Okay, enough Metallica. (Bobby Brown titles probably would've been more apt). Going into this offseason, there were four guys all (reasonable) Hornets fans had their eyes on. All are small forwards, all are between 6'5" and 6'8", and all are now off the market with different teams. Of course, I'm talking about Kelenna Azubuike, Mickael Pietrus, James Posey, and Josh Childress.

Did we choose correctly?

Josh Childress signs 3 year, 20 million deal with Olympiakos BC (Greece)

It doesn't look like a ton of money, but it is. As ClipperSteve of Clips Nation notes:

"If [JChill's] tax liability is a total of 41%, that means his take home is 59% of what he makes. $6.67M divided by .59 equals $11.3M. He’d have to make over $11M per season in an NBA contract with the Hawks to make the equivalent of his reported Greek contract... Brand got more from Philly [but] he’s [still] getting Baron Davis money."

Throw in the fact that there's opt-out clauses after each season and that Olympiakos finished 2nd in its league last year, and this decision makes sense.

On top of all that, the Atlanta Hawks reportedly offered 5 years and $36 million. That's far more than anything the Hornets could've offered Childress. So J-Chill was actually pretty un-obtainable, not like previously thought. Only we we get him is if we unload Mike James' contract and then throw a ridiculous overpayment at him.

Taking on-court production and market value into consideration, not chasing Childress was unequivocally the right move.

Good thing none of our players have ever lived in Greece. Oh wait.

Mickael Pietrus signs 4 year, 25 million deal with Orlando Magic

It's interesting how similar this deal is to Posey's. Both are reportedly 4 year, 25 mil. with performance incentives and contract structure the only likely differences. (I also believe Pietrus has a 3rd year ETO).

At the end of the day, I feel like Posey's terrific DRB% and better individual defense are more valuable than Pietrus' younger age and better ball-handling/shot creation. Plus, Pietrus is a terrible foul shooter. The real sealer is the fouls/36 minutes stat: 5.5 from MP versus just 3.6 for Posey. Many have praised Pietrus' defensive abilities, but he fouls way too much to fit New Orleans' defensive scheme (fewest opp. FT/FG) of last year.

James Posey signs 4 year, 25 million deal with New Orleans

You can read my longer analysis, but to sum it up quickly: we paid too much, but there are certain situations where paying too much is the right move.

Overall, that fourth year still scares me. My justification for it is that we wouldn't have gotten the first three years from him without having to live through the fourth. In a cap-space sense, not a great deal. But purely financially, it makes a little more sense given the Darrell Arthur for 3 million trade.

Kelenna Azubuike signs 3 year, 9 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers of Los Angeles

With Golden State's signing of Mo Evans, Azubuike is "officially" a Clipper. And this deal pains me the most.

He's 24, has shot 20 points better from three than Pietrus or Posey, has DRB% just a shade shy of Posey, fouls less than Posey, has the athleticism to be a better defender than Posey, can actually create his own shot.

Based on the new definition of the offer sheet in the new CBA, New Orleans could've offered up to 3 years, ~16.5 mil., significantly dwarfing the Clips' offer.

It's a definite risk to assume that Azubuike could even be close to the defender Posey is, for at least the next 2-3 years. Practicality says Posey was the more bankable sign. But there will always be that question... what if we had snapped up a cost controlled 'Buke as a bench staple for the next several years?

Bobby Brown's been lighting up the summer league. (Note: Let it be known that I was/am the first official member of the Bobby Brown bandwagon). And now, he may end up getting an NBA or overseas gig for the upcoming season. Marc Stein of ESPN has more details:

Though he's not a pure point and frequently has to be reminded by coaches to be more vocal, Brown has become an NBA player. And that's according to numerous expert witnesses in Vegas as opposed to a shameless rooter like me...

...Consider, for example, that my Maccabi Tel-Aviv is suddenly trying to lure Brown to Israel as a marquee foreign signing. That's a big step up from where Brown was last season, helping Germany's Alba Berlin win the Bundesliga title.

But Brown's also getting enough NBA interest now to conceivably land the guaranteed deal that would enable him to stay home. New Orleans wants to bring him to training camp and had Chris Paul call Brown to invite him to compete for minutes as CP3's backup. I'm hearing that the Warriors like him just as much, if not more, which must be why Nelson could be spotted at most of Brown's games.

Come on, Jeff Bower/George Shinn! You're gonna be paying the luxury next year unless you cut some salary. Here's a fantastic opportunity staring you right in the face- let Pargo walk and let Brown be the 3rd string point. Please. Please. Please.

Speaking of Brown, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram has a video interview with him.

And speaking of video interviews with Bill Ingram, here's one of Hilton Armstrong.

Back to the same Stein article: he also chimes in on the James Posey deal:

...[D]on't look for me to join the chorus of concern that the Hornets overextended themselves to sign the 31-year-old to a four-year deal worth about $25 million. I love the move.

I can't deny that I was not-so-secretly expecting owner George Shinn to make his checkbook hard to find after the Hornets re-signed Paul to a max contract extension earlier this month. But showing an immediate willingness to spend some more to get Posey as the lead acquisition to address their leadership and depth shortcomings suggests that Shinn isn't satisfied with one breakthrough season.

And one last tidbit from Stein:

In New Orleans, though, it's hard to top Byron Scott's ambition. The NBA's reigning Coach of the Year shared that he hopes to eventually develop young (and long) swingman Julian Wright into a backup for Paul at the point. Pretty interesting if it actually happens someday.

Ha ha ha.

Charley Rosen's Q&A piece for FOX Sports is pretty interesting. He starts with some Posey (mostly Celtics related) stuff before delving into the nuances of the following question:

After watching Tyson Chandler have so much success in slapping the ball back to Chris Paul, this seems like a highly effective maneuver. What do you think? Also, if he does tip the ball to a teammate, does Chandler get credit for a rebound?

NBA players will take on professional bowlers in October in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hmm. NBA players who like to bowl, hailing from Winston-Salem... oh yeah, that Chris guy. The Mount Airy News explains:

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and Paul's CP3 Foundation announced today the creation of the inaugural Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by the brands of Ebonite International which will be televised on ESPN.

The Invitational will take place at the AMF Major League Lanes in Winston-Salem on Sept. 20 taped for broadcast on ESPN, airing on Oct. 19...

“I am thrilled to have a PBA event be a major part of my charity weekend and bring some of the best bowlers in the world to Winston-Salem,” said Paul. “I always tell people that I am a bowler first and a basketball player second, so I know this event will be an ultimate test of my bowling skills.”

The Hornets Report Boards have the low-down on next year's new jerseys. As bonitapplebum87 says:

If I could post the pics I would guys but I don't wanna get in trouble. Anyway, my friend Soso on the first page gave you an accurate description except it should be a little more like this:

Home:
White with creole blue and purple pinstripes going through the jersey. Name and number is in creole blue.

Away:
Creole blue with purple and gold pinstripes going through the jersey. Name and number is in gold.

*Both jerseys have New Orleans across the chest. Unless there are last minute changes I won't be aware of, there will be no NOLA on the jersey. However, there is a very cool new logo with NOLA coming out of a trumpet...I thought it was pretty dope.

I haven't seen the actual jersey, just pics.

Thanks for the neat info!

Moving on to the big Posey signing and various internet reactions- Hoops World tracked down Julian Wright and got his thoughts on the signing:

"I think he's going to be a great add," Julian Wright told HOOPSWORLD at the Las Vegas Summer League. "He obviously has a lot of playoff experience, a lot of experience period, and that's what the Hornets have been looking for."

Posey joins the Hornets bench as Wright is working to earn more minutes as a role player. However Wright sees his new teammate as a contributor, not competition to his game. Posey is an outside shooting, perimeter defender whereas Wright has been asked by Bower and Scott to become a more aggressive offensive playmaker.

Indeed. The more I think about it, the more I realize how well the two complement each other. In some ways, Posey is an "old" JuJu, but in many other ways, they're very different players.

Check out this comments section on the Lakers' blog Forum Blue and Gold. The general consensus among L.A. fans is that the Posey signing is a great fit for the Hornets and that New Orleans and the Lakeshow will be duking it out for a Finals appearance next year. As reader and Laker fan Darius says:

I’m sorry to say this, but the Hornets are stacked. They have scorers at almost every position, they have interior and perimeter defenders, they have post offense, and they have Chris Paul and that deadly high P&R. Can you imagine a crunch time line up of Paul, Posey, Peja, West, and Chandler? Who do you leave to stop penetration? I understand that Peja and Paul aren’t the best defenders (understatement, I know) but West is decent and Posey/Chandler are pretty strong for their positions. I’m not shaking in my boots or anything, but those guys are (mostly) young, hungry players that just got a ton of experience in a brutal conference and have a lot of confidence based off of last season.

Good to see that our opponents respect the move.

FOX Sports' Mike Kahn discusses the "Horry aura" surrounding James Posey and ponders whether the deal was worth it. In the end, he comes to this conclusion:

All things being equal, Posey will be a factor for the Hornets because of his experience and ability to maximize his impact in a limited amount of minutes... But he won't be the difference. So the rest of the Hornets better had better grow up over the next two seasons, or they'll regret those third and fourth years of the contract sooner than later.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

FOX, hate as I must your news station, your sports analysis is actually kind of good.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering why SI has been slipping in popularity recently, look no further.

I know y'all have been dying, waiting patiently for @tH's spin on the Posey deal. So at long last, here it is.

The figures and facts have been marinating for a few days in my head now. My initial gut reaction was "Yes!!" My secondary gut reaction was "NOOO!!!!" I think I've finally moved past those.

I'll start by stating two essential pieces of my philosophy. 1) If I were an NBA owner, the bottom line would be winning. Period. Money be damned (By definition, I'm already filthy rich anyway). Number 2) is a little bit longer:

Every great team comes across a "championship window" at some point. For some teams, that window opens extraordinarily quickly and unexpectedly, then closes just as fast (Miami). For others, that window extends for years and years (San Antonio). That's all well and good. The important thing is that a shrewd GM can and does see potential championship windows and assesses just how long they are.

Three things govern championship window size- talent, age, and cap space. Talent is obvious. The better your players are, the more likely it is that they'll win it all. Age is obvious. The younger your good players are, the longer they'll be good.

Cap space is extremely important because none of the great teams are static. GM's need to be able to adapt by bringing in free agents. Look at San Antonio- sure Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan are mainstays, but the supporting cast has been coming and going through a revolving door. Ditto for Detroit. Keeping age and cap space in mind, let's go back to the Hornets.

The Hornets have just entered their own championship window. How long will it last? Good question. Keep in mind, that we want to know how long will it last with our current core? Clearly, CP is only 23 and will ensure the Hornets are good for a long time to come. That's not the issue. The issue is identifying which player or players will begin to decline first. My rough guess is that this New Orleans squad has a 5-6 year window, and it's closely tied to David West being 27. In other words, we've got 5-6 years to win a title without significantly altering the trio of CP-TC-DX (Peja may or may not still be here).

Last thing about the championship window: each year encompassed within it is not necessarily equal. Talent is an ever changing thing. Year 6 will arguably be the weakest among the six, due to West and Chandler's advanced ages. Most likely, Years 1-3 will be profoundly stronger than Years 4-6.

Finally, back to James Posey. New Orleans gave him 4 years, 25 million. John Hollinger wrote a terrific piece for ESPN, questioning how much Posey will contribute in Years 3 and 4. I agree completely. The 4 years, 25 million hamstrings our cap space severely.

But before you get swallowed up in all that, recognize what exactly the Hornets accomplished. We strengthened our championship window for the years of greatest opportunity. No, we didn't address two specific concerns (backup SG, backup F/C), but we did address one that hindered us throughout last season (overall bench quality). Hollinger rightly says that Posey can't create his own shot, but Posey is an amazing rebounder for his size, D's up very well, and shoots the 3-ball well. Most importantly (something that Hollinger and everyone else seem to have ignored) is that Posey will be taking all of Ryan Bowen's minutes- he's a huge upgrade off the bench.

Sports are about relative value added, never about absolute value. Fail to understand that rule, and failure as a GM will come easily.

In the end, it boils down to this- we may have shrunk our championship window from 5-6 years to 3-4 years with the cap inflexibility induced by the Posey deal. But what we lose in time, we gain in quality of that window.

Which one do you want? 5-6 years of going, "Yeah, maybe, this could be the year..."? Or a couple years you go in thinking "This is it. All the pieces are in place, this Hornets team is doing it."?

Jeff Bower and George Shinn picked the latter, and they couldn't have been wiser.

How good has the rest of the league become with all the recent wheeling-and-dealing? A quick look at some of the bigger trades and transactions:

Minnesota acquires Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Jason Collins, Brian Cardinal for O.J. Mayo, Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, Greg Buckner (Memphis)

This one's tough to analyze. I think Mayo's overrated and Love underrated; that said, I still think Mayo is the better player with far more upside. It's amazing how many bad contracts Minny managed to unload in this deal- Walker (30 mil), Buckner (12 mil), Jaric (21 mil). Minnesota also got the (current) best player in the deal in Mike Miller. But I question if that's really a positive. The T-Wolves won't be relevant until at least another year or two down the road. Miller's contract only lasts until 2010. What's the point of acquiring a pretty good player who may or may not be around when the team's rebuilding efforts come to fruition? At the end of the day, I would've loved to see a Mayo/Jefferson tandem. However, Minnesota still comes out on top after this deal. By jettisoning  those three contracts, they've put themselves in great position to re-build.

Verdict: Minnesota

Toronto acquires Jermaine O'Neal, Nathan Jawai for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, Roy Hibbert (Indiana)

Brilliant. Move of the off-season (yes, over Elton Brand to Philly). Toronto had an excess at point guard and exchanged that for an All-Star 7 footer. This is one of those rare trades that could end up benefiting both sides. Indy was in desperate need of a PG with Tinsley expected to be bought out. Toronto gets the new age Twin Towers in Chris Bosh and O'Neal. Nathan Jawai is an excellent throw-in to the deal. After sporting one of the worst rebounding teams in the league last year, Toronto could have a three-headed monster in the post in a couple of years. If I'm a Raptor fan, I'm salivating over the prospect of Calderon at point exclusively, Bargnani developing, and the Twin Towers.

Verdict: Toronto

Philadelphia acquires Elton Brand

I feel pretty bad for the Clips. I never imagined that Elton Brand was as childish as bolting due to a "perceived slight" from Clippers' brass. Obviously, it's a great move for Philly; Brand addresses the Sixers' issue of getting too tied down to Andre Iguodala's production, offensively speaking. With the draft selection of Mareese Speights, Philly is another team that will sport a terrific front line in the next few years. Say what you will, but the East is definitely getting stronger by the day.

Verdict: Philly, Elton Brand both win

Orlando acquires Mickael Pietrus

The Magic overpaid severely for Rashard Lewis and I think they overpaid for Air France as well. Pietrus is servicable, for sure. But his defensive prowess is overstated; many analysts are acting like he's Orlando's solution to both LBJ and D-Wade. Even though I think 25.1 mil. is too much for MP, you never know what the market situation was and how involved other teams were. More than anything, I respect Orlando for acting decisively to upgrade a soft spot on their roster.

Verdict: Mickael Pietrus

Golden State acquires Corey Maggette

It's sort of stunning to see rumors of Maggette signing for the mid-level in Boston or San Antonio, then turning around to take a 5 year/50 million dollar deal. But I'm not going to fault him for taking money like that. Given Rashard Lewis' contract last year, you could even make the case that Maggette is getting undervalued a little bit. Still, I don't see how this move makes much sense for Golden State. With the loss of Baron Davis, they're back on the verge of slipping into obscurity. Sure, Ellis is a stud and Biedrins is great too. It seems like GM Chris Mullin is eschewing re-building around those two in favor of trying to win now. Why not focus on re-signing Ellis/Biedrins this summer, keeping open a ton of cap space, and then attacking the FA market aggressively in '09 or '10? Landing a big name free agent (Wade, Bosh, Redd, etc.) would definitely be worth a couple years of mediocrity.

Verdict: Corey Maggette, big time

L.A.C. acquires Baron Davis

Ha ha. "Baron Davis bolts for home state" has now turned into "Baron Davis bolts for hometown." What's next, "Baron Davis tries to start NBA franchise in backyard"? Humor aside, this move would've ranked an A+++, had Elton Brand decided against stabbing the Clips in the back. B-Diddy/C-Kamy is a decent tandem, they'll still be irrelevant this year. I question that even Emeka Okafor can change that.

Verdict: Baron Davis

I will admit, I was pretty taken by Bobby Brown's game yesterday versus Charlotte. Sure, the numbers weren't terrific (5-13 I think with 3 or 4 turns), but I really loved the aggression he showed. I've only watched two summer league games of him and I only vaguely remember his pretty hyped college career at Cal-State Fullerton, so I decided to find out what my best friend- the internet- had to say about him.

First off, Wikipedia doesn't have a page for him. Disappointing, and speaks to his relative obscurity. But fear not! CSTV has one-upped Wiki:

First, the obligatory head shot:

Now, some bio stuff:

Born on Sept. 24, 1984, in Los Angeles, California... Parents are Bobby Brown and Regina Jefferson of Los Angeles... Nickname "L.B." derives from "Little Bobby"... Has a sister, Janika Pratt, 17... Communications major whose ambition is to play professionally... Is engaged to be married to Keana Essex... Switched jersey number from "2" to "3" between his freshman and sophomore seasons

Bobby "L.B." Brown is the focal point of the revived Cal State Fullerton basketball program... As point guard, he's the quarterback running the offense... As a prolific 3-point-field-goal shooter, he's a scoring threat from almost any spot on the floor.

YouTube documents the time he scored 47 points:

Highlights of him in Europe.

And that's that. I kind of like this kid, I really hope he closes summer league strong.

After taking on and losing to the Grizzlies, the Baby Hornets (Bats? Yes, Bats it is) faced off against the Kittens of Charlotte. My game notes:

• In terms of NBA-ready talent, I thought this game would be far more boring than the Grizzlies one. Instead, it was a lot easier/more fun to watch.
• The feed was surprisingly better than the Grizzlies feed. In fact, at some points it was basically equivalent in clarity to the regular season League Pass feeds. So if you were scared away by the terrible quality on Friday, fear no more!
• Charlotte's three lottery picks- D.J. Augustin, Kyle Weaver, and Alexis Ajinca- all started for the 'Cats. I learned that Ajinca's first name is pronounced Alexee... so if you ever meet him, you know what to say.
• Hilton Armstrong struggled mightily at setting picks. That's something he was bad at during the season too- it looks like he gets scared of contact as the opposing player rams into him. That's fine if you're setting a pick to clear Baron Davis or Chauncey Billups. But shying away from screening 5'11" D.J. Augustin?
  
• Having said that, Augustin certainly packs a punch for his size. He flat out leveled the Hornets' Brandon Bowman in the third on a drive to the hoop.
• Throughout the game, there was a guy who kept yelling things at the top of his lungs. Like "OH MY GOODNESS!!!!", "TERRIBLE!!!!" and "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!!!!!" And the dude had a sidekick who would make a less charged remark immediately after, stuff like "you gotta work at both ends." I couldn't tell if they were Charlotte coaches or just Charlotte fans.
• The Charlotte coach was wearing shorts and kept getting up and sitting down. Would've been funnier if it was Larry Brown.
  
• ticktock6 mentioned on HornetsHype that most of the arena music was 90's rap in Game One. This time, it was mostly 90's rock/hip-hop. So they stopped poisoning our eyes (with those horrible feeds) in favor of poisoning our ears. Terrific.
• D.J. Augustin sure looked good. He didn't have too many assists, but his passes were crisp and direct. I didn't like the Augustin pick at #9, but he could sure make me change my mind. He also has great handles. From what I saw, his biggest weakness is running the pick and roll; he just couldn't make the right read often enough. Obviously, that's something that can be easily coached.
  
• Wright's and Armstrong's minutes were definitely toned down today. JuJu hardly played in the 3rd, while (I may be wrong on this) Armstrong didn't play at all in the 3rd period. Not sure as to the reasons behind this.
  
• The game went into a mad fast-break frenzy at the start of the 4th that included a huge wind-up dunk from Jemareo Davidson and an alley-oop throwdown from the Bats' Derrick Byars.
  
• A huge decrease in fouls from the first game.
  
• Alexis Ajinca- Consider me impressed. Ajinca was one of the guys I wanted the Hornets to draft with the 27th pick. AA moves extremely well for a 7 footer, has a great free throw stroke, and uses his long arms well on defense. His biggest issue would probably be banging inside; his frame isn't filled out. Still, I think Charlotte got a steal in him.
  
• Adam Haluska- An afternoon to forget. Not only did he have a terrible day shooting, he had a couple of turnovers and a bone-headed foul on a 3 pointer in a crucial stretch of the 4th quarter.
  
• Bobby Brown (Bats)- He didn't shoot well, but I liked his aggressiveness. He went to the line a ton and attacked the rim real well. Some have mentioned that Brown has an outside chance of getting a training camp invite, and today he justified that. He spent most of the game going one-on-one with Augustin, including spewing some audible trash talk at the soft-spoken D.J. The 6'2" guard from Oregon has some legit talent.
• This game got crazy down the stretch. Everybody was screaming, the players were going wild... and Hilton Armstrong won it with a clutch free throw line jumper and then a slam dunk (by the way, JuJu assisted both). Great to see Hilton step it up down the stretch; he finished with 14 points on 4-8 shooting. JuJu and Hilton combined for 8 of the Bats' last 10.
  

We won! We won! The Bats picked up their second summer league win in 4 years at the expense of the Kittens. The contest got about as intense as a summer league game is ever going to get.

I mentioned in my notes that there were less foul calls... I just checked the box score and apparently there were actually 57 fouls, or 1 more than yesterday. Ha ha. Anyways, that's it for today. The Bats take on the Baby Spurs (The Childrens' Size Boots?) on Tuesday and then the Young Clippers (not even gonna try) on Thursday, both of which I'll probably miss.

It's looking more and more like James Posey could don the teal next season. As has been well documented, Boston is reluctant to offer a 4 year deal. More importantly, ESPN is reporting that Cleveland may be out of the running as well:

James Posey remains the most coveted unrestricted free agent still on the market and New Orleans is being increasingly described as perhaps the biggest threat to Boston keeping him.

You haven't heard much about the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency so far -- and at least one source close to the process believes they're out of the Posey running even though he's an Ohio native.

I think this can only end in one of two ways- either we get him or Boston offers that fourth year. My best guess is that New Orleans' current offer is most of the midlevel (5 mil. or so) with a non-guaranteed 4th.

That same article also has a little bit from the Chicago camp:

While it is widely presumed that Chicago will soon trade Hinrich after drafting Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick, sources maintain that there is some sentiment in the Bulls organization to keep Hinrich -- a Reinsdorf favorite -- and play him at shooting guard alongside Rose while banking on getting something good for Gordon in a sign-and-trade.

There's been some talk of a sign-and-trade by the Hornets. Honestly, I'd be thrilled if it happened, especially if it allowed us to unload James or Butler. Getting Gordon would be the perfect "buy low" opportunity. At this point, though, there's basically zero talk connecting the Hornets and Gordon.

The Charlotte Observer has a great article about Chris Paul's maturation and his experiences with Team United States of America.

"He may be one of the best five players in the world right now," said Gaudio, who was an assistant under the late Skip Prosser when Paul played at Wake.

"He has something other greats have – a presence and charisma that allows him to say what he needs to say without others being, and I don't know if this is the right word, offended or insulted."

"This will be my 28th season in coaching and a Chris Paul comes along maybe once every 25 years," Gaudio said.

I love the "he says what he needs to, without others being offended." Right there is the definition of leadership.

HoopsWorld has been killing it with their offseason NBA coverage. Check this article on the importance of Summer League. I mention it because there's a quote from our General Manager:

"It's terrific, the opportunity to play and compete against other players at the same stage of their career. It's a great measuring stick for all players." said New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower.

And finally, this last one is non-Hornets' related, but still quite interesting. As you might know by now, Deron Williams has yet to sign a contract extension and is leaving with Team United States of America in a few days. He he. Hehehehe. HoopsWorld again:

...[A]ccording to a source close to Deron Williams the primary hold-up is that the Jazz point guard wants to know exactly what he's committing his long-term future to. [Williams] ... would like to know that he's playing for a team with championship potential.

What the Jazz are saying is that the sticking point surrounds Deron's insistence on an opt-out clause, which is definitely the real concern.

So we get: "I truly love this city [New Orleans], everything about it. I never had any plans to leave."

Utah gets: a request for an opt-out clause.

The Hornets got summer league action started today versus the Memphis Grizzlies. I caught NBA.com's (highly grainy) footage of the game. Some assorted thoughts:

• I made a note to watch Hilton closely. Byron Scott apparently told him that with his talent, he should "dominate the summer league."
• Pretty large crowd. All the sideline rows I could see (10 or so) looked full.
• Most of that, I'm sure, had to do with the presence of one Ovington J'Anthony Mayo. Other notable Grizzlies: Mike Conley Jr., and Hornets' 27th pick Darrell Arthur.
• For the Hornets, Adam Haluska and Julian Wright were the two other notables.
• Very slow start for New Orleans, with the Grizzlies taking an early 11-1 lead. Adam Haluska had quite a few open looks that he passed up. He did convert a nice three-point play. 
• These dudes looked downright scared to shoot threes. If only some team had thought to invite Antoine Walker to summer league.
• Some of the guys were just horrible. The Hornets #5 (haven't looked him up yet) dribbled off his foot and lost the ball out of bounds because of a little ball pressure from Mayo. Turnovers all over the place in general.
  
• One of the very cool things about summer league- you can hear the players talking to each other. So you can "see" plays developing before they happen, etc.
• Hilton Armstrong was all over the place, snatching boards, pushing off guys on the offensive glass, contesting shots. The Hornets even used him as a "point center" for one stretch, giving him the ball top of the key. Still, there was excessive, unfocused motion throughout. A moving screen, a loose ball foul, losing the ball on a drive. You could tell through video that Armstrong was much better than any of the other Vegas players. It's hard to tell that from the stat-sheet though. Simply put, his skill/effort didn't translate into great numbers.
  
• I should probably mention that the refs avoided foul calls like the plague. Hilton got smashed on at least 5 FGA with no call. So his numbers would have been better in "real life."
• A funny sequence in the 2nd quarter: O.J. Mayo appointed himself the official full-court press guy. He gave three different Hornet ball-handlers some problems bringing it up. Next play, JuJu gets a defensive board, starts up court. Mayo sprints over from half-court to pressure him. If he's successfully pressed three guards, what's a forward, right? Wright jukes, crosses left, goes behind the back right, leaving O.J. standing flat-footed at half court.
• Fouls! These Vegas Leaguers hack like crazy! Hilton Armstrong may have finished with 9 fouls, but he was one of the more mild-mannered at the beginning. As he kept getting hacked with no result, he turned up the juice on the other end.
  
• Darrell Arthur "led" Memphis with 9 fouls. There were a total of 56 foul calls. And that's with a ton of missed and no calls.
  
• The #5 that I bashed earlier hit a couple of threes with pretty smooth-looking release. Name still unknown however.
• Darrell Arthur- don't make too much of his 18 points. Most were on really easy buckets, near the hoop, or off good assists. Didn't see much that makes me regret our trade with Portland.
• OJ Mayo- I wasn't his biggest fan in college. I thought he was overhyped for sure. If anything, though, the dude is as smooth as they come. Everything he does happens in one fluid motion. Just poking around the internet, I've seen a couple sites raving about his slam on Hilton. Unfortunately (fortunately?) my internet died for a few minutes and I missed the dunk.
  
• And lastly, Julian Wright- if it's any consolation, it didn't seem like JuJu had 11 turnovers or 13 missed shots. Some of that has to be due to the fact that I didn't know who 80% of the players were 90% of the time. But he was definitely trying to be flashier than normal with no-looks, behind-the-backs, wrap-arounds, etc. For example, on the play I mentioned earlier (where he crossed Mayo), he finished by driving to the hoop. He had a point blank look at the rim. Instead of taking the layup, he spun, and tossed a no-look over the shoulder pass to the other team.
  

Make sure to check out mW's Game 1 recap at HornetsHype. It's, uh, slightly more insightful/extremely less rambling than this one. He even figured out who #5 is!

Here's a real fun stat to end things: guess how many victories the Hornets have in summer league play in their last 16 games (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)?

One! That's right. We're 1-15 since '05. 2005 we went 0-5, 2006 1-4, 2007 0-5, and we're 0-1 this year. I'm kind of hoping we go 0-5 again just to keep up the streak..

Let's start off with Jarvis Hayes. Rumored to be one of the Hornets' top targets for the offseason, the New Jersey Nets snapped him up yesterday. Yahoo! Sports has the report:

Hayes met with New Jersey management in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday and left confident that he’ll sign for the bi-annual exception that would pay him $4 million over two seasons. Once the San Antonio Spurs agreed to terms with Roger Mason Jr., on Wednesday, the Nets became a logical destination for Hayes, who is leaving the Detroit Pistons.

I feel kind of stupid for not mentioning the bi-annual exception. Still, Hayes doesn't really do anything for me, and I don't mind that we didn't get him.

James Posey, our other big target, is supposedly going to make his decision today or tomorrow. As reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Free agent forward James Posey of Twinsburg is likely to sign a multi-year deal in "a day or two," agent Mark Bartelstein said Wednesday evening.

Asked if the Cavaliers were still in the mix, Bartelstein said, "We're still talking."

I'm disappointed by how infrequently the Hornets are mentioned in these Posey reports. The main players seem to be the Celtics and Cavs, with New Orleans thrown in as an afterthought. Interestingly enough, I've seen a couple reports about both Boston and Cleveland being unwilling to offer the full mid-level. In fact, Boston's initial reported offer was 3 years/12 million, significantly lower than the almost $6 mil. midlevel. Another nugget from that same article:

The Cleveland native is also drawing interest from the Cavaliers, Washington, New Orleans, Detroit, and the Lakers, but no one seems willing to offer the full mid-level exception ($5.5 million).

Boston, fine, they're giving out significant money to the Big 3. Washington can't give the midlevel without exceeding the luxury. Ditto for Los Angeles. Cleveland's already well over the luxury tax, so they won't offer the full midlevel either. Detroit probably doesn't value Posey's D as much, given their current roster. Wouldn't that make New Orleans the best combination financially, and competitively? It makes you question how much the Hornets actually want Posey.

Here's a curveball from left field. Apparently, the Hornets may be taken to court in the near future. Forbes has the details, and the clever title 'Hornets lose in 'OT'.'

Former Hornets employees who claim they were coerced into working overtime without being paid for it or were unfairly denied commissions may bring the NBA team to trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

There are 16 plaintiffs in the case - all former team employees whose duties entailed selling and processing tickets.

Julian Wright, Hilton Armstrong, and Adam Haluska will all be playing summer league ball this offseason. The Times-Pic has more:

"I'm trying to get back into the flow of playing 5-on-5," Wright said. "I worked out a lot since mid-June to make sure that I was in tip-top shape. When I come to training camp, I want to be in better shape than last season."

Armstrong also needs to show improvement, Scott said. Since his rookie season in 2006-07, Armstrong has struggled to be a consistent performer.

"Hilton has to be very assertive out there every single game," Scott said. "He can't have the lulls like he had during the season. I told him that with his talent, he should be able to dominate in summer league."

I wish they had more on Haluska. So far I've read a wide range of reports on him- some saying New Orleans expects him to fill the void at back-up wing next year and others saying he won't make the full-time roster.

With most of the big FA's on the verge of deals, the spotlight is now on teams like the Hornets and lesser free agents. The salary cap, announced yesterday, has been set at $58.68 million, the luxury threshold at $71.15 million, and the midlevel exception at $5.585 million.

Pradamaster did a great breakdown of the Wizards' cap situation over at Bullets Forever today, and I thought I'd emulate it for the Hornets. So here goes nothing:

Clearly, we have a ways to go before hitting the luxury tax level. That's misleading though. Since we're right at the salary cap, we can only use the full midlevel exception on free agents and nothing more.

Who can we get?

Jannero Pargo (last year: $1,183,000): The General qualifies for the "Early Bird" exception. This means that since he's played with us for 2 straight years, we can sign him even if it takes us over the salary cap (which it will). I wrote yesterday that the Hornets shouldn't bring him back. Current reports have him asking for a 3 year deal, and reported suitors include the Nets and Jazz. Bottom line: he'll be back if we want him.

Josh Childress (Restricted, last year: $3,600,000): The whole Elton Brand mess means the ATL might not match a midlevel offer to Childress (since the Clips could toss around 15 mil. at J-Smoove). Bottom line: we could get Childress with the full mid-level.

Mickael Pietrus (Signed Orlando, MLE: $5,585,000): I put this here because the Pietrus deal is interesting. I'm convinced Orlando overpaid. More importantly, the Pietrus deal virtually guarantees that Childress will command more than the mid-level. So maybe Childress is out of our reach after all.

Shaun Livingston (last year: $4,404,629): Oft-injured, the 21 year old Livingston could come dirt cheap. If the Hornets decide to chase a free agent with only part of the MLE, they could acquire Livingston with the remainder. Bottom line: No, thank you. I'd rather go all out for a Posey or a Childress.

Juan Dixon (last year: $2,550,000): Would be a cheap 3rd PG if Pargo or James were to leave. Bottom line: Same deal as Livingston- breaking up the MLE isn't a good idea.

We interrupt this telecast to present you with the following message: I'm gonna stop listing players like Dixon and Livingston because thinking up different ways to say "don't break up the MLE" is going to get taxing.

Now back to the scheduled program.

James Posey (last year: $3,206,000): Whoever gets Posey will end up over-paying. Posey certainly isn't worth the full mid-level. That said, he is worth it to a team he would put over the top. Which, arguably, is us. Bottom line: Offer him the full mid-level. His offense is overrated with all those dagger threes fresh in people's minds. But his defense is for real.

JamesOn Curry (last year: N/A D-League): Just kidding. I just love writing his name. JamesOn. JamesOn. JamesOn.

Ricky Davis (last year: $6,810,000): Wait a few seconds before you laugh me off the stage. He's not as bad as you think. Bottom line: He'd be a very nice consolation prize if we lose out in the Posey race. I seriously doubt any team offers him more than the mid-level.

Kelenna Azubuike (Restricted, last year: $687,000): Hustles, great energy, solid defender, killer name, good shooter, 24 years old... it's interesting that his upper level is considered the mid-level. The Spurs were thought to be his biggest suitors, but the Roger Mason Jr. signing ends that. Bottom line: You know what? I'd be just as happy to get Azubuike as to get Posey.

Bonzi Wells (last year: $2,284,000): I made the case for Wells a couple of weeks back. I still stand by it. There's a way we could get Wells without touching the mid-level exception or hindering any other free agent signings- the Million Dollar exception. It's a 1.91 million dollar exception designed for NBA veterans. If Wells is willing to take a slight pay cut (300 grand), he can potentially be back, next to Julian Wright and one of Posey/Davis/Azubuike. Bottom Line: Ryan Bowen's departure opens up a roster spot. At the very least, I would extend the 1.91 mil. exception to Wells. Plus, re-signing Wells makes another back-up big unnecessary (since Bonzi can man the 4).

So there you have it. My best guess: we re-sign Pargo (early Bird exception) and acquire Posey/Azubuike (full MLE).

Had we not sold our 27th pick, you know what we could've done? Re-sign Pargo, draft CDR, and acquire Turiaf (most of our MLE, and easily outclass GSW's offer of 4 years, 17 mil).

Pargo/CDR/Turiaf sure beats Pargo/Posey...