The New Orleans Hornets play at the Utah Jazz tonight at 8 at EnergySolutions Arena (19,911). The game will be televised on CST and broadcast on 106.1-FM.

Notable: This is the second of a back-to-back for the Hornets who played Sunday night at Sacramento . . . .Utah last played on Saturday, a 104-89 loss at San Antonio. . . . This is Utah’s second home game of the season.

Utah

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. PPG*

Gordon Hayward F 6-8 210 9.0

Paul Millsap F 6-8 253 13.3

Derrick Favors C 6-10 248 9.3

Raja Bell G 6-5 210 2.8

Devin Harris G 6-3 192 10.5

Reserves: J. Howard, F/G, 11.0, E. Kanter, C, 5.0, C. Miles, G/F, 8.5, J. Tinsley, G, 0.0, A. Jefferson, F, 14.7

Hornets

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. PPG*

Trevor Ariza F 6-8 210 9.3

Carl Landry F 6-9 248 17.0

Emeka Okafor C 6-10 255 9.0

Marco Belinelli G 6-5 195 10.3

Jarrett Jack G 6-3 197 16.5

Reserves: G. Vasquez, G, 6.7, C. Kaman, C, 8.7, A. Aminu, F, 2.0, J. Smith, F/C, 4.7.

*Statistics through Saturday’s games.

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Hakim Warrick scored 18 points in a reserve role, and the Phoenix Suns won for the first time this young season while handing the New Orleans Hornets their first loss, 93-78 on Friday night.
Channing Frye added 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns, who had opened the season with two losses, one to New Orleans in their home opener Monday night. Jared Dudley added 16 points, while Steve Nash dished out 12 assists.
Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon missed a second straight game with a bruised right knee, and this time New Orleans could not compensate for the prolific scorer’s absence.
Carl Landry led New Orleans with 17 points, while Emeka Okafor had 10 points and 16 rebounds, but the Hornets shot only 29 percent (26 of 90).
Marcin Gortat scored 12 points while playing with a splint on his injured right thumb. Shannon Brown added 11 points and Grant Hill 10 for Phoenix, which shot 42 percent (33 of 78). Warrick was 6 of 12 from the floor and 6 of 7 on free throws.
Jarrett Jack scored 12 points and Marco Belinelli grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which outrebounded Phoenix 57-47 and had 24 offensive boards, more than any team in the NBA so far this season.
The Hornets had 23 second-chance points, but could have had a lot more if not for their shooting woes.
The Hornets got away with poor shooting through the first half, keeping the game close with defense and rebounding, but it finally caught up with them halfway through the third quarter, when they were still just below 30 percent again (17 of 59).
Nash pulled up for a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 61-51 lead. Dudley then scored inside after baiting Chris Kaman to leave his feet on a ball fake. Frye followed with a 3 from the corner that fell through after a high bounce off the rim. Then Gortat capped a 10-0 run with an inside basket that made it 68-51.
New Orleans responded with a brief 10-2 surge but was unable to make up enough ground to get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.
New Orleans hit only four of its first 20 shots (20 percent), but trailed only 16-14 at that point because of its typically tough defense and rebounding.
The Hornets were 10 of 35 halfway through the second quarter, but still trailed by only four at that point after Okafor’s free throws.
Soon after, the Suns raced to their first double-digit lead when Nash fueled a 6-0 spurt with fast-break feeds to Hill for a layup and Warrick for a dunk, making it 43-33.
New Orleans finally got over 30 percent — barely — in the final minute of the second quarter when Belinelli hit his second 3 and Greivis Vasquez set up Okafor’s dunk to make it 52-45 at halftime.
Notes: Brown got a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing with officials. … Suns coach Alvin Gentry also was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. … New Orleans entered the game having won four straight against Phoenix, including the last three meetings last season. … A near scuffle occurred early in the fourth quarter between the Suns’ Robin Lopez and New Orleans’ Trevor Ariza, who were each assessed technical fouls, but Brown and Jack quickly stepped between them before it escalated. … New Orleans’ offensive rebound total was higher than they had in any game last season.

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That’s all the news for today.

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.

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by Paul Coro – Dec. 27, 2011 11:16 AM
The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

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There is the quick update of the day.

In his preseason debut, newly acquired New Orleans Hornets center Chris Kaman made a strong first impression in Wednesday night’s preseason finale against the Memphis Grizzlies. With Emeka Okafor sitting out to rest, Kaman made a big presence inside from his scoring ability off pick-and-roll plays that helped the Hornets rout the Grizzlies 95-80 at the New Orleans Arena.

Kaman finished with 18 points and had four rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Hornets acquired Kaman, guard Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu last week in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for four-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul.

The trio made their much anticipated debut Wednesday and Gordon had 17 points and Aminu scored six.

It was the kind of performance to make Coach Monty Williams feel encouraged with less than a week to prepare for their season opener against Phoenix Suns.

Though they are still learning Williams’system, Kaman, Gordon and Aminu all gave glimpses of what they can become to help the Hornets.

When Jarrett Jack’s or Gordon’s drives were cut off by Grizzlies defenders, they looked frequently to Kaman, who attacked the basket for layups. Kaman started the game hitting five of his first nine shots.

Gordon delivered from the perimeter, hitting three of five shots from behind the 3-point-line. In 29 minutes, Gordon also showed he can handle ball under pressure on the perimeter and spot open shooters quickly. He had four assists and grabbed four rebounds.

Aminu was unable to provide much offensively, but he made an impact by forcing Grizzlies star Rudy Gay into taking difficult shots. At the start of the game, Gay had little trouble establishing his rhythm against small forward Quincy Pondexter, who started in place of Trevor Ariza, who sat out the game.

Gay made his first six shots before Aminu came in and forced him to miss his first attempt. Aminu, though, became overaggressive during a stretch in the first half, picking up three fouls in seven minutes. He ended the game with five fouls.

Kaman missed 50 games with an ankle injury last season for the Clippers, but he’s fully recovered now and it was evident by the way he ran floor. He was quick to cover defensively, especially on the high post and when the Hornets pushed the pace offensively, he got to spots quickly.

Rookie Lance Thomas, whom Williams said has practiced well, started ahead of Kaman. But once Kaman entered early in the first quarter, he dominated the minutes.

For this season, Williams plans to use various lineups this season that could have Kaman and Okafor on the floor together.

A priority for Williams, however, was seeing how well his team would defend a tough Grizzlies team that have proven scorers with forward Zach Randolph and Gay. But the Hornets held Memphis to only 17 points in the second quarter and just 16 in the third. For the game, the Grizzlies shot 37.8 percent.

“We’re a defense-first team and it takes talent to run the kind of defense we run,’’ Williams said.

After slow start, Pondexter got his rhythm established and finished with 14 points. Forward Jason Smith, who signed a three-year contract last week, delivered with clutch shooting and he was active around the post defensively. He made 6-of-12 shots for 12 points.

Trying to earn a roster spot, New Orleans native Carldell “Squeaky’’ Johnson didn’t score 10 points in the fourth quarter like in did in last Friday’s 97-90 preseason victory against the Grizzlies. However, Johnson made a no-look pass to Kaman in the first quarter. He finished the game with tow point and four assists. Trey Johnson, also contending for the backup spot, had four points in nine minutes.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

What do you guys think about this.

The five must-see New Orleans Hornets games this season. Check out the full schedule here.

Dec. 28 vs. Boston Celtics. The regular-season home opener, nearly two months late, provides fans with perhaps the final opportunity to see the Celtics’ “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. It’s unlikely Boston will be able to keep this group together beyond this year. And it will give fans the chance to see just what kind of Hornets’ roster the team will have put together in the compressed free-agency period, as well as whether New Orleans was successful in retaining Chris Paul and re-signing forward David West.

Jan. 11 vs. Oklahoma City. This will be the only opportunity for New Orleans’ fans to see the Thunder, expected by many to contend this season for the Western Conference title. Oklahoma City is led by reigning NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook, one of the most potent combinations in the league. The Thunder pushed eventual NBA champion Dallas to the brink in the conference finals last summer. OKC plays just this one game in New Orleans Arena.

Jan. 21 vs. Dallas Mavericks. The defending NBA champion, with NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, aging point guard Jason Kidd and the league’s most dynamic off-the-bench player, Jason Terry, play the first of two games against the Hornets in New Orleans, where Dallas has had recent difficulty winning. It’s uncertain whether the Mavs will have retained the rights to former Hornets center Tyson Chandler, a free agent, who was an integral part of the Mavs’ first-ever championship in beating the Miami Heat.

Feb. 8 vs. Chicago Bulls. The best player in the league – at least that’s what it said on his most valuable player trophy last year – Derrick Rose brings the Bulls here for a game that was originally scheduled as the Hornets’ regular-season opener on Nov. 2. It just takes place three months later than expected, thanks to the 149-day lockout. Rose leads a young Bulls team that is expected to seriously challenge the star-studded Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference title.

March 14 vs. Los Angeles Lakers. That’s a long time to wait for the Lakers, who eliminated the Hornets in six games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, to make their only appearance in New Orleans Arena. And less than one month later, sandwiched around the Hornets’ only game against L.A. on its home floor (not counting two against the Clippers who also play in Staples Center), the Lakers return to New Orleans on April 9.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

The beginning and end of the New Orleans Hornets newly released schedule pose favorable scenarios for a fast start and a similar ending, depending, of course, upon what kind of roster the team can put together before opening night. Check out the full schedule here.

NBA schedule-makers could have been much harsher on the Hornets this season, but New Orleans gets by with just one back-to-back-to-back set of games out of possible three, while the entirety of the compressed 66-game slate released by the NBA Tuesday night looks quite similar to the original schedule made moot by the 149-day lockout.

New Orleans opens the season on the road Dec. 26 against the Phoenix Suns, as expected because the building adjacent to New Orleans Arena will be busy as the Saints play a Monday Night game against the Falcons.

Yet half of the Hornets’ games this season will take place as originally scheduled, including what becomes the regular-season home opener on Dec. 28 against the Boston Celtics.

The shortened schedule also benefits the Hornets in that they’ll play defending champion and Southwest Division foe Dallas only three times – two at home – instead of the customary four. The same holds for Houston.

New Orleans picked up one additional nationally televised game by one of the league’s cable network affiliates. In the original schedule, as well as the new one, the Hornets play the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 17, televised by ESPN.

But the league also gave the Hornets another national game, this on TNT, at Golden State on April 24. Six other games will be televised by NBA TV, and Cox Sports Television will telecast 65 of the 66 games, the exception being that TNT game against the Warriors.

Of the 33 games on the new schedule identical to the original schedule released in July, 19 Hornets’ home games retain the same date and opponent, while the same can be said for 13 games on the road.

There was one marquee casualty from the two months lost to the lockout: New Orleans fans will not receive a visit by defending Eastern Conference champion Miami, though the Hornets play at Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh on Jan. 30.

The Knicks, originally scheduled to play the Hornets here on April 4, will not play in New Orleans Arena this year.

On the road, the Hornets will not travel to Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington or Philadelphia and make only one visit against the Lakers, while Los Angeles, and new coach Mike Brown, come to New Orleans Arena twice, on March 14 and April 9.

The Hornets will play 12 Eastern Conference teams just once and three (Chicago, Charlotte and Indiana) twice.

An interesting wrinkle because of the shortened schedule – 16 games were eliminated from the customary 82-game calendar – is several back-to-back home games in New Orleans Arena including three in March, the penultimate month of the season.

The NBA is extending the regular season until April 26, with an expected start of the first round of the playoffs one week later than customary, on April 28.

New Orleans will play 10 of its first 17 and 12 of the first 19 games this season at home, including two in December (Celtics and Suns on Dec. 30) and 10 in January, a month that features four road-home back-to-backs. The Hornets were 28-13 last season in New Orleans Arena.

There are several pockets of the schedule that appear daunting.

The Hornets will play five games in eight nights away from home from Feb. 15-22 (including the only back-to-back-to-back), four games on the road in five nights Mar. 5-10, and five game in seven nights away from Mar. 26-Apr. 1.

April’s schedule could prove to be critical.

The Hornets have their longest home stand of the season, five games, from April 7-15 when teams could be jockeying for playoff position.

Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

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With the first 19 games on the New Orleans Hornets’ schedule already canceled because of the lockout, Coach Monty Williams admits he can’t go many places without people asking whether the season is going to be played at all. Despite not knowing what’s going to happen, the labor uncertainty hasn’t put a damper on Williams’ spirit. With two of his children beside him, Williams was jovial Thursday night while passing out turkey dinners to students who have excelled in the attendance incentive initiative of the New Orleans Recovery School District’s Emerge Program.

“I know everybody is tense about all the things that are going on, but I’m trying to find the blessing in it all and make the most of it,’’ Williams said. “There is nothing we can really say. For me, it’s not my deal. I wish I had more answers. If I had more answers, I might get fined.”

Whenever the lockout ends, Williams will practically be starting from scratch, similar to how he did last year in his first season before leading the Hornets to their first playoff appearance since 2009.

With only five players under contract, Williams might have to implement his system to a majority of unfamiliar players again.

At this point, neither Hornets General Manager Dell Demps nor Williams know whether they can re-sign forward David West, who opted out of his contract at the end of last season. They don’t know whether Hornets free agents forward Carl Landry and shooting guard Willie Green will return.

Since the lockout began July 1, all NBA coaches and general managers have not been permitted to contact players nor discuss the labor impasse through the news media. If the lockout ends, teams will be given up to a month to sign free agents and complete their roster before the season begins.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time at home with my kids, being able to go to volleyball and basketball practices,’’ Williams said. “I can stay up a little later and read more.”

Despite game cancellations, Williams and his staff have tried to stay busy by visiting a number of colleges to observe coaching staffs.

Williams said they have made visits to Tulane and LSU. Demps has visited North Carolina and Duke, and lead assistant Randy Ayers has visited Temple and several other schools on the East Coast.

“We’ve sent everybody out to bring back information to see what we can use,’’ Williams said. “It’s been really good for me because I’m still trying to get better at my craft.

“What happened last year was special, not only for me as a coach but for our players, and we want to build on that. The only way we can do that is continue to work by research and talking to people who know more.’’

Williams said he meets with his staff once a week at the Alario Center. Williams said they go through walkthroughs as a staff when they put in new plays.

“For me, it’s all about preparation and being ready when called,” Williams said.

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

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It’s a crucial year for the Hornets. Chris Paul can opt out of his contract with New Orleans after this season, and it goes without saying that the franchise would be devastated if Paul left the team. Here are a few ways that the Hornets can build on their spirited first-round performance against the Lakers last season:

- Get Healthy:

After battling injuries for the better part of two regular seasons and seeing his PER drop from 30 in 08-09 to 23.75 in 09-10 and 10-11, Chris Paul used the first round of the playoffs to show everybody that when CP3 is on his game, he’s as good as anybody in the league. Paul is almost unquestionably the league’s best ballhandler and one of its best passers, and he’s turned himself into one of the league’s best outside shooters as well.

If his knees can stay healthy for a full season, he could give the Hornets a fighting chance at getting into the playoffs and winning a series or two all by himself. He’s that good.

David West is CP3?s sidekick on the court, but a torn ACL suffered late in the year kept him out of the playoffs and could cause him to miss a significant portion of this season. If Paul and West both have healthy knees coming into the playoffs, the Hornets could make some noise. If they don’t, it’s hard to envision them as serious contenders.

- Get Players:

It’s not a state secret that the Hornets’ roster is incredibly thin. Outside of Paul, Jarrett Jack, Emeka Okafor, West, and Trevor Ariza, the Hornets don’t have much, and the team desperately needs to stock the roster with some quality role players and veterans (in other words, not Marco Belinelli), who can knock down the open shots that Paul creates and play some defense.

- Stay Defensive:

The secret of the Hornets’ return to the playoffs was their improved defense. Under Monty Williams, the Hornets were a top-10 team in defensive efficiency last season. If the Hornets can maintain their commitment to defense and become the best defensive team in the Western conference (only the Lakers and Mavericks had a higher defensive efficiency in the West than the Hornets did last season), and simply let a healthy CP3 do his thing on offense, they could end up being a very tough out in the playoffs.

That’s all the news for today.

All or part of it might never come to pass, but the New Orleans Hornets’ 2011-12 schedule released by the NBA on Tuesday is rich with extended trips, as well as attractive early home games that could also be lost should games be canceled.

The Hornets are tentatively scheduled to open at home Nov. 2 against the Chicago Bulls and reigning league MVP Derrick Rose, then host the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat with its big three of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James on Nov. 9 at the New Orleans Arena.

Both those games could be in jeopardy, however, if history repeats from the last NBA lockout that erased 32 games of the 1998-99 regular season, which didn’t begin until February 1999.

Home games against the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks (Dec. 21) and Boston Celtics (Dec. 28) also are tenuous.

Three of New Orleans’ four games scheduled against the Mavericks are in the first half of the season, the part of the year most likely to be wiped out, based on past history.

If that holds true, the Hornets would lose six home games against Western Conference playoff teams of a year ago, and six home games against last season’s Eastern Conference playoff participants.

New Orleans could also lose one of its two scheduled nationally televised games if the first part of the schedule is lost. The Hornets are on the TNT schedule Thanksgiving night for a game at the Los Angeles Clippers, as well as the ESPN broadcast slate for a Feb. 17 game at the New York Knicks.

Six Hornets games are scheduled for telecast by NBA TV. More could be added, if the season is played, because of the flexibility the league employs in its national TV scheduling, especially later in the season.

The Hornets also are scheduled for a four-game-in-five-night trip Feb. 15-22 (at Cleveland, New York, Indiana and Dallas), just before the tentative All-Star break, another four-in-five trip from March 5-10 (at Portland, Sacramento, Denver and Minnesota), and a four-game-in-seven-night trip March 26-April 1 (at the Clippers, Golden State, Portland and Phoenix).

If the lockout eliminates games through January, as the last did (the 1999 season began that year for the Hornets on Feb. 5) there are 41 games — half the regular season — scheduled from Feb. 1 until the end of the season in 2012, 19 at New Orleans Arena, 22 on the road.

Should the schedule be played in its entirety — which appears unlikely given that no collective bargaining sessions have been held since the work stoppage commenced July 1 — the Hornets would have several extended road swings, the first of which is a five-game in nine-day trip to the West Coast, including that TV game against the Clippers.

New Orleans would follow that up with another six games away from home in the first three weeks of December.

From a positive standpoint, the regular-season’s two home games against the Los Angeles Lakers (March 14 and April 9) are each in the second half of the season, which could be salvaged based on previous lockout history.

The Hornets are only scheduled to play at the Lakers once, on Nov. 6.

New Orleans has 14 games against Western Conference playoff teams from last season in the final 41 — seven at home, seven away. The Hornets are scheduled to play seven games against Eastern Conference playoff teams from last season, five of those on the road.

The schedule has the Hornets playing three Western Conference foes three times: Phoenix (two road, one home), the Lakers (two home, one road) and Utah (two home, one road).

Don’t etch plans in stone, though. It’s likely should part of the season be lost because of labor unrest, the league will revise much of the schedule that was released Tuesday.

Comment Below!.

The NBA on Thursday announced NBA Development League affiliates for the coming season, placing the New Orleans Hornets with the Iowa Energy, based in Des Moines.

New Orleans’ previous D-League affiliate, the New Mexico Thunderbirds, was purchased by the Cleveland Cavaliers and relocated to Canton, Ohio.

The Energy is the current league champion. Also affiliated with the Energy this season will be the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.

Gotta run!.

In response to Jimmy Smith’s article on New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams, nola.com reader babyboi5 wrote:

“Even though my prediction of the Hornets winning the championship this season fell short, I am very proud of what they accomplished. This team battle through adversity and obstacles all season long and still made it to the playoffs. Yeah, we came up short, but that’s ok. SETBACKS are SETUPS for COMEBACKS. I believe we’ll come back stronger next season.

Looking at the roster we had this season, our coaching staff did a WONDERFUL job with our players. Now, it’s time to reload and get more firepower on offense and more size on defense. Coach Williams and GM Demps must upgrade the SG position. A lot of people might think it’s impossible to bring back Marcus Thornton, but I don’t. He’s a restricted FA-all we have to do is sign him to a nice contract and see if Sacramento will try to match it. Thornton didn’t want to leave the Hornets and I believe his heart is still w/the Hornets. Coach Williams, GM Demps, CP3, and maybe David West need to reach out to Thornton and sell him on the idea of being our starting 2 guard.

Also, need to re-sign Carl Landry (w/o Landry on this team, Hornets don’t make the playoffs or beat the Lakers in Games 1 & 4). Re-sign Willie Green as well-Willie did a nice job for us. Not a starter, but a nice role player for us. I hope in the offseason Quincy Pondexter polishes up his game in the offseason so he can be another scorer coming off the bench.

As far as free agents will need to go after, a lot of people want us to go after Tyson Chandler. I’m not too optimistic that we can outspend Mark Cuban to bring him back. Unless Chandler wants to take less money, I don’t see it as a strong possibility that we’ll see TC as a Hornet again. I think we need to focus our efforts on looking at

Greg Oden (yes, I said Greg Oden)
Samuel Dalembert
Al Thornton
Ryan Hollins (reminds me of a young Tyson Chandler)
Nazr Mohammed
Jamal Crawford
Troy Murphy
Jason Kapono
Nick Young
and don’t forget, Marcus Thornton

Those names aren’t big, but they are enough for what we need. We don’t need to break the bank this offseason, especially with the 2012 offseason list of FAs. We need a solid, legit SG (M. Thornton, Young, or Crawford), another PF (Murphy, Dalembert) & C (Oden, Hollins), and a 3pt specialist (Kapono). We get those guys and I see the Hornets going far.”

What do you guys think about this.