It still hasn't sunken in for anyone yet, for those that love the deal, and for those that hate the deal. However, that's not going to stop me from analyzing it immediately. So, right off the bat, I'll give you my grade:

B+

My initial reaction to picking Noel was surreal. How could a player like him possibly have fallen to us? Was it a match made in heaven, N'awlins and Nerlens? The Brow and the Eraser Top? Block Party? Maybe in a couple of years.

The fact of the matter is that Noel is currently rehabbing a torn ACL, weighs about 210 pounds, and has no offensive game to speak of. He's not overly long, nor is he a great rebounder. He's also average in terms of height for a center at around 6'10" and 6'11". Perhaps most telling of all was that he slipped past teams that could have used him. Obviously there was a reason that 5 other teams didn't want him. It could be the injury or any combination of the other weaknesses. Frankly, no one quite knows what they would have with the recovering big man. The risk of taking and keeping him would pose several challenges: developing his game as a whole, developing his body, and rehabbing him from injury. While he was a fantastic shot blocker and defensive player in college, so was Anthony Davis, but Davis had struggles defensively as a rookie and he was BETTER than Noel. That just doesn't fly with me, nor should it fly with the organization. The last three years have been difficult. The last two, nearly unbearable thanks to the utter lack of talent. Who's to say he isn't just a sexier Larry Sanders? Noel was a project, just like every other potentially decent player in this draft, and easily two years away from being a big contributor.

I'm done focusing on a player that won't don a Pelicans jersey. Now for Jrue Holiday.

Holiday signed a 4 year, $41M extension at the beginning of last season. It didn't make sense at first and seemed like a knee-jerk reaction by the scrambling 76ers as they tried to have a core of Holiday, Jason Richardson, Evan Turner, and... Andrew Bynum. Holiday had been a bit of a disappointment thus far, but his explosiveness and overall improvement proved to be enough for the Sixers to commit. In the first half of the season, they were rewarded in their investment as Holiday averaged 19 and 9 while his team was playing solid basketball. He earned a spot on the All-Star team.

However, the second half of the season, the team took a turn for the worse. Coach Doug Collins gave up once Bynum was essentially ruled out for the year. That plus injuries to Jason Richardson and Spencer Hawes left the Sixers grasping at straws. Evan Turner continued to disappoint. Holiday was the only one left who was really capable of doing anything, so his efficiency dropped and so did his numbers. They ended up with the 11th worst record in the NBA. Now Holiday will play for the Pelicans, but it's no fault of his own.

He'll be good for about 18 ppg and 8 apg. He can guard multiple positions effectively. He can handle the ball (something that only 1.5 people could effectively do last season). He can drive and kick. He can drive and dunk. He can even still improve thanks to his age. He's likely going to be sharing a back court with Eric Gordon, too. Both players can play on or off the ball offensively. Perhaps, what is most exciting is that he is a proven player. He is an All-Star level talent making a modest $11M per season. That is a fact. No projections needed. No development needed. No hoping that he might scratch the surface of his potential. He has actually done stuff in the NBA.

Take a second and look at our core group of players: Holiday (23), Gordon (23), Davis (19), Anderson (24). That's pretty encouraging if you ask me, and we're not completely toast if Gordon goes down for a little while! This team is nowhere near complete, but they are definitely moving in the right direction. Last year we drafted the face of the franchise in Anthony Davis and signed the best 3-point shooting big man in Ryan Anderson. We already had Eric Gordon. Now we've added Jrue Holiday. It would be nice to continue to talk about young players to grab in the lottery, but when we got Davis, the building through the draft idea was all but finished. He's The Guy. Why is next year's draft so important if we have him and believe in him? Players that could go outside the top 5 are the Harrison Bros., Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, and Dario Saric. Is the fate of our franchise decided because we may miss out on one of those guys? No. Absolutely not. The 2014 draft will be good, but we have nothing to worry about because we don't have to worry about crossing our fingers hoping one of those guys might turn into a player for us. Right now we have a few proven guys already. Enough with worrying about the Spurs model or the Thunder model, and just accept the fact that we finally have a team that is in legit contention for a playoff spot with tons of room to grow.