The New Orleans Hornets finalized a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder this morning that sent the rights to Cole Aldrich and guard Morris Peterson in exchange for the rights to Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter.

“The concept that we liked was the idea of being able to add two young players in the draft,” said General Manager Jeff Bower. “By getting two picks, we had the opportunity to add two different types of players like Craig and Quincy. It continues our pursuit to strengthen our team and gives us two experienced college players who had great careers at their respected school.”

Brackins, the 21st overall pick in the draft, averaged a team-high 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a junior last season for Iowa State. Craig was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a sophomore and the All-Big 12 Second Team as a junior. The 6-10, 230 pound forward started every game during his three-year career for the Cyclones.

Pondexter, the 26th overall pick in the draft, finished third in the Pac-10 in scoring (19.3 ppg) and rebounds (7.4 rpg) for Washington his senior season. Quincy was named All-Pac-10 First Team and Pac-10 All-Tournament Team his senior season and set a Pac-10 record with five player-of-the-week honors his final season for the Huskies. The 6-6, 225 pound guard/forward finished his career as Washington’s all-time career leader in games played (136) and finished third in scoring (1,786 points).

New Orleans originally selected Kansas’ Aldrich at the 11th slot. An early entry candidate for the 2010 Draft, Aldrich averaged 11.3 points and 9.8 rebounds as a junior, registering 15 double-doubles for the Jayhawks.

Peterson holds career averages of 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 27.4 minutes in 707 games (487 starts) with Toronto and New Orleans. Last season he played in 43 games (39 starts) for the Hornets, averaging 7.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 21.2 minutes per game.

In addition, the Hornets announced today that they have signed Brackins and Pondexter. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

“We’re excited to have Craig and Quincy officially signed so that they can begin their NBA careers,” said Head Coach Monty Williams. “We look forward to their Hornets debut in summer league and to watching them develop as we head toward the start of the regular season.”

Both players will be part of the Hornets’ entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. The Hornets will play their first summer league game Friday, July 9 vs. Golden State.

Courtesy of the New Orleans Hornets