2014 june 30 by Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

T H E

V O I C E

follow our

T W IT T E R : @KALEOOHAWAII for BREAKING

MONDAY, JUNE 30 TO SUNDAY, JULY 6 2014 VOLUME 109 ISSUE 90

Serving the students of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

www.kaleo.org

NEWS, UPDATES, WEB EXCLUSIVES & VIDEO COVERAGE.

PA R K I N G R AT E M AY I N C R E A S E $$$

NOELLE F UJII News Editor

Commuter Services is proposing a 62 percent increase in student parking rates between fiscal years 2015 and 2019. The increase would address needed repair and maintenance for campus parking lots and structures, according to Commuter Services. Currently, students pay $142

per semester for a parking permit. The proposal would increase rates to $230 a semester by fiscal year 2019, according to Cathleen Matsushima, operations manager for Commuter Services. But she said the ﬁ ve-year proposal will likely be postponed until at least the next academic year. “We’re still awaiting our public hearings, plus ﬁ nal approval, before moving forward. We pre-

dict that the next increase will not go into effect until July 1, 2015 (FY2016), but that is yet to be determined,” Matsushima said. “If the 2014 parking permit proposal is approved and moves forward on schedule, the ﬁ rst increase will occur July 1, 2015 at the rates proposed for July 1, 2014.” UH employees would also be affected by the proposal. Currently, UH employees pay $142 per semester

for a lower campus parking permit and $193 for upper campus. Under the proposal, lower campus permits would increase by 92 percent by ﬁscal year 2019 to $273 a semester. Upper campus permits would increase by about 109 percent to $403 a semester. Evening and motorcycle and moped permits as well as citation fees would also increase. Commuter Services submitted the proposal to Gov. Neil

Abercrombie in March for approval to hold a public hearing. According to Matsushima, the request is still pending, but once it’s received Commuter Services will provide 30 days notice for a public hearing and conduct the public hearing. The program will then take the feedback and move forward from there.

Continued on page 2

Page 2 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

@kaleoohawaii | news@kaleo.org | Noelle Fujii Editor

News ALL PHOTOS BY ANTOINETTE RANIT / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

Upper campus spaces for faculty, such as these spots at Bachman Place, would see the biggest jump in rates under CS’s proposal.

Ka Leo O Hawai‘i University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 2445 Campus Road Hemenway Hall 107 Honolulu, HI 96822

PAIGE TAKEYA Senior Staff Writer

Newsroom (808) 956-7043 Advertising (808) 956-7043 Facsimile (808) 956-9962 E-mail kaleo@kaleo.org Website www.kaleo.org

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor in Chief Alex Bitter Managing Editor Fadi Youkhana Chief Copy Editor Wesley Babcock Assoc Chief Copy Editor Zebley Foster Design Editor Lilian Cheng Assoc Design Editor Michelle Chen Web Editor Alden Alayvilla News Editor Noelle Fujii Features Editor Brad Dell Opinions Editor Kristen Paul Bonifacio Sports Editor Nick Huth Photo Editor Antoinette Ranit Assoc Photo Editor Shane Grace Online Photo Editor Tien Austin Comics Editor Nicholas Smith Web Specialist Blake Tolentino Aloha Nights Coordinator Veronica Freeman

ADVERTISING

E-mail advertising@kaleo.org Ad Manager Gabrielle Pangilinan PR Coordinator Bianca Bystrom Pino Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. It is published by the Board of Publications three times a week except on holidays and during exam periods. Circulation is 10,000. Ka Leo is also published once a week during summer sessions with a circulation of 5,000. Ka Leo is funded by student fees and advertising. Its editorial content reflects only the views of its writers, reporters, columnists and editors, who are solely responsible for its content. No material that appears in Ka Leo may be reprinted or republished in any medium without permission. The first newsstand copy is free; for additional copies, please visit Ka Leo. Subscription rates are $50 for one semester and $85 for one year. ©2012 Board of Publications.

ADMINISTRATION

The Student Media Board, a student organization chartered by the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents, publishes Ka Leo O Hawai‘i. Issues or concerns can be reported to the board (Alex Kasula, chair; Mechelins Iechad, vice chair;) via bop@hawaii.edu. Visit www.kaleo.org/bop/

Indiegogo to the bank?

Commuter Services: Hikes may be delayed from page 1 A SET OF INCREASES In ﬁscal year 2013, Commuter Services received $2 million in revenue from parking permits. Under its proposal, Commuter Services projects its revenue from permits will increase to more than $4 million, Matsushima said. “Commuter Services provides a comprehensive transportation, commuter and parking program, and all revenues raised through Commuter Services support the program,” she said. Matsushima said it’s hard to say if these increases will affect the quantity of permits purchased by UH employees and students. “But because the demand for parking on campus exceeds the 5,924 spaces available, we doubt we’ll see a huge decrease in the number of permits purchased,” she said. “However, we hope that a portion of the estimated 36 percent of UH Mānoa affiliates who live within three miles of campus will consider alternative ways to campus such as walking, biking, carpooling or riding the Rainbow Shuttle.” Douglas Vincent, a professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences and member of the campus faculty senate, said he is glad the increase has been postponed. He

remains concerned but is not prepared to comment further. Stephen Nishihara, Associated Students of the University of Hawai‘i president, said an increase is not in the best interest of most students. He said he couldn’t formulate a specific opinion on the increases without further information.

NEEDED REVENUE Commuter Services has raised permit rates recently. The Board of Regents approved a two-year increase for fiscal years 2010-2011 but it wasn’t enough to address inflation, ceded land payments, deferred maintenance that had accumulated over the years and additional repair and maintenance projects that must be carried out on a regular basis, according to Matsushima. She added that permit rate increases have been needed for a while. Previously, from fiscal years 1998 through 2009, parking rates remained constant, making it diffi cult for Commuter Services address repair and maintenance projects for parking lots and structures. It also didn’t allow for revenues to keep up with infl ation, Matsushima said. At the time of the approved two-year increases in 2010 and 2011, the Board of Regents asked Commuter Services to “evaluate

its operations and fi nances; to ensure it was operating as effi ciently as possible; and to determine what critical repair and maintenance projects would need to be fi nanced with funds received from any future rate increases,” Matsushima said. “In response to these requests, Commuter Services engaged the Pacific Intermountain Parking & Transportation Association (PIPTA), to perform an on-site program review of our parking operations,” she said. The PIPTA group also performed a fee adequacy study on campus parking rates and violation fees and found that the campus’ annual parking rates and citation fees “appeared to be significantly underpriced as compared to the local market.” In addition, the group recommended that Commuter Services fund a parking structure conditions study. Nagamine Okawa Engineers performed the study and found that over $16 million in estimated repairs were needed for the Phase I and Phase II parking structures. “An additional $5 million in projects related to the Dole Street structure and surface parking lots on campus also need to be performed over the next 10 years,” Matsushima said.

Internet commentators have a multitude of suggestions about how the University of Hawai‘i athletic department can ﬁ x its budgetary woes. Start winning more games, maybe, or just cut a few sports. But athletics director Ben Jay says it’s not that simple. UH, given its geographical isolation from its fellows in three athletic conferences, pays a lot more to play the same games. “Every time we play an opponent, we have to jump on the plane. Every time we want an opponent to come here, we’ve got to pay for their transportation and expenses. And as part of the membership of being in the Mountain West and Big West conferences, we have to pay these travel subsidies. We are the only Division I program in the country that does that,” Jay said. UH is constantly ﬁghting an uphill battle to stay in the budgetary black, so Jay wanted to try something new to tackle the issue. Enter crowdfunding: U H launched an Indiegogo campaign, entitled, “UH: Highest College Athletics Travel Costs in the Nation, Help!” on May 8, as part of an experimental push with UH Foundation to see if the internet-based model could be the future of UH fundraising. The campaign ends July 7 and has attracted 30 funders giving $4,415, as of June 29.

A L L A B O U T ʻAWA R E N E S S ʼ According to Janet Bullard, UH Foundation vice president for marketing and communications – alumni and donor relations, UH is hardly the first school to try crowdfunding.

continued on page 3

@kaleoohawaii | news@kaleo.org | Noelle Fujii Editor

Page 3 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

News

UH Athletics turns to online fundraising from page 2 “A lot of universities are actually doing it – and doing it amazingly well,” she said, listing off Cornell University, University of Utah and Arizona State University as schools that have found success with the USeed platform. Bullard said UH chose to use Indiegogo as its base because it was simple and did not require a large ﬁ nancial commitment. UH set a $10,000 goal for the campaign, a “drop in the bucket,” according to Jay, of UH’s $5.6 million yearly travel expenses. Any money raised here will pay for upcoming coach recruiting trips to the mainland. “When we ﬁ rst put it out, everyone said, ‘Why is it so low?’ We’re just experimenting with this. We want to give it a try, put it out there, see what happens with it and provide people with the information,” Bullard said. Neither Bullard nor Jay are particularly worried about how much this initial campaign raises. “For anything you do online, the viral effect or the spreading of the information is probably more important than anything else,” Bullard said. Jay observed that other college athletic departments have reached out to him, curious about the Indiegogo campaign and whether it could work for their schools. “Obviously, we want to be successful and raise the $10,000. But it’s a really new thing to do, and people don’t realize that it’s still out there. That’s what we’re weighing: the pros and cons of it. Is this a vehicle we can use?” Jay said.

FUTURE FUNDRAISING Bullard sees potential for crowdfunding for UH Foundation, and she says that she’s already

been ﬁ elding inquiries about its application to other projects within the system. But she cautions, “It takes a lot of resources, it takes a lot of focus and it takes a compelling cause,” so there are no immediate plans for any more campaigns. Jay sees crowdfunding as a way to reach out to individual donors, the “smaller dollar donors” who want to do what they can to help the program. That’s a sentiment senior English major Casey Gapol-Reyes agrees with. “It gives alumni and students a chance to enhance programs that are limited by budgets,” he said. But he also thinks that the school should market it as something that promotes future growth, rather than just sustaining the current budget. Tinkering with that system is also something that weighs on Jay’s mind these days. He thinks there are larger issues with the way UH Athletics has approached fundraising through the years. “Before I got here, fundraising in respects to athletics was all transactional. There was practically no philanthropic fundraising going on here,” Jay said. He believes the model of exchanging ticket sales, parking passes and other perks for funding needs to be reconsidered. He has been paying personal visits to 70 potential donors around the state, asking for their direct support. “We have to pull out all the stops that we can to try and raise money to run this program.” Get more information about the campaign: indiegogo.com/projects/uh-highest-college-athleticstravel-costs-in-the-nation-help.

Page 4 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

@kaleofeatures | features@kaleo.org |Brad Dell Editor

Features

Hawai‘i Review to explore convergence ‘Muliwai’ aligns with Oceanic mission, editors say BR AD DELL Features Editor Hawai‘i Review is is the culmination of novice and established writers alike that branches into the international community while remaining rooted in Hawaiian culture, language and place. This convergence is reflected in the theme of the upcoming eighty-first issue of Hawai‘i Review: “muliwai.”

THE THEME

“Muliwai” signifies the place where fresh waters and ocean connect. Hawai‘i Review challenges writers to ask themselves what is “said, dreamed, challenged and undone here.” “We know that a lot happens in a ‘muliwai’ ecologically because they tend to be incredibly fertile places that attract a lot of life,” HR Managing Editor Kelsey Amos said. “So ‘muliwai’ is a good metaphor for any kind of space you want to be in as a writer or artist.” Submitters are encouraged to channel Oceania in their work, and integrate the importance of “place,” she said. “Every language in the world grew out of a culture that grew out of a place, so I think reading and writing literature is inherently a placebased activity. Today, I think we’re more emphatic about place-based literature because there’s this global tendency to ignore and exploit the world around us,” Amos said. “Locating ourselves and the literature and art we encounter is a subversive act that helps us

to remember our ancestors, and reestablish or reafﬁ rm our relationship to the lands we live on, care for and make our home with,” HR Editor in Chief Anjoli Roy said. “Doing so also reminds us to treat one another’s places and experiences with the same care.” “I think that the theme speaks to several aspects of HR that make it so great: the sharing of ideas, stories and ‘mana‘o;’ social and cultural awareness and also, the valuing of diverse perspectives and ideas,” Amos said.

THE MISSION According to Roy, Hawai‘i Review provides a medium for the people of Oceania to express themselves, regardless of their previous experience in writing. “Our unique geographic location in the sea of islands of the Pacific Ocean has offered Hawai‘i writers and artists a myriad of important perspectives on expression, cultural identity and contact with one another, relationships to indigeneity and ‘kuleana’ (responsibility) to the land, and critical linguistic intersections,” Roy said. Writers fi nd that submitting to Hawai‘i Review can lead to rewards beyond what was expected. Ian Macmillan fiction award-winner Donald Carreira Ching had his fi rst piece of fiction published in Hawai‘i Review. “As a student, it gave me a sense that my voice mattered. As a writer, it gave me a sense of validation. That publication was a big moment for me,” Ching said.

ILLUSTRATION BY JIAJIA LI / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

“That story ended up as the foundation for my debut novel, which is set to be published by Bamboo Ridge Press in Spring 2015.” Christina L ow Dwight has been published in Hawai‘i Review four times. W hile she says it ’s sometimes scar y awaiting news of whether her sub mission has been accepted, she feels it ’s worth it. “I have been able to share my work with the academic community and my peers, and it feels good to see it in print. It ’s an accomplishment whenever I’m published, but it ’s even more special when my community

recognizes that something I do is good,” Dwight said.

SUBMIT TING “In rooting our call to our home in the Paciﬁ c, we hope to invite contributions from our local community that addresses this special geographic and metaphoric location,” Roy said. “As you will see from our call, there are also access points for people outside Hawai‘i to submit work as well.” Roy asks that submssions focus on the writer’s locale and the bodies of water that surround them to ensure that the journal’s

works parallel each other. “In putting these contributions together in one issue, Issue 81 itself will become an artistic and linguistic ‘muliwai,’ as we blend these waters in the collection,” Roy said.

How to Submit Submissions accepted from July 1 to September 14. Submit to bit.ly/submit2HR More info: facebook.com/hawaii.review. journal

@kaleoopinions | opinions@kaleo.org | Kristen Bonifacio Editor

Page 5 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

Opinions

Life sentences more effective than death penalty K RISTEN PAUL BONIFACIO Opinions Editor

On Friday, ex-soldier Naeem Williams was sentenced to life in prison for the 2005 killing of his 5-year-old daughter. He faced either the death penalty or life in prison. If the jury had decided to sentence Williams to death, it would have been the ﬁ rst such sentence in Hawai‘i’s history since statehood in 1959. His sentencing once againbrings to light the heatedly debated argument about the death penalty as a form of punishment for murder and serious crimes. However, although Williams committed a horriﬁc murder, the judge was correct in sentencing him to life in prison instead of ending his life. A life in prison sentence is a better sentence for individuals who commit capital crimes. The death penalty is barbaric, but it’s ability to prevent similar heinous acts has been questioned by statistics that show it does not limit homicide rates.

THE CRIME

Naeem Williams was officially convicted for his crime in April of this year. He admitted that he beat his special needs daughter, Talia Williams, for bathroom accidents. Delilah, Naeem’s wife and Talia’s stepmother, was also convicted for her abuse of Talia. According to Talia’s stepmother, Talia had been ducttaped to a bed while being beaten, and had her hair pulled that it left her with a bald spot. “I want you all to know how sorry I am for the terrible things I did. Talia deserved a better father than me. Instead of helping and protecting Talia, I hurt and killed her,” said Williams in a statement to the jury. The death penalty was abolished in Hawai‘i in 1957—two years before Hawai‘i ofﬁcially became a state. However, because

LAW OFFICE OF

CARMEN DI AMORE-SIAH CALL: 808-532-2277 EMAIL: CARMEN@IMMIGRATEUS.COM WEBSITE: WWW.IMMIGRATEUS.COM Marriage residency, self petitioned employment residency for professionals, researchers, and academics.

• IMMIGRATION COURT, APPEALS, AND FEDERAL COURT REPRESENTATION

• FAMILY • EMPLOYMENT • CITIZENSHIP • CONSULAR • NONIMMIGRANT AND IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESSING SERVICES

DYLAN LEINHAR / FLICKR

A life sentence is the maximum Penalty under Hawaii State Law the incident happened on military property, his case was reviewed by a federal court. The jur y had not come to a consensus, and therefore he was given a sentence of life in prison without release by U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright. Williams has two other children, an 11 year old son, and a 9 year old daughter.

LIFE IN PRISON What Williams did is unacceptable. He abused his helpless daughter, and caused her death, but his other children should not lose their father. A life sentence will allow Williams to indirectly witness his other two children grow up, but he will not be able to physically be there for them. If Williams cares about his other children, this will come at a great emotional cost to him and make him further regret his crimes. Williams‘ 11-year-old son broke down crying when asked how he felt about his father. “I love my dad,” he said. A life sentence will also allow Williams more time to contem-

plate his crimes and their consequences for a longer period of time. If he was executed, then he would be able to think about those consequences and what he did. An execution is just quick ticket out of a crime. It does not give the convicted time to feel guilt and remorse for their actions.

THE DEATH PENALTY The death penalty in America dates back to the 17th century. Today, the death penalty is still legal in 32 states. In 2013, Maryland became the most recent state tooutlaw this form of punishment, in the same year, there were 39 executions performed, and 80 death sentences, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The death penalty is still legal in many states, and it is admirable that Hawai‘i does not allow this inhumane form of punishment. Nationally, public opinion is turning against the option. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research center, the American public’s support for the death penalty is at it’s lowest since the early 70’s.

Criminals and those who are thinking of committing a capital crime are apparently not fearful of the possibility of being sentenced to death. Statistics show that the death penalty does not reduce homicide rates. From 1991 to 2011, states where the death penalty was not legal had lower crime rates that states that allowed it. Regardless of anyone’s crime, it is unethical to purposely kill someone and call it legal. The death penalty is also just another form of revenge. No individual should have the power to decide if one should live or die. Furthermore, it’s not right that a crime that resulted in death results in another death. Criminals who commit heinous capital crimes should live to suffer through memories of their crimes. Even if they do not feel remorse for what they did, they will feel the burden of being conﬁ ned for the rest of their life. The death penalty provides them with nothing but a release from that burden. It’s better justice if criminals suffer for their crime each day than to have them suffer for only a moment.

Submit Your work into the next issue of Hawaiʻi Review Issue 81: Muliwai at bit.ly/submit2HR

advertising@kaleo.org | Gabrielle Pangilinan Student Ad Manager

Page 6 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

Games

Extreme

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

WEB EB DEVELOPE DEVELOPER E

CROSS

KALEO EDITION

WORD PUZZLE

Ka ACROSS 1 Cereal dish 5 Defame in print 10 Brink 14 New York City theater award 15 Dutchspeaking Caribbean island 16 Dianetics creator Hubbard 17 Wishy-washy 19 Heating outlet 20 Baseball official 21 Ukrainian city of one million 22 “Othello” conspirator 23 Give up the single life 25 Standard 27 Took the first step 30 Very happy 33 Exxon merger partner 36 Pigeon’s roost, often 38 “Evil Woman” rock gp. 39 Societal problems 40 Thyme piece 41 Not at all wild 42 Agcy. that regulates tobacco products 43 Apple music players 44 Greek island 45 Doe or sow 47 Slalom

competitor 49 Utility abbr. 50 Enterprise engineer 54 Lead-in for bytes or bucks 56 Persistently demand 60 Run a tab, say 61 Arabian sultanate 62 Cookie brand 64 Rocker Hendrix 65 Hole __: golf rarity 66 Tilt 67 Valuable rocks 68 Like pet parakeets 69 Prom night wheels DOWN 1 Paycheck surprise 2 2012 Romney defeater 3 Popeye’s hamburgerloving pal 4 Neighbor of Syr. 5 Peke or Yorkie 6 “Dies __”: Latin hymn 7 Mooches, as a cigarette 8 Flows out 9 Bomb on stage 10 TV’s “Mistress of the Dark” 11 Elite group of athletes 12 Loud bell 13 Within: Pref. 18 Swiss Alps

melody 24 Sacred wader of old Egypt 26 Corrida cheer 28 Food for Fido 29 Dweebs 31 Red “Sesame Street” Muppet 32 Performs 33 Annoy 34 Shoppe modifier 35 It’s “played” by finger-pointers 37 Floppy __ 40 Explicit 41 Hawaiian root 43 Suffix with infant 44 Religious divisions 46 Grammy winner Morissette 48 Put out, as a publication 51 Marisa of “My Cousin Vinny” 52 Wee hr., and a hint to a feature common to this puzzle’s four longest answers 53 Courtroom question type 54 Magic charm 55 Gulf States prince 57 Mom’s mom 58 Skyline haze 59 Actress Skye 63 Every bit

ANSWERS AT KALEO.ORG

APPLY TODAY!

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 thru 9. Puzzles will become progressively more difﬁcult through the week.

2445 Campus Rd. Hemenway Hall 107 808-956-7043 www.kaleo.org/jobs

2445 Campus Rd.

Solutions, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

Are you energetic ti friendly and full of glee? THEN JOIN OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS TEAM!

Go to www.kaleo.org for this puzzle’s solution.

Work as a Graphic Designer for Ka Leo! 2445 Campus Rd. APPLY Hemenway Hall 107 TODAY! 808-956-7043 www.kaleo.org/jobs

APPLY TODAY! 2445 Campus Rd. Hemenway Hall 107 808-956-7043 www.kaleo.org/jobs

comics@kaleo.org | Nicholas Smith Editor

Page 7 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

Comics

@kaleosports|sports@kaleo.org | Nick Huth Editor

Page 8 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 30 2014

Sports

Biggest winners from the NBA draft These teams made strong moves in the deepest draft in a decade. potential to return their franchise to the prominence they lost after the departure of Lebron James.

U TA H JA Z Z The Jazz didn’t come into the draft with the most exciting position or the most obvious weaknesses to fi x, so they took that flexibility and turned it into one of the sneakiest front office performances of the draft. Dante Exum, the Australian guard, has been seen as a mysterious figure for months, but his youth and talent are undeniable traits that the Jazz didn’t miss out on with the fifth pick. After picking the high profile Exum, the Jazz also grabbed Rodney Hood, a Duke standout that slipped out of the lottery. Utah now has all the young and talented assets they need to push for the playoffs in the next few seasons.

B O S T O N C E LT I C S

AFFEI / FLICKR

Rodney Hood was initially predicted to be a lottery pick before falling to the Jazz. NICK HUTH Sports Editor The last draft that had the same level of attention as the one that took place last Thursday included the likes of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. More than a decade has passed since that pivotal day, and it has remained the single most influential NBA draft of the modern era. This year’s draft contained names like Andrew Wiggins,

Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid — college superstars that have been hyped up from before they graduated high school. The draft included more than a handful of other intriguing prospects as well, and it begs the question of whether NBA fans will look back on this draft as the beginning of the next generation. Some organizations did better than others on such a potentially defining draft, and here are the teams that made the most of their opportunity.

C L E V E L A N D C AV E L I E R S The fi rst domino to fall in this year’s draft was possibly the most important. Andrew Wiggins has been compared to Lebron James, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant — all the while garnering the same attention that those stars earned as youngsters. The Cavaliers needed an athletic wing to partner with Kyrie Irving, their dynamic point guard, and Wiggins fits the mold perfectly. Despite this being their only significant pick of the draft, Wiggins has the

The Celtics came into the draft playing down the talent and potential of the class, perhaps to posture for an optimal trade that could to return the franchise to the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. In the ﬁ rst round, Boston selected James Young and Marcus Smart, two dynamic athletes with NBA-ready physicality that can earn playing time early in their careers. Smart gives Boston the added ﬂ exibility to trade Rajon Rondo, the all-star point guard that could net them even more young assets as they rebuild.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS The newly rebranded Hornets are coming off an encouraging playoff performance against the Miami Heat, where the clearly outmatched squad took a few heavy weight shots at the

defending champions in the fi rst round series. To add to the playoff squad, the Hornets grabbed Noah Vonleh, a stretch power forward that will fit perfectly in their offense, with the ninth pick. Many expected Vonleh to be picked in the top five, and if the prospect can add some size to his impressive offensive game, Charlotte has a great chance at returning to the playoffs for the next few seasons. They also traded for athletic wing P.J. Hairston at the end of the first round. The talented shooting guard had some off-the -field problems that led to him falling out of the lottery this season, but if those problems remain in his past, the Hornets got a talented scorer that can space the floor around Al Jefferson.

P H I L A D E L P H I A 76E R S It’s difficult to leave out the team that had a whopping total of seven picks in this year’s draft as a winner, but there was a lot of uncertainty around the performance of Philadelphia’s front office. With their top pick, they snagged Joel Embiid, the best prospect in the draft that fell to the third spot because of injury concerns. But he has been compared to the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan, so the Sixers decided that the potential reward was worth the risk. General manager Sam Hinkie also added Dario Saric, Jeremi Grant, K.J. McDaniels, Vasilije Micic and Nemanja Dangubic throughout various trades and picks. If the Sixers can properly develop just a couple of the myriad of prospects they snagged in this year’s draft, they will end up as one of the most exciting young teams in two or three seasons.