This is the first post of my new series- The Hornets A-Z.  I'm going to go through Hornets basketball starting with A and ending with Z (duh!)  So, starting with at A.......

Trevor Ariza. 

Dell Demps grabbed Ariza to help this Defense.  This is a defense that was 9th in Defensive Efficiency during 2008-2009 season, but fell to 21st last season.  This is a team that's defensive field goal percentage was 28th in the league at 48.3  This is a team that needed a defensive stopper, and they got a darn good one in Trevor Ariza.  But it's not just defense, Ariza can knock down the open shot, or throw down an oop on a fast break, as evidenced during his short-but-sweet Lakers career. 

       Then he got to Houston, where he was expected to be The Man.  His performance plummeted.  Forcing shots and taking too many of them when they weren't falling, but Dell Demps saw something.  He saw a player that could play strongdefense and would score as the 3rd or 4th option on the floor, depite all of the negative things said about him.  Demps traded for a defensive stopper who could run the floor and finish the fast break with an alley-oop or a wide open three in transition, which is why he'll be a valuable part of this team in the 2010-11 season.

      Ais for Trevor Ariza.