New Orleans Hornets – NBA Season Preview
Well, all of the drama is over with, as New Orleans was finally were able to ship out disgruntled guard Chris Paul. While that likely means that the coming season will likely be one to forget, things are sure looking bright down the road.
Odds to win:
Title : 200/1
Conference : 75/1
Division : 50/1
The Hornets were said to covet three things in a deal for Chris Paul. Eric Gordon, Stephen Curry, and the Timberwolves unprotected first round pick for the 2012 draft. As the old saying goes, two out of three ain’t that bad.
They did pick up Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, and the above mentioned first round choice of the Wolves. So while this season doesn’t look to be one of the better deals in franchise history, they have definitely acquired the pieces to be taken seriously in the future.
It remains to be seen how they spread their minutes around, though, and I think one thing that is for certain is that we will see Gordon in the starting lineup all season long; health permitting. Jarrett Jack is the only capable lead guard on the team at this moment, so it’s likely he’ll get the nod there.
With the back court in decent shape, that leaves three spots for a number of talented players.
You have Aminu and Trevor Ariza battling for the three position. Then a quartet of players vying for time at the four and five spots. Jason Smith, Carl Landry, Kaman, and Emeka Okafor. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Okafor has been generally known as an undersized five man his whole career, but this may be the opportunity to get him in at the power forward spot on a regular basis.
If they go to battle with a starting five of Jack, Gordon, Ariza/Aminu, Okafor, and Kaman, they could do worse. The issue that arises is the lack of depth. They are going to have to find another point guard at some point. That much is for certain.
They do however, have another young player in Quincy Pondexter that could play the two, three, or four spot if he makes the progression that people expect of him. Beyond that however, the roster is pretty thin.
The only other noteworthy player at this time is Marco Belinelli, and he was a pretty below average player last season aside from him being able to shoot the three at a decent clip.
While I think everyone realizes this is going to be a tough year for the Hornets, there is plenty of hope for the future. This season will be about the progression of the young talent. Most notably Gordon. If they can bring in another point guard, they may be able to compete for one of the lower seeds in the West, but as it stands right now it will be difficult.
