With a new owner, new nickname, and a pair of lottery picks in the 2012 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets (or whatever they end up getting called) are entering a new era as a team. It could be the boost that helps fans forget about Chris Paul and look towards a potentially promising future. However, that can’t happen if the team doesn’t make some upgrades this off-season which should include signing restricted free agent Eric Gordon to a contract extension.
New Orleans Hornets (21-45 last year)
2011-12 Season Summary:
When the Hornets dealt superstar Chris Paul last off-season, the franchise knew it would experience a transition period. However, that transition was even more painful than anticipated; literally painful. Injuries riddled the roster this past season as only the New Jersey Nets had more players miss games due to injury than the Hornets who ended up finishing with the third worst record in the NBA.
The most impactful loss was Eric Gordon; the key piece of the Paul deal and expected cornerstone of that transition period. Gordon only played in nine games due to neck and back issues, and the team was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension which makes the talented shooting guard a restricted free agent this off-season.
Besides Gordon, a knee injury sidelined Emeka Okafor for 39 games. Key contributors Trevor Ariza, Chris Kaman, Jarrett Jack, Carl Landry, and Jason Smith combined to miss 110 games. Those injuries forced Gustavo Ayon, Greivis Vasquez, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Marco Belinelli into primary roles which explains why the team only won 21 games.
Perhaps the most important news for the Hornets is that they finally found a new owner. The league held control of the franchise for sixteen months until Saints owner Tom Benson purchased the team to help assure they would remain in the Big Easy. Finally being released from the grasp of league ownership, the franchise will enter a new era under Benson beginning with a nickname change as “Angels” or “Spirit” is expected to replace “Hornets.” A new breath of life is just what this organization needed. Now let’s see if that can spark a quick turnaround with the product on the floor.
2012-13 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Emeka Okafor
PF: Gustavo Ayon/Jason Smith
SF: Trevor Ariza/Al-Farouq Aminu
SG: *Eric Gordon/Xavier Henry
PG: Jarrett Jack/Greivis Vasquez
NBA Free Agents:
*SG-Eric Gordon (RFA)
C-Chris Kaman (UFA)
PF-Carl Landry (UFA)
SG-Marco Belinelli (UFA)
G-Jerome Dyson (UFA)
PF-Lance Thomas (UFA)
C-Darryl Watkins (UFA)
2012-13 Team Salary: Approximately $36.8 million (w/o Gordon)
Team Needs:
1. Extend Gordon: As I mentioned earlier, Gordon and the Hornets were unable to agree to a contract extension during the season making Gordon a restricted free agent. I would imagine priority number one for the new ownership will be locking up Gordon to a long-term deal despite his injury issues this past season. More than likely, New Orleans will match any offer sheet Gordon may sign with another team. Therefore, Gordon either signs an extension with the Hornets or plays out the final year of his rookie contract that will earn him about $5.1 million and becomes an unrestricted free agent next season. If the latter happens, New Orleans will have to consider trading Gordon rather than risk losing him next off-season and getting nothing in return.
2. Power Forward: Jason Smith and Gustavo Ayon give the Hornets decent depth at power forward but neither is truly a starting caliber player. With Carl Landry a free agent, the Hornets should be in search for a long-term solution at power forward. That is why I think Kansas’ Thomas Robinson would be the ideal draft pick with the Hornets likely top four selection.
3. Draft Wisely: With two lottery picks, the Hornets have a terrific opportunity to add a pair of young, talented players and help accelerate their re-building effort. The last two times the franchise picked in the top ten, they ended up with CP3 and Baron Davis. Hitting a home run with both of their picks and not selecting some guy who is out of the league in three years (i.e. Julian Wright) is certainly not an exact science, but capitalizing on the opportunity will be vital for the future of the team.
4. Amnesty Okafor?: Emeka Okafor is due more than $28 million over the next two seasons. That’s an obscene amount of money for someone who has averaged ten points and nine rebounds per game in his three seasons in New Orleans. Add in his nagging knee injury and the Hornets might want to use their one-time amnesty clause on Okafor which save them a ton of cap space.
5. Another Big: If Okafor is amnestied, this becomes a major need. Even if Okafor does return, the Hornets will look to add another center to replace free agent Chris Kaman and also provide insurance in case Okafor can’t stay healthy.
OTHER NBA TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
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David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.