The Hornets took steps Wednesday to bolster their depth at shooting guard and small forward, obtaining Xavier Henry from the Memphis Grizzlies for a 2013 second-round draft choice.

New Orleans was part of a three-team trade in which the 76ers sent forward Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies.

Henry, 20, was a lottery pick (12th overall) by Memphis in the 2010 draft, but his development has been hindered by injuries. He is recovering from a second-degree right ankle sprain, including some ligament tearing, which happened at the outset of the Grizzlies’ training camp.

“I think I’ll definitely be out there in the next two weeks,” said Henry, who played at Kansas and worked out for the Hornets at the Alario Center in a predraft audition. “I have a good estimation of about 10 days maybe, but I’d say in the next two weeks I’ll be out there playing.”

Hornets Coach Monty Williams, who has expressed concerns over his team’s shooting guard performances in the absence of starter Eric Gordon the past four games, says he can see Henry sliding between two positions. Gordon returned to the starting lineup in Wedneday night’s 101-93 loss to Philadelphia.

“Xavier is a guy who, when he’s healthy, is going to play for us because he can do a number of things on the floor,” Williams said. “I told him my biggest issue with guys is defending and competing, playing hard. Offensively, he has some things you can’t really teach. He has a good feel for the game. He can shoot the ball, not to range yet, but 18 or 19 feet.

“He might be more of a three (small forward) than he is a two (shooting guard). He has got a big body (6 feet 6, 220 pounds). He can do both. I’d probably call him a wing. A guy like Eric is just a two, but Xavier might be a wing, a guy who can play both. I don’t see him ever being a guy who handles the ball and initiates offense like Eric. I’d say he’s a solid wing.”

No matter the description, Henry, who missed 33 games because of injury last season, says he’s ready.

“This seems like a great team, a lot of defense, a lot of team work, and offensively, it just lets you play,” he said. “I think I’ll fit in pretty well with the guys. I always believed myself I could play either two or three. If I just come in and work hard, work hard on defense and do everything right, I’ll have an opportunity to play.”

The Hornets rank second to last in the NBA in 3-point shooting, at 17.9 percent. Williams said aside from the obvious, there are other issues that could be eliminated by Gordon’s return.

“I still think the guys that have been playing have to make shots,” Williams said. “If you look at our film, guys are getting open looks. What’s hurting us is turnovers in timely situations. In the last two minutes of the (Utah) game, we had two turnovers out of three possessions. You can’t get shots if you’re giving it to the other team. We are missing shots.

“But I don’t want to put all that pressure on Eric. He’s got to play his normal game. (Point guard Jarrett) Jack has got to continue to produce. We may be one of the only teams in the league that may count on our point guard to score double figures every night. But it’ll help our team.”

GORDON’S BACK: Saying his bruised right knee is still not at 100 percent, Gordon nonetheless returned to the starting lineup against the Sixers and scored a team-high 22 points, although he was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

“It’s good to come back and finally get back with the team,” he said. “We’re still playing hard and are capable of beating those teams we lost to.”

ALL-STAR MENTIONS: While it’s unlikely, given the lack of superstar faces on the roster, that the Hornets will garner any All-Star Game support as fans vote in the starters. Nonetheless, four players appear on this year’s ballot revealed Wednesday.

Gordon, centers Emeka Okafor and Chris Kaman and power forward Carl Landry are all on the Western Conference portion of the ballot.

The game will be played on Feb. 26 in Orlando.

Kaman is the only member of that group to have been selected on an All-Star team. He was a member of the Western Conference squad in 2010 as a member of the Clippers.

Since the 2007-08 season, the Hornets have had at least one All-Star representative each year, either Chris Paul or David West, both of whom are playing for different teams now.

NEW ORLEANS – Jarrett Jack’s first regular-season start since the Chris Paul trade was more than good enough for the New Orleans Hornets.

Jack had 21 points and nine assists in his season debut, and New Orleans dominated in its home opener, beating the winless Boston Celtics 97-78 on Wednesday night.

The Celtics are 0-3 for the first time since 2006-07, the season before they traded to bring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in to help star Paul Pierce. Pierce has yet to play this season because of a bruised right heel.

The Hornets, meanwhile, were without Eric Gordon, who bruised his right knee in a season-opening win at Phoenix in which he scored a team-high 20 points.

Jack did not play in the win over the Suns on Monday night because of a one-game suspension stemming from a drunken driving arrest last season. His return helped a Hornets squad looking for a boost in Gordon’s absence, and power forward Carl Landry pitched in with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Allen led Boston with 15 points.

Jack inherited the Hornets’ starting point guard job in the preseason after Paul, a four-time All-Star, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Gordon, Chris Kaman, and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Kaman, who had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench in his Hornets debut Monday, came back with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots against Boston.

Kaman backed up Emeka Okafor, who had 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Marco Belinelli, who started for Gordon at shooting guard, was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and also finished with 13 points. Five of Landry’s rebounds came on the offensive end, helping the Hornets outscore the Celtics 21-11 in second-chance points.

Rajon Rondo scored 13 for Boston, while Louisiana native and former LSU star Brandon Bass added 11 points and Keyon Dooling 10.

Kevin Garnett had a difficult night in what was Boston’s third road game in four nights to open this lockout-compressed season. He finished with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.

The Celtics shot like a team with tired legs, hitting only 37 percent from the field (29 of 78). New Orleans, by contrast, appeared energized by a sellout crowd, shooting 45.6 percent and outrebounding Boston 48-37. The Hornets also had a whopping 46-24 advantage in points in the paint.

New Orleans took the lead for good late in the first quarter and Belinelli’s 3 ignited a 13-4 run to open the fourth. Landry’s jumper capped the spurt, giving New Orleans an 85-67 lead with 6:25 to go.

Boston’s largest lead was 9-2 before the Hornets stiffened defensively and raced into the lead with an 8-0 run ignited by Belinelli’s 3 and capped by Jack’s steal and fast-break layup. Belinelli later added a three-point play on a tough fade as he was fouled and fell to the court, helping the Hornets build a 24-18 lead by the end of the opening period.

The Hornets led by as many as 16 points in the first half after Okafor and Landry scored four points each during an 8-0 run that made it 46-30.

Boston, which fell behind in large part because of 33 percent shooting (15 of 45) in the opening two periods, cut its deficit to single digits with a 9-2 run capped by Rondo’s end-to-end layup in the final seconds of the half, making it 48-39.

NOTES: Attendance for the home opener was announced as an overflow 17,802. … Celtics rookie Greg Stiemsma blocked six shots. … Boston also was without F-C Chris Wilcox, who has a bruised right shoulder. … The Celtics return to Boston for their home opener on Friday against Detroit. … The Hornets remain at home for their next contest on Friday against Phoenix.

Thanks for joining us for today’s New Orleans Hornets press conference, where new acquisitions Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu will be introduced to the media. We’ll then update from the Hornets scrimmage, which is open to the public from noon to 2 p.m. at the New Orleans Arena. The event is free.

Last season: 46-36, tied with Memphis but on a tiebreaker drew the Lakers in the first round, which got them knocked out.

Head Coach: Monty Williams, entering just his second season at the head of an NBA team.

Key Departures: Chris Paul, who is now throwing lobs to Blake Griffin, and David West, who left via free agency for Indiana. For those scoring at home, that’s nearly 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists per game. Good luck replacing that.

Key Additions: Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, plus Minnesota’s unprotected first round pick. Plus, they re-signed Carl Landry.

Best case scenario: The league finds an owner that wants to keep the Hornets in New Orleans.

As for on the court, in theory, with a starting lineup of Jarrett Jack, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor (plus a few solid bench players) they could be a solid team in the West that could try and compete for the seven or eight seed….

But why?

More likely the Hornets will: Let’s be honest — with the Chris Paul trade the Hornets enter rebuilding mode. The Hornets can fight the good fight on the court and try to make the playoffs, but they are better off trying to flip Kaman’s contract (and Okafor’s, if they can find a taker) for young players and picks. This is a deep draft, they are better off to jump into rebuilding with both feet.

Prediction: 20-46. That gets them a lot of ping-pong balls in the lottery, which is what they should be after. A couple high picks to go with Eric Gordon and you start to build something for that the next owner.