What do you guys think about this.

WESTWEGO, Louisiana — The writing was on the wall, or maybe off of it, when the New Orleans Hornets removed an expansive image of All-Star guard Chris Paul from the outside of the New Orleans Arena well before training camp had begun.

Now general manager Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams have a better picture of some of the new faces that might grace that wall one day, and they can move on with their plans for the Hornets without the drag that a disgruntled superstar can cause.

“Now is the next step,” Demps said Thursday, a day after Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. “I don’t know if it’s relief. We’re glad to get that process over. And we’ve got some other things we need to do to get our roster ready.”

The trade brought the Hornets a prolific young shooting guard in Eric Gordon, a 7-foot former All-Star center in Chris Kaman and a second-year forward with potential in Al-Farouq Aminu. The Hornets also got a first-round draft choice that the Clippers had previously acquired from Minnesota.

With that deal done, progress quickly ensued on the free-agent front with the re-acquisition of power forward Carl Landry, who averaged 11.8 points with the Hornets last season. He came in as a backup to David West and moved into a starting role after West was injured.

“He understands the system. He really thrived later in the season after the injury to David West,” Demps said of Landry, who agreed to a one-year, $8.8 million deal. “He had some big-time moments for us in the playoffs last year. We want to grow on that. … He fits our system and we’re excited about the agreement.”

Williams expressed mix feelings about Paul’s departure.

The Hornets made it clear they would have preferred to build around Paul, had the star guard been inclined to sign an extension. But when Paul would not commit to that, Demps and Williams knew they needed to start seeing Paul as a means to trade for more of the players they needed to get closer to the vision they have of a hustling, scrappy, defense-first team.

“When you can bring closure to a situation and move on, you feel good about that,” Williams said. “At the same time, you don’t lose a player like Chris Paul and say, ‘Let’s move on.’ He certainly was a gift for me (last season) as a first-year coach to have somebody like that at my side.”

Williams said he also will miss forward David West, who opted for a free-agent deal with Indiana instead of coming back. Williams wished both of them would have remained.

“I inherited what most coaches would want to inherit,” Williams said, referring to Paul and West. “Yet, it takes a while to put your program in place, so we’re looking at starting over again, which is not something I had planned on or was looking forward to. But it’s what I have to do, so Dell is going to bring the pieces that he feels like fit our system and I have to trust him do that.”

Demps noted that Kaman, who is in the last year of his contract, will be “out to prove he can still play.”

Demps and Williams say they envision Kaman and center Emeka Okafor playing together at times, with Okafor, who has guarded the perimeter at times in the past, moving to power forward.

Williams said he looks forward to having a scorer like Gordon, who averaged 22 points last season.

“I’m always one to get guys on our team that I fear coaching against, and he’s one of those guys,” Williams said. “When he shoots it from range or is attacking the basket, you’re always on edge because you know you’re in trouble.”

Demps said he has spoken all three of the former Clippers who are on their way to the Big Easy, and all of them seemed happy about it.

“All three of them were excited. … They were ready to get here,” Demps said. “I didn’t have to sell anything. I was thinking that could be a possibility, but that was not the case.”

That’s all for today.

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.

Gotta run!.

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New Orleans Hornets General Manager Dell Demps said trade talks has resumed involving Chris Paul and the completion of a deal is possible. He didn’t specify if discussions still involved the Lakers and Houston Rockets.

NBA Commissioner David Stern nixed Thursday’s  blockbuster three-team trade that had Paul going to the Lakers, while the Hornets would had received guards Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic, forwards Luis Scola and Lamar Odom and a first-round draft pick.

“Since that deal did not go through, we’re going to keep plugging away,” Demps said. “Everything is open and we’re trying to fill our roster. We’re doing everything we can to get a good team here; we only have six guys.”

Demps confirmed that Paul declined to sign a long-term extension earlier ths week, which prompted the franchise to begin serious trade discussions.

Paul is currently participating in the Hornets’ opening training camp practice at the Alario Center.  

What are your opinions.

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.

Gotta run!.

The New Orleans Hornets have their eyes wide open and know they are going to have to trade Chris Paul. The Orlando Magic are holding out more hope of retaining Dwight Howard but that feels like a longshot as well. The front offices in both cities have to be gauging offers right now, or they are not doing their jobs.

But if they are both looking to make a deal, do they both want to deal with the Lakers? Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski says that may make it a race between the two sides.

Why? You’re not going to get equal value back when you trade your superstar, but Andrew Bynum comes about as close as it gets. And the Lakers will part with him.

In a lot of ways, the Hornets and Orlando Magic are in a race to make a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers for Paul and Howard. They’re running so many scenarios across the big boards in their offices, but make no mistake: Los Angeles is the port that can entice Paul and Howard to sign extensions, with the one player – young center Andrew Bynum – as a centerpiece that can justify the trade.

The Lakers and Hornets talked several days ago, league sources told Yahoo! Sports, but it was one of those circuitous conversations that left the sides unclear what it would take to get a deal done, and the talk ended with no formal offers. The Lakers and Hornets expect to speak again this week, sources said. The prospect of Pau Gasol as the primary player going to the Hornets won’t be acceptable, sources said. The Lakers will ultimately be willing to let New Orleans pick its player in the deal – Bynum or Gasol – but New Orleans is determined to get quality, and quantity, in a deal.

The Nets will offer Brook Lopez and picks, but most teams would rather have Bynum than Lopez. That seems like a fallback.

For the Lakers, Chris Paul gives them the missing athleticism and someone who could be very good on the pick-and-roll with Pau Gasol. Dwight Howard upgrades them in the paint and gives them a younger star to transition with in the post-Kobe Bryant era.

We’ll see if this happens, however. After a lockout filled with talk of competitive balance could the league-owned Hornets send Chris Paul off to the Lakers to form another trio of stars? Would the other owners tolerate that from David Stern? As for the Magic, could they trade Dwight Howard to the franchise that took Shaquille O’Neal away from them? There would be fan backlash.

Which is a way of saying we are a long way from a deal either way here. But the Lakers may have the best offer out there and that is going to count for something.

Thanks for reading! .

Posted: Thursday, December 01, 2011, 11:06 PM

T-P beat writer John Reid discusses Chris Paul’s uncertain future with Hornets.

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New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul and forwards Trevor Ariza and Quincy Pondexter went through a voluntary workout at the team’s Alario Center practice facility on Thursday morning under the direction of Paul’s personal trainer.

By Thursday, the ranks are expected to swell to four with the arrival of guard Jarrett Jack, another of the five players under contract. Center Emeka Okafor is out of the country as is guard Marco Bellinelli, to whom the Hornets tendered a qualifying offer prior to the 149-day NBA lockout.

Trainer Idan Ravin of Washington, D.C.’s Water Street Gym, has worked with Paul for the past several years as a personal trainer. He said Thursday the work he put Paul and his teammates through on Thursday – just more than an hour on the court, was merely an extension of the work he has done with Paul throughout the offseason.

“This is just continuing what we’ve already been doing for the last five months,” Ravin said. “I work with Chris so much, but this was getting the players more acclimated to his intensity to his speed and his mental appoach as well, to kind of ramp up their intensity a little bit before training camp starts.

“I’ve been with Chris for a while. He’s just continuing at the same pace. There’s a culture around Chris Paul that’s important, and everyone else has to become acclimated to it. That’s why I like bringing his teammates in because they understand that culture, that winning environment, that seriousness and intensity.”

Paul has routinely brought teammates into his workouts prior to the beginning of training camp, which ordinarily would have begun Oct. 1. This year, because of the labor dispute, training camp begins Dec. 9.

Ravin said his focus Thursday was on-court work.

“Just to improve their efficiency, their spacing, their speed and conditioning and skill work,” Ravin said. “Kind of more of a game-like environment confined to the parameters of a basketball court.”

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

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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What do you guys think about this.

Read More: David West (F – NOH), New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are among the teams to express interest in New Orleans Hornets free-agent forward David West, reports Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, citing a source. West, a two-time All-Star, exercised the early termination option in his contract, forgoing the final year of his deal, valued at $7.5 million according to ShamSports.

Wednesday was the first day teams were allowed to contact free agents following the NBA lockout, though they cannot sign players or offer contracts to them until Dec. 9, which is unusual by NBA standards, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.

West, an eight-year veteran, owns career averages of 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 49 percent shooting from the field. An excellent mid-range shooter, West has teamed with Hornets point guard Chris Paul to form a potent pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop attack. In his most recent season, West, 31, posted per-game averages of 18.9 points, 7.6 boards, and 50.8 percent shooting in just 35 minutes.

For more Wizards coverage, please visit Bullets Forever, SB Nation’s Wizards blog. For a complete list of 2011 NBA free agents, please visit SBNation.com.

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Beginning Tuesday morning, NBA general managers, including Hornets GM Dell Demps, can begin contacting the agents for potential free-agent signees, the league informed member clubs on Tuesday night, according to sources.

No contracts can be signed, however, until the signing period begins on Dec. 9.

Also, the NBA instructed teams to open their practice facilities to players under contract beginning Thursday for informal workouts.

Coaches will not be allowed to be present during player workouts, nor will general managers. Workouts can be open to the media along with one club public relations representative.

Team GMs will be allowed to contact player’s representatives beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Hornets currently have five players under contract – Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, Jarrett Jack and Quincy Pondexter, along with holding the rights to Marco Bellinelli thanks to a qualifying offer made prior to the beginning of the 149-day lockout.

With training camp scheduled to open on Dec. 9, the Hornets would only be able to practice with six players on the first day. Players could sign contracts that day, but would need to pass physicals before being allowed to work with teammates on the court, meaning a delay of one or possibly two days before the Hornets could work out at full strength.

That’s all for today.

Published: Monday, September 26, 2011, 10:37 AM     Updated: Monday, September 26, 2011, 11:30 AM

That’s all the news for today.

Hornets point guard Chris Paul married his longtime girlfriend, Jada Crawley, this past Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

A number of teammates and celebrities attended the wedding, including the Miami Heat’s LeBron James and his girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and his wife, LaLa, and Heat star Dwyane Wade and his girlfriend, Gabrielle Union.

Hornets General Manager Dell Demps and Coach Monty Williams also attended — with league permission. The league is in a work stoppage that forbids team personnel from having contact with players without league consent.

There were no reports of Paul predicting a formation of a big three involving himself, Anthony and Amare Stoudemire with the New York Knicks as he did last year during a toast at Anthony’s wedding reception in New York.

Paul can opt out of his contract with the Hornets after the 2011-12 season.

Paul’s brother, C.J., tweeted: “I had a ball yesterday. Congrats to my lil brother CP3 and his wife, Jada. We partied last night so hard!”

•••••••

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

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New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul married his long-time girlfriend, Jada Crawley, this past Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

A number of celebrities attended the wedding that included Miami Heat forward  LeBron James and his girlfriend Savannah Brinson, New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and his wife LaLa, and Heat star Dwyane Wade and his girlfriend Gabrielle Union.

Hornets General Manager Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams also attended, team officials said.

Paul’s brother, C.J., tweeted:“I had a ball yesterday. Congrats to my lil brother CP3 and his wife, Jada. We partied last night so hard!”

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