New Orleans and Oklahoma City’s draft night trade that sent the draft rights to No. 11 pick Cole Aldrich to the Thunder has been approved by the league, according Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
For a refresher: the Hornets received the draft rights to No. 21 pick Craig Brackins and No. 26 pick Quincy Pondexter in exchange for Aldrich and Morris Peterson’s $6.2 million contract. It looks like Mo will slide comfortably into Kevin Ollie’s veteran mentor shoes (I bet they’re penny loafers) while the Hornets have safely avoided luxury tax territory by ditching his deal.
Aldrich, Brackins, and Pondexter are all likely to be productive pros, but Cole’s game has been criticized to no end due to his lack of offensive polish. The Thunder definitely need help with scoring from the 4 and 5, but as long as Aldrich can rebounding (he can) and defend (which he does well), he’ll have a long, successful run as a Durant sidekick.