Hornets Updates 1/5

Recaps of Hornets loss to Sixers...Quotes from players...analysis of Xavier Henry deal...Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman feel lied to by the Clippers...Chris Kaman loves hunting...Four Hornets make All-Star Ballot

Recaps of last night's loss to the Sixers:

Box Score

At the Hive

Associated Press

Hornets.com

Liberty Ballers

Monty Williams on the mood in the locker room

From NBA.com:

"They are frustrated. They thought tonight they had a chance to win and it did not go our way. I just trust on what they do and put pressure on them. They are athletic and well-coached and I thought they got help from our bench tonight. We took some tough shots and some good shots right out of the fourth quarter."

Eric Gordon on the 4th quarter collapse:

From NBA.com:

"It is disappointing because we were playing well in the first three quarters, and we had too many lapses on defense. They did hit some tough shots, but you don’t want them to happen being on the run, and there were points during the game where we weren’t scoring offensively, so that’s a bad combination."

Quick Notes on Xavier Henry Side of 3-Team Deal

From Mark Deeks/The Basketball Jones:

The trade gives New Orleans a 20-year-old lottery talent whom, while he has yet to do anything in the NBA, has plenty of time on his side. Despite the implosion and sideshow that accompanied their dismantling, New Orleans has a good base of talent for a rebuilding team. With Eric Gordon and Carl Landry in place, and potential young pieces such as Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith and Gustavo Ayon (whom you will soon come to love) also on the scene, this is not an early 21st-century Bulls team. A clear foundation is already in place, and Henry theoretically adds to this.

From Zach Lowe/Sports Illustrated:

For the Hornets, this is a risk-free chance at a 2010 lottery pick with just 527 NBA minutes under his belt. New Orleans has zero depth at shooting guard behind Eric Gordon and Marco Belinelli, and the latter hasn’t exactly lit up the NBA. Henry hasn’t either, and he showed very limited shooting range last season. But he also flashed potential as a good wing defender. Why not grab a lottery pick with (potentially) two years left on his rookie deal?

Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon Rip the Clippers

From Marc J. Spears/Yahoo!:

While Gordon and Kaman are excited about the opportunity to start over with the Hornets, they aren’t too happy with their former team.

"All you do is take the man’s word and take that he said that no one is going to go anywhere," Gordon told Yahoo! Sports. "… To completely lie like that is something unprofessional."

Said Gordon: "They literally told me as an organization that they wanted to keep me, and [the trade still] went down?"

News of the trade broke via Twitter and other social media outlets while Gordon and Kaman were at community events with Clippers season-ticket holders. Gordon found out while he was on a bus for the event and tweeted, "Wow." Kaman found out from his real-estate agent’s son.

"He said, ‘Hey, you got traded.’ I was like, ‘C’mon,’ " Kaman said. "Then everyone started talking to me like, ‘Hey, what happened?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ Then my agent wasn’t calling me. I couldn’t get ahold of him. Then Farouq talked to his agent and said it was done.

"The Clippers didn’t tell me anything. They didn’t tell me I was traded or nothing after eight years. They didn’t have the guts to come tell me they traded me."

When I was with the Clippers I was kind of behind the scenes, behind Blake, but I was also contributing almost just as good as he is," said Gordon, who averaged 22.3 points last season. "He gets all the spectacular credit. But now here there is more responsibility towards me."

"They’re very professional," Kaman said. "I’m not used to that. No, serious. It was an adjustment. After eight years [with the Clippers], I didn’t know it could be like this. I wasn’t used to it. The way they handle business … they’re up front with you and they tell you what’s going on and what’s going to happen."

Chris Kaman Loves to Hunt

From USA Today:

During the lockout you spent a lot of time hunting and posting pictures.

Hunting is something I really enjoy. It’s not for everybody. A lot of the guys give me a hard time about it. We have a lot of fun about it. I can relax, sit out there and have my time to reflect and enjoy myself. My dad used to take us when we were little and my brother has been a hunter in the last 15 years.

At 7 feet, how do you hide?

You get a lot of (camouflage) on and you climb up in a tree with some tree pegs and you just sit and wait up there. They can’t really smell you that good if you have the right kind of scent cover. I’m really quiet.

So Louisiana lifestyle and cuisine could be a perfect fit for you. Do you eat your kills?

I do. I like venison. When you’re in L.A. it’s hard to get venison, so my dad would bring it out for me. I do a lot of smoked venison, venison jerky, sausages, stuff like that. I like alligator, crawfish, I’ve had all that stuff. I want to take one of these (teammates) with me. I want to get one of them that doesn’t want to go and make them go — because I’ve got nine years (in the NBA) and no one else does.

Four Hornets Make All-Star Ballot

From NBA.com:

The NBA announced today that New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon, forward Carl Landry and centers Chris Kaman and Emeka Okafor are featured on the 2012 NBA All-Star ballot, which was unveiled during a special tip-off event in Orlando, Fla., the Official Host City of NBA All-Star 2012. NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint begins today at 11:15 a.m. CT. The 61st NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at the Amway Center on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

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