New Orleans Hornets

It is difficult for me to properly convey the joy in my heart as a New Orleans Hornets fan at the outset of the 2011-12 NBA season. The Hornets top players left, David Stern mismanaged the Chris Paul trade and the national media left us for dead. However, early on in the NBA season, the Hornets are undefeated which is more than many so-called superior teams can say. Take a closer look at five “random” NBA teams with worse records than the Hornets.

New York Knicks: 1-1

The first indication that Chris Paul wanted to leave the Hornets was when he indicated that he’d like to play for the Knicks. New York played horribly in the 2011 NBA Playoffs and things aren’t much better in this NBA season. The only thing keeping the Knicks from being winless is an early season NBA matchup versus the old Boston Celtics.

Boston Celtics: 0-3

I’m sure most Celtics fans will blame their 0-3 start on the loss of Paul Pierce. However, the Hornets are still undefeated in this NBA season despite Jarrett Jack and Eric Gordon each missing a game. The Hornets won their home opener over the Celtics by 19 points. It may be awhile before the Celtics are contenders in the NBA again.

Dallas Mavericks: 0-2

Of all the NBA teams with worse records than the Hornets, the Mavericks have been the least impressive. The 2011 NBA champions look like a totally different team this year. I thought Lamar Odom would help compensate for the loss of Tyson Chandler, but I was mistaken. The Hornets should finish ahead of the Mavs in the Southwest Division.

Los Angeles Lakers: 1-2

I was mortified at the prevalence of Lakers fans in the New Orleans Arena during the Hornets NBA Playoff series versus L.A. I wonder what all of those fans are thinking now. David Stern laid waste to the Lakers in the failed trade with the Hornets. Once one of the best teams in the NBA, the Lakers may no longer be the best NBA team in L.A.

Los Angeles Clippers: 1-1

I still can’t figure out why Chris Paul preferred playing for the Clippers to the Hornets. The Clippers never make the NBA Playoffs and the Hornets usually do. Early on, it looks like the Clippers need more than Paul and Blake Griffin to become an elite NBA team. I can’t wait for the Hornets to play the Clippers in New Orleans on March 22.

Other “random” NBA teams with worse records than the Hornets

Chicago Bulls: 1-1, Orlando Magic: 1-1, Utah Jazz: 0-2, Memphis Grizzlies: 0-2

Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Sources

“2011-12 NBA Season Summary,” basketball-reference.com

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New Orleans Hornets

I don’t think any NBA team had a more tumultuous start to their season than the New Orleans Hornets. Not only did they lose Chris Paul and David West, but the delayed trade pushed everything back in the Hornets training camp. However, the Hornets acquired a superstar in Eric Gordon and New Orleans went undefeated in the preseason. The Hornets got off to a winning start with an incredible 85-84 win over the Phoenix Suns.

New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns

I thought New Orleans had a golden opportunity to get off to a good start against the Suns. Although they still have Steve Nash and Grant Hill, the Suns are clearly an aging team in decline. However, the Suns still have a decent reputation around the NBA, so a Hornets win would give a young New Orleans team an early dose of confidence.

Of course, I was curious to see how the new Hornets looked against the Suns. I knew Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman would come out ready to play to prove they should have been shown more respect by their former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon scored 20 points and Kaman added 10 off the bench.

I was also impressed with the play of Greivis Vasquez. The former guard of the Memphis Grizzlies showed good ball-handling skills and a nice outside shot. Overall, the guard play of the Hornets was outstanding, considering they were without Jarrett Jack. New Orleans made up for poor 3-point shooting by holding the Suns to 39.5% shooting.

Many of the Hornets fans are what I’d call casual NBA fans. If they are not already familiar with Eric Gordon, they are in for a pleasant surprise. Trailing by one point late in the game, Gordon hit an outside jumper to give the Hornets an 85-84 win over the Suns. I think the Hornets are out to prove they will be playoff contenders in 2012.

Looking ahead

After a day off on Tuesday, New Orleans will begin their home schedule on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics. If the Hornets can outrun and outgun another aging NBA team, the rest of the league may start to take notice. Monty Williams has already proven he’s capable of getting the Hornets off to a fast start in the NBA.

Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Sources

CST broadcast of the New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns

“New Orleans at Phoenix,” yahoo.com

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The top 5 NBA shooting guards for 2012

Prediction for the 2012 Western Conference Playoff teams

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

 

The New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets have resubmitted to the NBA a trade that would send Chris Paul to the Lakers, according to multiple reports Saturday.

The deal is “still on life support, even though people tried to kill it,” a source close to the situation told the Los Angeles Times.

According to the few details known about the new deal, Paul goes the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and Houston still sends Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Hornets, Yahoo! Sports reported.

Trade talks had resumed late Friday after NBA commissioner David Stern nixed a seemingly finished three-team deal that would have sent the four-time All-Star to LA.

The Lakers had agreed to send Pau Gasol to Houston and Lamar Odom to New Orleans as part of the original proposed deal. The Rockets would have traded Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic to the Hornets. New Orleans also would have obtained a 2012 first-round pick from Houston.

Stern was forced to defuse a storm of criticism over the league’s shocking veto of the initial deal. In a statement issued Friday, Stern said the league’s decision, since it owns the New Orleans Hornets, was in the “best interests” of the team from a basketball standpoint.

The New York Times reported Friday the NBA has directed Hornets general manager Dell Demps to find a younger set of players in exchange for Paul to better ensure the long-term success of the Hornets.

The Hornets are trying to trade Paul because the 26-year-old has made it clear he will not sign an extension, and is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

The team’s trading partners are limited, however, since no team will likely trade for Paul unless he commits to signing a long-term deal.

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.

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.