Posted: Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 5:07 PM

T-P Hornets beat writer John Reid previews tonight’s home opener against the Celtics.

New Orleans Hornets starting point guard Jarrett Jack will return to the lineup for Wednesday night’s home opener against the Boston Celtics at the New Orleans Arena. He missed Monday night’s season opener after serving a one-game suspension for last season’s DUI arrest near Atlanta.

Without Jack, Marco Belinelli earned his first career start at point guard, but appeared to have problems getting the Hornets into their offense quickly enough before the Suns were able to set up in their halfcourt defensive sets. After newly acquired guard Greivis Vasquez replaced Belinelli, the Hornets’ offense began to flow better.

Shooting guard Eric Gordon made a 20-foot jump shot with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift the Hornets to a 85-84 victory against the Suns. Gordon scored a team-high 20 points in his debut game.

New Orleans (1-0) are now preparing to play a veteran Boston team that is expected to be without All-Star forward Paul Pierce, who has a bruised right heel. Without Pierce, the Celtics lost 106-104 to the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.The Celtics play the Miami Heat tonight.

“I know everybody is thinking it’s going to be a down year for us,’’ Hornets Coach said Monty Williams, who gave his team Tuesday off after their long flight from Phoenix.  “It’s never crossed our minds. We don’t talk about it and we certainly won’t give in to it. Starting with our defensive mindset, I feel we got the players who want to do things necessary to win games.’’

The New Orleans Hornets are involved in Chris Paul(notes) trade talks, and according to sources involved in the talks, have targeted guards Stephen Curry(notes) and Eric Gordon(notes). ESPN is reporting that the Hornets are talking with the Los Angeles Clippers about acquiring Gordon and simultaneously talking with the Golden State Warriors about trading for Curry.

Both Golden State and Los Angeles have worked hard to build up a roster through the draft, and youth is the best asset that those two franchises currently have. With the Clippers, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan(notes) and Blake Griffin(notes) comprise three good young players. On the Warriors, Curry and newly drafted Klay Thompson(notes) from Washington State University give that team a lot of depth on the roster as well. Now the Hornets would like to take some of that youth in exchange for an All-Star point guard.

Trades like these ones are always easier if the parts would stay in place for several seasons. The problem is that Paul is in the last year of his contract with the Hornets, so if he gets traded, he could still hit free agency in the next offseason. The Warriors and Clippers need guarantees that Paul is willing to sign a contract extension; otherwise it doesn’t make sense to give up assets like Gordon or Curry. Curry is becoming a star for the Warriors, and he could join the ranks of big NBA stars if the team actually started winning ballgames.

It sure seems like Paul is going to get traded by New Orleans before the beginning of the regular season, but it is equally unclear which franchise is going to join the deal. There are certainly a few teams that could use a nice rental like Paul for the 2011-12 season, but several top contenders would love to give up spare parts to get him. The New York Knicks probably want him the most, but have zero real assets to offer in return. Then there is the Boston Celtics, who could offer someone like Rajon Rondo(notes), but also get no guarantee that Paul will stay after this year.

A deal is out there with the Los Angeles Lakers if the Hornets would take either Pau Gasol(notes) or Andrew Bynum(notes) in a trade, but neither is a player that will put people in the seats for years to come. They are good players when healthy, but they just don’t have the talent level to take over games by themselves. That’s what Paul offers and teams around the league fully realize the value he could bring in a blockbuster trade.

More From YCN :

Vince Carter to Bulls Report

Miami Wants Greg Oden

Chris Paul Wants Traded to Knicks

Nets Want Dwight Howard

Miami Favored to Win NBA Title

Sources:

NBA Main Website

Yahoo NBA Site

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a hard-core NBA fan that looks forward to an exciting 2011-12 season now that the lockout has come to an end. Ryan is also a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

With only a week remaining before free agents can sign contracts, the Hornets may have the hardest challenge of any NBA team to retool their roster.

New Orleans is the only franchise in the league with only five players under contract. Since last Wednesday, when general managers could begin contacting the agents of available free agents, Hornets General Manager Dell Demps has been scrambling to get his targets in line.

The NBA is finally back to business after an agreement was reached to end the 149-day lockout. With a shortened 66-game regular season set to begin on Christmas Day, general managers such as Demps are working long hours to get their rosters in order.

League sources confirmed the Hornets are interested in re-signing both David West and Carl Landry. But the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors have shown the most interest in West, and Landry has been targeted by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Former LSU forward Glen “Big Baby’’ Davis, a free agent who has played four seasons with the Boston Celtics, has listed the Hornets as one of the teams he would consider if offered a deal. Small forward Josh Howard could be another player the Hornets might pursue.

Although the league granted permission for team officials to grant media interviews last week, Demps has not been made available yet.

Teams can sign free agents to contracts beginning Dec. 9, the first day training camps open. The season is set to begin on Christmas Day, and the Hornets could open on Dec. 26.

“Our front office has done a great job so far since I’ve been here,’’ backup guard Jarrett Jack said. “A lot of people looked at the Marcus Thornton trade last season and thought that was something that was going to hinder us further on down the line. But adding someone like Landry, coincidently, David goes down, and he comes in and steps forward for us.

“I’m sure they are going to do a great job of providing us with the necessary parts and pieces we need to be competitive.”

However, it could be difficult for the Hornets to attract free agents with the uncertainty involving All-Star point guard Chris Paul’s future with the franchise. Paul has not indicated if he will sign a long-term extension, and the Hornets have listened to trade offers.

Despite swirling trade rumors concerning Paul, the Hornets are trying to carry over momentum gained last season when they advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and before losing to the Lakers in six games in the first round under Coach Monty Williams.

Paul said he didn’t know who all the available free agents are, but the most important thing the Hornets could do is find out what West wants to do.

“At the end of the day, he’s going to do what’s best for him and his family,’’ Paul said.

At $42 million, the Hornets have the sixth-lowest payroll in the league. They will have just less than $16 million to spend on free agents and would stay under the projected $58 million salary cap.

“I felt we did pretty good last year, considering we had so many new bodies with a first-year coach,’’ forward Trevor Ariza said. “We’ve got to deal with the cards that we have, not worry about anybody else and try to get it done.’’

Ariza, who lives in Los Angeles, said he did not try to entice any free agents to consider New Orleans. However, Jack said he told some free agents about the benefits of playing in New Orleans.

“I live in Atlanta, so there are various guys that come in and out of the gym, and I’m always throwing New Orleans out there as a nice landing pad. But I’m confident our front office will be able to handle that and are up to the task to do that and get ready for the season.’’

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John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3407.

The New Orleans Hornets still plan to offer star point guard Chris Paul a long-term extension, but they have listened to trade offers from several teams including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, sources confirmed Wednesday.

Paul has not said publicly if he wants to opt out of his current deal with the Hornets or push for a trade before the NBA season begins on Dec. 25.

But ESPN reported Wednesday that Paul would not sign an extension if he was traded to the Celtics, who are interested in parting ways with All-Star guard Rajon Rondo. Hornets officials said General Manager Dell Demps would not be available for comment today.

Hornets players can begin using the Alario Center practice facility on Thursday for the first time since the lockout began July 1. With free agency starting Dec. 9, the Hornets have only five players currently under contract.

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