I already
adjusted to playing in college and it was really fun coming
out and playing against guys that are smaller and quicker,
you know, making you work on your defense.


JAMEER NELSON – 6-0, 190 lbs.
St. Joeseph's University

(on how the workout was)
It was fun, you know, out there with Tim (Pickett), he's a
character. He's a hilarious guy. He just made the workout
really fun. (The workout) went well. I believe I can do
certain things better....Certain jump shots, I know I did
wrong, but for the most part I'm satisfied.

(on how he feels about being in New Orleans)
I'd love to be in New Orleans, you know. I was down on Bourbon
Street and it seems like a lot of fun, but I wouldn't want to
get into the partying and all that stuff, especially coming in
as a rookie. You've got to make a strong transition to the NBA.
It's just like going to a new job; you've got to make your
transition.

(on the Hornets having a need at guard)
In my eyes, every team needs a leader. Every team needs a solid
point guard, whether they need a starter or somebody to come
off the bench. Obviously if I come here, I'll be coming off the
bench behind Baron (Davis) and learning from a veteran player.
He's still young and he can teach me some things and, hopefully,
I'll get to teach him some things.

(on if he'd be upset if he gets picked 18th)
Oh no. I'd love to go at 18. If you look at my situation last
year, I wasn't even on the board, nowhere in the first round.
You know, going back to school and doing the things I did to
help my team and my teammates helping me helped my draft status
and helped my future.

(on if he feels he has a lot to prove during the workouts)
Not really. If I go out there and be myself, hopefully they'll
like me. If not, I can't do anything about that. I'm not going
to go out there and try to be Superman or Batman or somebody.
I'm just going to go out there and do the things I can do.

(on what makes him a good pick for teams to consider)
My strength. My leadership and my passion to win. If you look
at my background, I have 98 wins in my college career and that's
the most in St. Joe's history. Along with all the accolades and
all the points and stuff like that....That stuff really doesn't
matter. The wins are most important to me.

(on if teams have expressed concern about his size)
I think if I can do the same thing that somebody who is 6-3 can
do, you know, I'm just as good. You can't tell me somebody is
better than me just because they’re taller. If they're better
than me, they're better than me. But they're not better than me
because they're taller.

(on if he thinks he'll still be on the draft board at 18)
I have no idea. I'd love to come here to New Orleans but it's
a business. If they take me before that, I can't do anything
about that but go and I'll be very happy and satisfied wherever
I am.

(on how many workouts he's had)
I had about 13 workouts and they were really spaced out. I give
my agent credit because my workouts were spaced out well.


RASHAD WRIGHT– 6-2, 190 lbs.
University of Georgia

(on how the workout went)
It was real good. It was competitive workout against the other
guys and we had a lot of fun out there today and learned a few
things. You just got to come out here and work hard.

(on if it was tough)
It was tough. It's always tough when you come to these workouts
because you're competing for a job and you know you want to play
in this league, so you've got to come out here and play hard and
do everything the coaches want.

(on how he felt he performed)
I was a bit tired but I gave it my all and that’s all I could do.

(on the days leading up to the Draft)
Right now, there’s a lot of e

(on how many workouts he's had and the toll they can take)
This is, I think, number 15. It's a tough process because you're
flying from city to city, not getting a lot of rest. Over the
course, I've been able to try and get as much rest as I can and
just go hard each time I've got a workout. I think I did very
well in this workout.



ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER ALLAN BRISTOW

This was our last workout and it was a very good, competitive
workout. We had three of, probably, the best guards in the nation
this year. Of course, w had the number one guard that was the
college player of the year in Jameer Nelson. You certainly could
tell why in his workout today.

(on Jameer Nelson)
When he was doing to competitive part of the workout, I was sitting
on the side wondering what was going through his head. Here is a
player that didn't put his name in the draft two years ago, goes
back for the summer, he plays, works out, gets stronger, leads his
team undefeated during the regular season, was the player of the
year and I was wondering what was going through his head that he's
got to come out here and workout with three other players. I just
think he's done everything he could possibly do in order to be a
professional player. He's the kind of guy that, whether he's with
us or with another team, that you sort of pull for him and hopefully
he gets to where he wants to be.

(on if he was impressed with Nelson's workout)
Yes. You’re going to be impressed with his quickness. He's got
a terrific crossover dribble and he’s just an outstanding player.
He's got the knowledge and understanding to play the game. He's
going to be a terrific NBA player.

(on if Nelson will still be around at 18)
A lot of mock projections say he will be at 18. Whether we'll take
him or not, I think, is a matter of who's going to be there besides
him.

(on the expansion draft)
One of the things that Bob Bass has done with the contractual part
of this team has made it to the point where we're in terrific
position not to lose a key player, so I think that the expansion
draft will not be hurting us.

(on how a team balances the decision to pick a player with great
intangibles, like Jameer Nelson, or the focus on needs at a position)
(Nelson) is going to be the point guard position in the NBA, so he's
not going to play multiple positions. But a good point guard is hard
to find. We have one of the best in the league on our team. We have
other needs at other positions but sometimes when you're drafting
18th, you have to get the best player available and Jameer Nelson
is certainly one of the best players available, I feel, in this
year's draft if he's there at 18.

(on height being and issue)
That's always some issue. We were able to have Muggsy Bouges, who
was only 5-foot 2, on our team for a number of years but I think
that Jameer, at his height, can be an advantage in some particular
situations. It always a concern. A lot of teams and a lot of systems
don't like small point guards and I think that they're doing and
injustice because they can bring to the table a lot more than guys
who are bigger.

(on the team's process leading up to the draft)
We left one day open in case we want to bring in an emergency
workout. We feel like there's a couple of players that we'd like
to bring in. I said yesterday that there is a good possibility
that we may be drafting somebody that we did not bring in. I still
think that's a good possibility. We like to cover our bases on all
of our players we’re going to draft, but sometimes you just don't.
It's out of our control sometimes. I think there's a strong
possibility that we may be drafting a player that we did not bring
in.

(on the Hornets needs in the draft)
You always look at your center position. You just can't get enough
good, quality centers. We have one and we'd certainly like to have
another. I think at the wing position with Jamal Mashburn's health
situation, the two-guard situation as far as depth....I think we'd
like to improve that position if we could. But again a lot depends
on who's available and how we feel about that player. Yes, we're
definitely looking hard at those positions but I don't think we can
rule out the other positions and that would be your point guard and
the power forward.