reflections
June 22nd, 2007 Desmond Mason: Hornet or FA in July?

By 808Hornetsfan

HornetsNews.com takes a look at the three free agents who may be leaving the Big Easy in early July. Which will the Hornets retain, and which will the Hornets let walk this summer? We finish up our week-long preview with veteran G/F Desmond Mason.

Desmond Mason

2007 Season: 75 games, 75 starts, 13.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.5 apg

Mason arrived in a time of transition for the Hornets. Hurricane Katrina had just swept through the city of New Orleans, and the team was still getting used to their temporary home, Oklahoma City. Desmond was a key player in the Hornets big turnaround in 2005, and he continued to lead the team with his strong play. Mason is considered to be one of the top defenders at his position, and his production on the court shows why.

On a injury-plagued Hornets roster, Mason was the only player in the starting lineup that was able to play in every game. That streak ended towards the end of the season when Mason was elbowed in the face by Sonics F Chris Wilcox during a game against Seattle. The injury required season-ending surgery on his nose, and the Hornets failed to reach the playoffs without him. In a way, much of the success of the past two seasons was thanks to D-Mase, who played in 145 games while starting in 130.

The seven-year veteran will turn 30 in October, but he has yet to show signs of his age. In fact, Mason’s high-flying dunking abilities are still as good as they were when he was the Slam Dunk Champion back in 2001. With that in mind, management must take some time to evaluate Mason’s last two seasons, and decide if he can play a big role in getting the Hornets into the playoffs next year.

Desmond Mason

With the Hornets expected to sign only a few players in free agency, it doesn’t look to well for the fans who want Mason back with the team next season. A player like Desmond will be sought after by a handful of teams, and his market value will have GM’s willing to pay a hefty salary to get him.

With Mason gone, a big hole opens up at SF, and the only way to fix that is by drafting a swingman with the 13th overall selection. Whether or not a rookie can fill in that hole, well, that remains to be seen. All we can hope for is a consistent player that can anchor our perimeter defense as well as hit shots from anywhere on the floor, two things Mason did for us for two seasons.

Desmond Mason

So at this point, it looks like the Hornets will part ways with Desmond this July. Who knows what the future holds without #24 on our squad, but we must move on. Perhaps Mason finds the perfect team that can get him what every basketball player dreams of getting, a championship ring. I wish him good luck on the rest of his NBA career, his time here as a Hornet will not be forgotten.

Desmond Mason: FA

This concludes our preview of the upcoming free agency period, the Hornets will have some tough decisions to make on who to keep for next season. One key contributer, Jannero Pargo, already opted out of his two-year deal last week, so we may see a lot of changes ahead. Tomorrow we’ll give you the entire list of Hornets free agents, and explain who will stay and who will go. Only six more days until the 2007 NBA Draft!

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