The news is coming fast and furious now that draft workouts have begun. Jim Eichenhofer has some great question and answers with yesterday's participants. I found this response by Arkansas G Sonny Weems particularly funny:

Q: Which players do you compare yourself to in the NBA in terms of your style of play?
A: Probably Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers). The way he runs the floor and defends and rebounds. But I think I can probably dribble a little bit better than he can and shoot a little bit better than he can.

Somewhere, Iggy is laughing. Then again, Weems can fly just as high as Andre.

Taking a break from workouts, it appears that LAC guard Shaun Livingston will not be given a qualifying offer from the Clips. HoopsWorld breaks it down:

This means Livingston will be free to sign with whomever he likes, though considering he is still recovering from that horrible knee injury it's doubtful teams will be lining up to offer him big money. Or maybe any money.

So, a very young guard (22) that can be had cheaply. Granted, he's frail as a toothpick (6'7", 182), but he'll be cheap as dirt. A former 4th overall pick, he's certainly worth a look.

Workouts again. Jeremy Pargo was one of the five players brought into Hornets' facilities yesterday. Initially, I thought Pargo was going to withdraw his name if he wasn't a definite draft pick. Now, WWL is reporting that he will withdraw if he isn't a definite first round pick.

Jeremy Pargo worked out for the Hornets Tuesday as his brother watched... Is Jannero giving Jeremy any hints to prepare him for workouts and a professional future? "He didn’t," Pargo said. "He knows I understand what I have to do and the things that come along with it from watching him. He leads by example."

Shan Foster impressed during his workout. The Vandy guard is originally from Louisiana (Harvey) and was the SEC Player of the Year. The Times-Pic has the details:

Foster' perimeter shooting caught Hornets Coach Byron Scott's attention... "We think (starter) Mo Peterson did a heck of a job, but we really need a shooting guard that's really athletic and can get up and down the floor," Scott said.  "He can flat out shoot it, and he moves extremely well without the ball."

That same article also had a quote from Byron Scott about Jeremy Pargo:

"(Jeremy) is stronger and more explosive than (Jannero)," Scott said. "Jeremy is going to dunk it; Jannero is going to lay it up."

Lots of Pargo news today, but this last one is probably the most important. Same article:

Jannero Pargo said he will opt out of his contract to enter free agency July 1, but he is hoping to get a long-term deal to remain in New Orleans.

Same deal as last year. Not entirely unexpected, but it obviously would have been a ot nicer if he picked up his option.

Hornets.com's Jim Eichenhofer writes a piece for his former employer, the Finger Lakes Times. It's primarily about the numerous perks he gets as the main writer for the Hornets. Coincidentally, it's also about the numerous perks that we Hornets bloggers don't get. /Sad Face

Two tickets to every home game. Replica jerseys. Game shorts. T-shirts. Free dinners. Bobblehead dolls. Team posters. When I accepted this job in the fall of 2005, I figured there might be a few unforeseen perks to working full-time for a professional sports team. I had no idea how lengthy the list of items would actually be.

The Hornets won't be the only people giving Chris Paul some big money this summer. Deodorant company RightGuard has signed CP3 as well, reports AdAge.

A forthcoming TV spot starring Mr. Paul shows a series of his on-court highlights, backed by a voice-over: "The game has gotten faster, the players, bigger, and the armpits, well ... looks like we got here just in time."

CP has also made his second career SLAM cover. And the picture of him driving looks pretty cool. Currently, it's only out in New York City, but they say it should be out nation-wide over the weekend. An excerpt:

By the time the season ended last month, virtually every game was sold out, people were rocking Hornets gear all over the city and everywhere I went, people only wanted to talk about one topic: Chris Paul. A few things happened in between—such as the Crescent City hosting the All-Star Game and the Hornets becoming a legit contender—but without a doubt, the transformation of fans into devotees, casual fans into fanatics, apathetic non-fans into casual fans and a national audience into true believers was due to CP3.

The workouts continue today, with potential draftees probably working out right now as I type. Jim Eichenhofer delivers the details one more time; coming in today: Mark Tyndale, Wayne Ellington, Lester Hudson, Patrick Ewing Jr., Josh Duncan, and Keith Brumbaugh. And by the way... Josh Duncan is a 6'9" power forward from Xavier, "has decent range on his jump shot, has a high basketball IQ and is an above-average free throw shooter (85% over four seasons)." Hmmm.

Finally, my favorite article of the day, about Julian Wright returning "home" to Kansas. KUSports has some great insight into how Wright developed as a player during the season, what the Hornets got him for Christmas, and even an Adam Haluska mention. I'll finish with some quotes from JuJu himself:

“What happened is David West was hurt and I was having a good stretch of practices. I got confidence from playing in practice. I finally started to understand defensive schemes which is what he (Scott) was looking for. That’s what keeps you on the floor... There’s a lot of turnover in coaches in the league. The fact [Coach Scott]’ll be there ... I can get established in the Hornets’ system and thrive in it."