reflections
May 30th, 2007 Welcome Home

By 808Hornetsfan
After two years of entertaining thousands of fans in Oklahoma City, the Hornets will finally return to New Orleans this summer and begin training for the upcoming season. Byron Scott not only brings back a much healthier roster to the Big Easy, but a much more solid foundation of young stars such as Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler.

Before the Hornets were forced to evacuate the city in August of ‘05, the organization was at a turning point. Old stars such as Baron Davis, David Wesley and Jamal Mashburn had all moved on, leaving behind an 18-64 squad full of inexperienced youngsters. GM Jeff Bower quickly went to work building a roster that could compete for a championship in a few years, his first move involved drafting the young Chris Paul.

When you compare the the Hornets current team to the ‘04-05 team, you’ll see that Bower has built himself a roster full of young playmakers and quality veterans. The only move that has yet to work out is, the signing of Peja Stojakovic, but I don’t count that move as a bust. Peja averaged 17.8 ppg in the 13 games he played in ‘06, and the Hornets went 8-5 in that span. So basically, Bower’s smart planning has rewarded him with a team full of potential.

Chris Paul

One of the things that I will be excited to see this season is watching the 2008 NBA All-Star game live from New Orleans Arena. Fans from across the country will be getting a chance to represent their teams and players in one of the loudest arenas in the NBA. The weekend will also include many other events that will generate support for the victims of Hurrican Katrina that are still in need of assistence. Hopefully, point guard Chris Paul can represent the Hornets during the actual All-Star game, perhaps as a reserve or possibly a starter… Well, maybe in the future.

Armed with the 13th selection in the draft this June, the Hornets will be focusing on drafting the perfect SG/SF that can be a key scorer on this balanced offense. Forward Desmond Mason will be a free agent this summer, and it may take a high price to get him back in a Hornets uniform. Part of management’s decision will be based on Chris Paul’s upcoming contract situation. The most likely scenario will result in Mason signing with a new team and the Hornets saving money to extend Paul’s contract beyond 2010.

The next 30 day shall be very interesting as Draft day approaches. Hornets fans throughout New Orleans will finally get to see their team play for the first time in quite a while. The New Orleans Saints went 10-6 in their first season back in the Superdome, and made it all the way to the NFC Championship game in the NFL playoffs. Could the Hornets suprise the NBA as well with a playoff run??

New Orleans Arena

We’ll have to wait and see….

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