There was plenty of intrigue hours before the New Orleans Hornets met the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, resulting from a player-coach spat that forced Kings Coach Paul Westphal to banish starting center DeMarcus Cousins from Power Balance Pavilion.

Westphal, who indicated that Cousins had demanded a trade, calling that “just the tip of the iceberg,” told Cousins to stay at home instead of coming to the arena to play against the Hornets.

The Kings were visibly undermanned in the post and along the front line, but they nonetheless scored an emotional 96-80 victory against New Orleans as Westphal, who has a 49-115 record with the Kings in his first two seasons, desperately tried to regain control of his team’s direction.

The way Sacramento played in the second half, overcoming the Hornets’ inside advantage by increasing defensive intensity and finding shooting range, Westphal’s actions seemed well received.

“I think it’s time for this solution,” Westphal said. “You can only have so many chances, then something has to be done. It’s time that something has to be done.”

With Cousins out of the lineup, Sacramento was forced to go with undersized, 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes in the middle, sliding 6-9 J.J. Hickson over to Hayes’ customary power forward spot.

The Hornets, with the superior size of 6-10 Emeka Okafor and 7-footers Chris Kaman and Jason Smith, dominated Sacramento on the glass, which kept New Orleans close despite another miserable shooting effort, especially in the first half.

New Orleans had a plus-12 rebounding advantage through the first half, 36-24, and had 14 offensive rebounds.

Nonetheless, Hornets Coach Monty Williams was certainly not conceding any advantages despite the void left by Cousins’ absence.

“For us, we’re in no position to do that,” Williams said. “We’re undermanned (shooting guard Eric Gordon missed his third straight game with a bruised right knee). They have young bigs over there who can step up. They’ve got (J.J.) Hickson, they’ve got (Jason) Thompson. Those guys have been chomping at the bit wanting time.

“Obviously Cousins is a big part of what they do. He is, in my opinion, one of the best bigs in the league. So when you have a situation like that, guys will want to step up and show they deserve more minutes. And we can’t allow that to mess with who we are. We have to go out there and play the Kings and not what their lineup might look like.”

Williams had good reason for his concern.

The Kings increased their defensive pressure in the second half, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on New Orleans mistakes, while heating up from the field just enough to build a substantial cushion.

Cousins has had his difficulties with Westphal since coming into the league last year as a rookie.

By Sunday, after a reported shouting match between the two following the Kings’ 114-92 loss to the Knicks, Westphal had had enough.

Sacramento players were caught off guard when they arrived at the arena to learn of Westphal’s actions.

“I think that each individual player will have a different way of looking at it,” Westphal said. “At the same time, we have a game tonight, we’re going to go play it, and we’re going keep trying to build this team with the people who want to take it in the same direction that everybody wants to go.

“I think, I hope that DeMarcus has a change of heart and joins up with full reinstatement. That’s all up to him. I hope that. This will give him the best chance to do that, and if he chooses not to do that, then we’ll be better off moving forward in the same direction. It’s just something that I think the team can use to band together, which is the most important thing for a new team.”

Certainly on Sunday night, Westphal’s message had gotten across to the rest of his team.

Sacramento battled back in the second half, building a lead of as many as 20 points while the Hornets appeared to be settling for too many outside shots and playing generally carelessly.

The Kings were led by Tyreke Evans, who had 27, while former LSU and Hornets guard Marcus Thornton put in 25 and John Salmons had 13.

For the Hornets, Kaman had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Okafor 13 and 12 and Trevor Ariza had 17 points.

Sacramento’s starting backcourt of Evans and Thornton outscored Hornets starters Jack and Belinelli 62-12.

New Orleans did not make a 3-point basket in 15 attempts, breaking a club record.

Westphal, in a statement he issued late Sunday afternoon, says he took the drastic step because of continued difficulty with Cousins.

“When a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.”

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

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

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry never had a problem with his team’s effort and figured it was only a matter of time before the Suns would snap out of their shooting slump and secure their first victory of the young season.

Hakim Warrick scored 18 points in a reserve role, Channing Frye added 10 points and 16 rebounds, and the Suns handed the New Orleans Hornets their first loss, 93-78 on Friday night.

“When you look at the schedule and you’re 0-2, you think there’s a chance you’ll go 0-66,” Gentry said. “You look at the schedule after you win and you say, ‘Oh, we can do this or we can do that.’ It’s all psychological … though. You’ve just got to go out and play. We’ve been doing a good job of competing, but our offense has been so stagnant. Tonight, we got out and ran.”

Jared Dudley added 16 points, while Steve Nash dished out 12 assists for the Suns, who had shot 40 percent through two losses to open the season, including one to New Orleans in their home opener Monday night.

“We made a few more shots, but more than that, we continually created offense,” Nash said. “To be consistent in creating good offensive opportunities was a step in the right direction because in the first game against New Orleans, I thought we missed some shots we usually make. But in our second game (against Philadelphia), we just looked really hesitant, out of synch and kind of like we were dumbfounded a little bit.”

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), the second worst shooting performance in team history.

“We’ve got scorers on this team. Everybody on this team can average double-digit points. Just the ball didn’t fall,” Landry said. “It’s unusual for a team to shoot (29) percent for the game. Unfortunately that was something we did tonight. It will turn around.”

Gentry thought his team’s intensity on the defensive end, more so in terms of contesting shots than rebounding, played a big role in the Hornets’ shooting struggles.

“We did a great job of challenging everything at the rim,” Gentry said. “It wasn’t our offense. It was our defense that won the game.”

Suns center Marcin Gortat scored 12 points and blocked four shots 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 in this first week of the season.

The Hornets had 23 second-chance points, but could have had a lot more if not for their shooting woes.

“We didn’t play hard, and that’s a sign I didn’t do what we needed to do … to have the team ready,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean. That happens on occasions, but our defense was not there tonight.”

The Hornets got away with poor shooting in the first half, 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 was unable to get any closer than nine points after that.

New Orleans hit only four of its first 20 shots (20 percent), but trailed only 16-14 at that point. Halfway through the second quarter, the Hornets were 10 of 35, but still trailed by only four 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 — when Belinelli hit his second 3 and Greivis Vasquez set up Okafor’s dunk to make it 52-45 at halftime.

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That’s all the news for today.

LMAO dude you should be pissed at your team, players, or coaches not the team that whipped your arses….so were you screaming at the hornets when kg,rondo, and the rest of the celts were screwing up..wow!!!

Feel free to leave your comments below.

The descriptions regarding expectations for the New Orleans Hornets this season have run the gamut, all in the negative. Last in the West. Third-worst in the NBA. Train-wreck. Headed for the bottom.

Ghastly.

“That’s just fuel for the fire,” said power forward Carl Landry, ready to embark on his first full season in New Orleans — and first as the starter at that position — tonight when the team opens the season at Phoenix. “That makes us want to go out there and work that much harder to win ball games and prove everybody wrong.

“Most of the guys on this team have been the underdog most of their lives. It’s nothing new to any of us. All (Coach) Monty Williams and the front office expect of us is to go out and play hard, and that’s what we did in the first two preseason games (both against the Memphis Grizzlies) and what we’re going to continue to do for the rest of the season.”

A year ago, even with two veteran All-Stars (Chris Paul and David West) providing 40 percent of the team’s starting lineup, no one expected the Hornets to run off eight consecutive wins to open the season with a rookie head coach calling the shots, extending that to an 11-1 mark that helped create an excitement that carried through to a first-round playoff appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

But this edition of the Hornets’ roster is void of superstar faces with the exit of Paul.

And when Paul went to the Los Angeles Clippers, any positive vibes regarding a possible postseason return for the Hornets went with him.

At least by way of the national media’s way of thinking.

Williams has seen the dismal assessments. He said he really can’t disagree with the projections.

“To be honest with you I think they’re right on point,” Williams said. “They’re right to not expect anything from us. We’re inexperienced. We don’t have a group that’s been together for a while. We have a relatively young team.

“What people expect out of us, I try not to get caught up with that. Maybe you can use it as motivation, but I know that everybody is thinking this is going to be a down year for us. It never crossed our minds. We don’t talk about it, and we certainly won’t give in to it.”

The Hornets will be short-handed in the backcourt tonight against the Suns because starter Jarrett Jack will be serving a one-game, league-imposed suspension for a driving under the influence incident during last year’s All-Star break.

Who starts at point guard against Phoenix has yet to be determined.

Landry will be taking over the power forward spot occupied by the departed West — he signed as a free-agent with the Indiana Pacers — since 2003.

It’s possible that newly acquired Eric Gordon could man the point, and Marco Belinelli — last season’s starter at the two-guard spot — will be back in that role for the one game before returning to the bench for Wednesday night’s home opener against the Boston Celtics when Jack returns and Gordon assumes the off-guard starting spot. Or the Hornets could go with newly acquired Greivis Vasquez at point guard.

The trade of Paul also bolstered New Orleans’ bench, bringing former All-Star center Chris Kaman and promising small forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

Additionally, Hornets reserve forward/center Jason Smith has another season of experience, which, Williams said, greatly improves his team’s depth. Gordon’s foot speed, and Landry’s quickness also provide upgrades.

After a lockout-truncated training camp and just two preseason games, tonight’s regular-season opener should provide a better understanding of whether the Hornets will live down to the grim prognostications.

“We have so many guys who are in a different role,” Williams said. “Jarrett is the starting point guard. Marco was a starter last year. Now he’s coming off the bench. We have a new starting power forward. Jason wants a bigger role this year. Kaman, he wants to play.

“We’re a bit faster than we were last year. Eric is explosive, probably more explosive than anybody we’ve had since I’ve been here. Trevor (Ariza) is explosive. Jack pushes the ball. Carl is a bit more athletic than David was, but David is so skilled, so it’s hard to say. I do know our backup five is a ton better than most people in the league’s backup five. Chris Kaman could start on a number of teams and may end up starting this year. You just never know.”

That’s all the news for today.

Posted: Wednesday, December 21, 2011, 10:41 PM

Jason Smith discusses his play, and the team’s effort in win vs. Memphis Grizzlies.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The New Orleans Hornets opened the post-Chris Paul era with a preseason victory.

Jarrett Jack scored 24 points, Quincy Pondexter and Emeka Okafor added 12 apiece to help the Hornets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 97-90 on Friday night.

The Hornets, playing their first game since the trade of Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers this week, scored six straight points to take a 95-89 lead.

“That was some business that really didn’t concern us,” Jack said of the team moving on without Paul. “That was a decision the team made, and Chris made. We just played hard. That’s what we hang our hat on each and every night.”

Trevor Ariza scored 11 points for New Orleans, and Carldell Johnson finished with 10, while playing only in the fourth quarter.

Tony Allen led Memphis with 17 points, while Rudy Gay and Jeremy Pargo scored 15 each. O.J. Mayo had 12, but was 5 of 15 from the field.

None of the players acquired from the Clippers in the trade — Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu — were available for the game. That left the Hornets with only 14 players dressed out, half of them without any NBA experience.

» Cavaliers 91, Pistons 87: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Kyrie Irving’s first exhibition game was a success.

Irving scored 21 points — including five free throws in the final minute — in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ victory over Detroit. The Pistons nearly rallied from an 11-point deficit, but they turned the ball over with a chance to tie and Irving helped seal the win from the line.

The Pistons went on a 10-0 run to cut Cleveland’s lead to one. Irving’s free throw with 30.6 seconds left made it 87-85, and Greg Monroe lost the ball in the low post on Detroit’s next possession.

Irving wasn’t in the starting lineup, but he looked comfortable in what was a sloppy game. Both teams have a lot of work to do before their season openers Dec. 26.

At halftime, Cleveland was shooting 33 percent and had 14 turnovers. Detroit was at 30 percent and 10 turnovers. The teams were sharper in the final two quarters, but this was by no means a masterpiece.

» 76ers 103, Wizards 78: At Washington, Wizards coach Flip Saunders cursed. He raised his voice. He spared no criticism, including of point guard John Wall.

Saunders ripped his best player — “He was bad,” the coach said — and most of his team for a poor-passing, cold-shooting, weak-defending display in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the first of two post-lockout exhibition games between the teams.

With new 76ers owner Josh Harris sitting behind a baseline, Lou Williams scored 19 points, and Evan Turner — chosen second behind No. 1 overall pick Wall in the 2010 draft — added 16. Relying on the core that led them to last season’s playoffs, the 76ers shot 51 percent in their first game since Harris’ group completed its purchase in October.

» Bulls 95, Pacers 86: At Indianapolis, the only thing about the Indiana-Chicago matchup that resembled a preseason game was the fact that it didn’t count in the regular-season standings.

The crowd was juiced up, and fairly large number of red-clad fans made the trip from Chicago to watch the Bulls beat the Pacers in a preseason opener for both teams that looked more like an extension of last season’s intense first-round playoff series.

Derrick Rose and Luol Deng each scored 16 points, C.J. Watson had 15, and Taj Gibson added 12 for the Bulls. New guard Richard Hamilton was in uniform but didn’t play.

Tyler Hansbrough had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers. Danny Granger scored 12 points for Indiana, but was just 5 for 17 from the field. Indianapolis native George Hill scored three points in his first game in a Pacers uniform after being acqured from San Antonio.

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The New Orleans Hornets will have one more familiar face for Wednesday’s practice: shooting guard Marco Belinelli. Bellinelli has accepted the team’s qualifying offer, extended prior to the beginning of the 149-day lockout.

As a restricted free agent, Belinelli could have received an offer sheet from another team, with the Hornets having an opportunity to match.

In 80 games last season, Belinelli averaged a career-best 10.5 points per game. The native of Bologna, Italy is entering his fifth NBA season.

The Hornets now have six players in camp who spent the bulk of last season with the team and one more who was on the roster at the end of the regular season.

New Orleans’ qualifying offer to Belinelli was worth $3.377 million.

That’s all for today.

While one New Orleans Hornets All-Star awaits his fate, another could be on the way out. The Hornets are negotiating a sign-and-trade agreement with Boston that would send two-time All-Star forward David West to the Celtics, league sources said. Some reports have the Hornets acquiring center Jermaine O’Neal in the deal, but it could not be confirmed Saturday night.

West, 31, opted out of a contract that would’ve paid him $7.5 million this season. The Hornets had pursued re-signing him.

Meanwhile, guard Chris Paul, who played with West for six seasons, is awaiting word on a second attempt at a trade that would send him to the Lakers.

The Hornets would liked to have had West back, and Paul’s situation had no bearing on his decision.

“David made it very clear that he loves Chris, but they are not connected at the hip,’’ Hornets General Manager Dell Demps said Friday. “We have talked to David and his representatives.’’

West, a first-round pick by the Hornets in 2003, tore his left anterior cruciate ligament last season and required reconstructive knee surgery. If he joins the Celtics, he would battle for playing time behind Kevin Garnett. Former Orlando Magic and LSU power forward Brandon Bass recently was acquired by the Celtics in exchange for former LSU forward Glen “Big Baby’’ Davis.

With West out of the picture, it might lead to the Hornets zeroing in on re-siging Carl Landry, who was acquired last spring after West was injured.

Landry’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said they were still having conversations with the Hornets and several other teams. The Hornets had hoped to sign West and Landry.

Landry, who came from Sacramento in a deal for fan favorite Marcus Thornton, averaged 11.8 points with New Orleans and was its primary low-post scorer.

“We have a lot of free agents that we’re hoping to bring back,’’ Demps said. “We had some guys that had some really good seasons last year that helped us get to the playoffs.’’

Forward Trevor Ariza said he has had conversations with West, Landry and guard Marco Belinelli, who is a restricted free agent.

“Of course, you would love to have those guys back, but at the same time I do understand that it is a business,’’ Ariza said. “And that’s how they have to approach it, doing what’s best for them and their families to the fullest.

“It’s tough. David West has been here for so long. Carl and Belinelli were here last year and were a big part of our team, and they are not here right now.’’

GRAY WEIGHS OFFER: Free-agent backup center Aaron Gray is considering signing a one-year contract offer from the Toronto Raptors.

Gray averaged 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Hornets last season. He made a significant contribution off the bench in the Hornets’ first-round playoff series against the Lakers last season.

BLOG ISSUES: Hornets Coach Monty Williams isn’t a fan of the reports on the Internet about Chris Paul’s future and his team’s unsettled roster.

“It’s just a lot of speculation, blogging and tweeting,’’ Williams said after Saturday’s practice. “I’d rather tongue-kiss a maggot than tweet or blog. It’s freakin’ unbelievable. I really would.

“I don’t know how guys find time to, `Hey, I’m tying my left shoe, here goes the right, stay tuned for details.’ ’’

There is the quick update of the day.

Chris Paul(notes) could get traded much sooner than anticipated, playing into the hands of teams like the Los Angeles Laker or Los Angeles Clippers. According to ESPN, people in the front office of the New Orleans Hornets want Paul to agree to a contract extension before the regular season begins. If that hasn’t taken place, it has become very likely that he will get traded to another team.

This is where things are going to get very interesting, especially because the teams that most want to trade for Paul simply don’t have the assets to get it done. I reported last week how Paul wants to play for the Knicks, but that is one franchise completely devoid of tradable assets. Sure, Knicks fans would love to see Carmelo Anthony(notes), Amare Stoudemire(notes) and Paul running up and down the court every night, but the executives would have to convince New Orleans that trading for Chauncey Billups(notes) is what they want to do.

The Lakers would have to give up some serious assets to make a trade happen, and while they do have the parts like Pau Gasol(notes) and Lamar Odom(notes) to get it done, the Hornets may not want to help out the Lakers that much. This leaves a host of second-tier teams like the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Clippers all expressing interest. The Warriors are an interesting team, because they have young assets like Stephen Curry(notes) and Klay Thompson(notes) that could give the Hornets an instant boost on offense. The trick here is convincing Paul to sign a contract extension with the team.

The Clippers are also an interesting suitor for Paul, especially because they could partner him with Blake Griffin(notes) for many years to come. That would bring a lot of excitement to Staples Center again, but the team would have to give up quite a lot of their younger players in order to get that deal done. It is starting to seem more and more likely that a deal is coming though, even if the Hornets don’t get back equal value for their All-Star point guard.

It definitely looks like Paul has no future in New Orleans, and speaking for the front office down there, the team needs to make a trade before the NBA preseason games get started. Doing that will avoid the in-season drama that the Denver Nuggets had to go through with Carmelo Anthony last season and it will allow the team to move on to that next chapter quickly. That is especially helpful if the Hornets are trading for young players that need the court time to develop over the full 2011-12 season.

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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.

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As the New Orleans Hornets begin preparing for their 10th season, fans are anticipating the first game of the year. Since moving to New Orleans from Charlotte in 2002, the Hornets are 7-2 in season openers. Furthermore, while New Orleans has qualified for the playoffs in five of its nine seasons, each of those five playoff teams began the year with a winning record.

As a Hornets fan, I am hoping for a great start to the 2011-12 Hornets season and would love to see a victory to kick things off. Below are my Top Five season openers for the New Orleans Hornets.

1. October 30, 2002 vs. Utah Jazz

The team, playing its first game as the New Orleans Hornets, outscored the Jazz 32-11 in the fourth quarter to secure a 100-75 win in its new city. Guard Baron Davis(notes) led the Hornets with 21 points and forward Jamal Mashburn contributed 16. The team finished 47-35 in coach Paul Silas’s final year, but did not advance past the first round of the playoffs.

2. October 29, 2003 vs. Atlanta Hawks

New head coach Tim Floyd’s one-year Hornets career began with an 88-83 overtime victory over the visiting Hawks. Davis contributed 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals for New Orleans. Although the team won five of its first six games, the Hornets finished with a final record of 41-41 and suffered another first-round playoff exit.

3. November 1, 2005 vs. Sacramento Kings

After a miserable 2004-05 season (18-64) in coach Byron Scott’s first year, the city of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina before the start of the 2005-06 season. As a result, the team would spend the next two NBA seasons as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Regardless of where they played their games, the Hornets, like the NFL’s Saints, were Louisiana’s team. In their first game after Katrina, the Hornets defeated the Kings 93-67. Rookie guard Chris Paul(notes) contributed 13 points and four assists in his first NBA game and quickly became a hero to many in a city that would face major rebuilding.

4. October 31, 2007 vs. Sacramento Kings

With the “Oklahoma City” dropped from their name, the Hornets began their best season in franchise history by defeating the Kings 104-90. Paul led the Hornets with 22 points and Peja Stojakovic(notes) added 19 against his former team. New Orleans finished the year at 56-26, won the Southwest Division and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.

5. October 27, 2010 vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Last season the Hornets began the year with an 8-0 record, including a 95-91 victory against the Bucks on opening night. New coach Monty Williams led the team to a final record of 46-36, but the Hornets were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round once again. Fans like me are looking for improvement this year and hoping to see the Hornets advance further in the 2011-12 NBA postseason.

Mike Patton grew up in New Orleans cheering for the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Cubs, and LSU Tigers. He is a fan of all New Orleans teams, including the Hornets and the UNO Privateers. Follow Mike on twitter @MikePattonGBS.

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With rumors swirling again about his desire to play for the New York Knicks, Chris Paul appears to be bracing for a season unlike any of his other six seasons with the New Orleans Hornets. On the same day Paul participated in his first volunteer workout at the Alario Center since the 149-day lockout ended, a report came out in Yahoo! Sports on Thursday saying his agent told the Hornets the All-Star point guard would not sign a contract extension and wants to be traded to the Knicks.

But two league sources confirmed after the story broke that Paul’s agent, Leon Rose, never made the request to the Hornets.

“It is just rumors; you can’t control it,’’ Paul said. “It’s always going to happen, and it’s part of the game. I’m just happy to be back with my team.’’

Whether the Hornets trade Paul or he opts out after this season remains unknown. Paul has yet to disclose his plans, and Hornets General Manager Dell Demps was not available the past two days to address the situation.

But sources indicate the Hornets still aim to sign Paul to a long-term extension. However, the Hornets have listened to several trade offers from teams interested in acquiring Paul.

Publicly, though, Paul appears as if he expects to remain with the Hornets. Earlier this week at a charity event in New York, Paul said his heart remains in New Orleans.

“Right now, we only have five people on the roster,’’ Paul said. “I think our most important thing right now is trying to figure out what guys like D. West are doing, too. He’s like a brother to me. I’ve never played a season without him, so (I’m) trying to communicate with him as much as possible.’’

Paul said Thursday he’s had conversations with Hornets forward Trevor Ariza on how they can get their team better, and that’s important right now.

Yet, if Paul indicates he is not interested in a long-term deal to remain in New Orleans, Demps is likely to pursue the best trade offer available that would give the team maximum value in return to keep the franchise from having to rebuild as Cleveland was forced to do when LeBron James left in free agency to join the Miami Heat. The Cavaliers finished 19-63 last season under former Hornets coach Byron Scott.

Desiring talent to make another playoff run, it does not appear beneficial for the Hornets to trade Paul to the Knicks. The Knicks gave away most of their assets to obtain Carmelo Anthony in an extend-and-trade deal last season.

The Knicks are not likely to part ways with forward Amare Stoudemire or Anthony. After those two, the Knicks’ next best player is 35-year-old point guard Chauncey Billups, who likely doesn’t fit in the long-term plans Demps and Coach Monty Williams would have if Paul is no longer around.

If Paul opts out at the end of the season and goes to the Knicks, he would earn $4 million less than the $17.7 million left on his deal for the final year with New Orleans.

Paul has made frequent trips to New York the past several months because he was a member of the players association’s executive committee that took part in labor negotiations with the league.

“I’ve been back and forth to New York 18 times this summer, and I was engulfed in all that,’’ Paul said. “I just now had time to actually see my family and actually take a deep breath and realize I’m finally getting a chance to play basketball.’’

The Paul-to-the-Knicks speculation has been swirling since he suggested at a toast during Anthony’s wedding in 2010 that he and his close friend should team with Stoudemire to formulate a Big Apple trio that’s similar to the Miami Heat’s trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who made it to last season’s NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks.

Since the first day he joined the Hornets in 2005, Paul has aimed to win. He has suggested in the past that he wants to win now instead of having to wait.

Paul has leverage to scare off some teams the Hornets could pursue trading him to because of the threat of not signing an extension. If he’s traded to a team and decides not to sign an extension, that franchise would have him for this season before he could opt out.

There was an ESPN report Wednesday saying Paul would not sign an extension with the Celtics if he was traded to Boston.

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

That’s all for today.

Just six months after undergoing surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, longtime New Orleans Hornets forward David West on Thursday received full medical clearance to resume his NBA career.

West opted out of the final year of his contract with the Hornets on June 27 and will be a free agent when the league and the players association agree to a new collective bargaining agreement.

“Cleared today by the DOC…Kne is Gucci!!! Back at it…,” was the pronouncement on West’s Twitter account Thursday afternoon.

West injured the knee March 24 in a game at Utah and had knee surgery April 12 in New York City where Dr. David Altchek reconstructed the torn ligament. The original diagnosis for complete rehabilitation was six to eight months.

But West, who said at the time of his injury that he would approach his rehab with the mentality of a boxer, has worked sometimes twice daily five days a week to return the knee to full strength and function as quickly as he could.

West, along with his agent, Lance Young, visited Altchek on Thursday, at which time, Young said Thursday afternoon, Altchek proclaimed the knee virtually 100 percent.

“He was pleasantly surprised to get the news that the doctor said everything almost seems to be back to as good as new,” Young said. “It was a six-month check-up. (Altchek) said, “If I did a bunch of tests on both knees, I couldn’t even tell you which knee had the surgery. In the next couple weeks, if not now, I’d think you would be 100 percent.’

“That’s some really good news. He said, ‘I don’t need to see you anymore. You’re the doctor now. If it gives you any soreness or anything, just tone it down a little bit.’ But David has had no problems, no soreness with it.”

In a interview in late June, three days before apprising the Hornets of his decision to walk away from the final year of his contract that would have paid him $7.5 million, West said, “I’m not worried about my knee. I started rehab two days after my surgery, and really haven’t stopped. Even before the surgery, I was going through rehab. I’ve kept that momentum. I have total confidence in my knee.”

When West informed the Hornets of his opt out, he did not close the door on re-signing with the team which drafted him in the first round in 2003.

“We’ll have to talk to them,” West said then. “The Hornets have an opportunity. But I’m looking for an opportunity to win, honestly. We’ll see how things work out and what the Hornets do to make our situation better.”

The Hornets have only six players currently under contract and, as every other team, have been unable to make any upgrades because of the NBA lockout, which commenced on July 1.

Young affirmed Thursday that a return to the Hornets for West was still a possibility.

“I think it’s a level playing field right now,” Young said. “I don’t think there’s any team he’s looking at more than any others. He just wants the best situation for him and his family and to win. That’s the bottom line. He’s stuck by that since Day One when he opted out.”

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

Comment Below!.

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.