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Apologies to those of you who already know all about the extremely talented Marcus "Buckets" Thornton.

For the rest- It's odd that a second round pick having one of the best seasons in a stacked class is going relatively unnoticed. Even after his franchise record setting performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers, most fans still don't realize how special Thornton is.

How do I know this? Down here in the bayou, we are accustomed to being told what Hornets' players and management are thinking, especially by people who know very little about the players and the organization. It's really not that cool, considering the amount of time a few of us have to put into dispelling such myths, but on the bright side, it's an effective way of determining when a player has gone global. Hornets fans know that as soon as any player is recognized by outsiders to be a real talent, speculation will begin that they will be traded away.

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Last night, the Hornets selected UCLA point guard Darren Collison with the 21st pick in the draft, and later acquired LSU 2-guard Marcus Thornton (43rd pick) from the Heat in exchange for their 2010 and 2012 second round picks.

Both players will be introduced by the Hornets today at 3 p.m. Central. More info on that when we hear it. For now, let's see what folks are saying about the Hornets' moves on draft night...

NBA.com lists the Hornets among the losers on draft night:

Darren Collison may have been a reach at No. 22. And he's also a point guard. Finding a backup for Chris Paul, who plays a ton a minutes, doesn't seem to make much sense in the Big Easy. The Hornets need scorers, especially on the wing, to play with Paul.

Chad Ford's take at ESPN.com:

Collison is a bit of a surprise here. The Hornets had one tiny point guard in Chris Paul and now they have two. They had bigger needs than backup point guard, but I do believe he's going to be terrific in that role ... if Chris Paul ever leaves the floor, that is... Thornton played at LSU so he should feel right at home. He's a nice pick. He's a big-time scorer, but his lack of size and athleticism hurt his stock a bit. He has a chance to stick.

More from Ford, who gives a Hornets a B- grade for the draft:

A team with huge holes in the frontcourt addressed, instead, its backcourt.

I think Collison is rock solid and a terrific backup for Chris Paul. He's steady, he defends and he can really push the pace of the game. Thornton is a terrific scorer who slipped because of his lack of size and so-so athleticism.

I like the picks, with my only issue being that Hornets passed on a few big men who could have helped, like DeJuan Blair, B.J. Mullens and DaJuan Summers.

CBSSports.com on Collison:

Defensive stalwart ideal tag-team partner for Chris Paul ... Play versatile guard along Paul and Hornets fast break becomes blur.

SportingNews.com:

Collison is probably the fastest player in the draft, and he’s an excellent shooter, which is why he’ll be a perfect second-quarter point guard for the Hornets. He’s not terribly decisive in the halfcourt offense. He tends to over-dribble and is not a strong post passer. Those limitations may prevent him from ever becoming a significant regular. The Hornets might have made better use of Sam Young, but Collison is a solid pick.

At The Hive looks at some stats and finds that Collison may be better than most people think. An excerpt:

...let me address the "8th or 9th best point guard" deal. Collison was absolutely not the 8th or 9th best point guard in this draft. He was the 8th or 9th most hyped point guard in this draft. Huge, huge difference. For two straight years, he'd lost his buzz to more famous backcourt mates at UCLA- Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday...

Collison is a college senior, a category of player that empirically does not do well in the NBA. Flynn, Evans, and especially Holiday are absolutely teeming with upside while Collison has almost no upside. But can anyone definitively say Collison is not a top 5 point in this draft, filled with so many excellent ones? Absolutely not.

Some video of the newest Hornets:

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Tonight, the Hornets drafted Darren Collison out of UCLA and traded 2 future second round picks to Miami for Marcus Thornton of LSU.

That's a haul I can respect.  Of the players available when we picked, we essentially got my second and fourth choices, with DeJuan Blair slipping fairly deep into the second round with his bad knees(to the Spurs, ouch) and Sam Young sliding inexplicably even further.[Edit: Wups, right before. Doh.]

Once our haul was set, I began to think about where the Hornets were going to fit the new players into the rotation . . . and something interesting began to percolate in my mind.

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The TrueHoop Network has come together to host one mega live chat during Thursday's NBA Draft. Ryan and I may not be able to partake due to other commitments, but there will be plenty of good commentry and insight from the other infamous Network bloggers (check the roster via the drop-down menu at the top of the page).

You can follow the chat via the window below. It all gets going at around 4 p.m. Central. The draft itself kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Central, and you can watch it live online at ESPN 360. You'll also be able to watch ESPN's Draft Preview Show live online here. That's set for 6 p.m. Central.

So the 2009 NBA Draft goes down this Thursday, June 25, in NYC.

This past week, Ryan has been busy figuring out what kind of player the Hornets should draft with the 21st pick. The conclusion has been that the available bigs leave a lot to be desired (unless DeJuan Blair slips through somehow), there are some intriguing wings we could snag, while our best potential prospect will likely be a ballhandler.

Now it's time to scour the mock drafts and see who the Hornets are projected to pick. I'll run through the top five most popular picks here. You can see the full list of mocks this list was compiled from at the bottom of the post.

1. Eric Maynor | 6-3 PG from VCU

Five of the 30 mocks drafts I reviewed have us taking Maynor with the 21st pick, but most expect him to go in the early- to mid-teens. He's a senior so he's probably more NBA-ready than some other prospects, but he didn't play in a major conference and there are concerns about his size/strength. The bright side is that he's a well-rounded player with a knack for getting in the lane and finishing with a variety of layups, floaters and scoops. Que highlight video with cheesy soundtrack (best stuff after the 2-minute mark):

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