The hornets have spent too much and planned too little. Signing Peja was a bad idea even three years ago. He is a puzzle piece on a championship caliber team, not a star but a role player now. James Posey too, but when we got him we thought he was that piece, and spent too much money on an aging veteran. My proposition is this:

Peja is going to make more than CP3 this year, and an additional 14.2 million dollars next year, Posey is going to make 19 milllion in the next three years when he and peja will be 32,33,and 34 at the end with 0 trade value. Lets dump them off when we have the chance this year and we will save 19 million this year and save 46 million dollars altogether which will be going into their pockets. Note that neither of them have an option on their deal. Trade those 2 vets and go below the luxury tax while Julian Wright and Marcus Thornton get the experience they need. Trade them to a contender who will need one more piece, say Hawks or 76ers who will have the space to take these guys on.

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I know this team has it's shortcomings, but I believe this team is way better than the team last year.  We all know that we struggle to get some scoring from the wing so why not start Marcus Thornton, and let him grow over the course of the season. He's proved he can create his own shot. He does not just settle for outside shots he can get to the rim and draw fouls. With Ike Diogu still out I still don't think we have seen the front court at it's best. However the thing that has concerned me the most is the lack of defensive effort. Maybe Jeff Bower should pack his bags and get ready to leave he signed players to some awful contracts.

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What's up guys? I hate that the best start to a Saints season ever is being sullied by the issues with the way the Hornets are playing. I'm really not liking the way the pieces are fitting right now. Mek and D West are not in sync, and Mek will never be the type of defensive player that Tyson was (not worse just different). West needs a space eater in the middle who can cover the pick and roll and recover on weakside d to cover some of his slowfootedness on D. Emeka can't really do that. He is more of a solid, shot blocker/ man defender. Also, Mek can't run like Tyson, and neither can D West so we never get fast break oppurtunities. I still think the move needed to be made because of the issues with tyson.

Also, like everybody realizes, we don't have shooters at the wing position anymore which is killing us.

That being said, trade ideas are always fun, so let's give it a whirl.

Trade D West and Posey plus cash for Kevin Martin and Freddie Garcia

Trade Peja and a pick for Andre Kirilenko

That gives us:

His CP3ness/ Collison

K Mart/ Thornton/ Brown

Garcia/ Juju/ Peterson

AK47/ Diogu/ Songalia

Mek/ Hilt/ Marks

We get the first legitimate 2 since the Hornets have been in New Orleans. Sacto gets the best 4 that they have had since C Webb, and Utah gets picks and some necessary cap space.

With these pickups the Hornets will be able to do 3 things they currently cannot do 1) capitalize on CP's dribble penetration with open 3 pointers 2) run  3) play pick and roll d.  Kevin Martin is something special, even with his injury issues he is still MORE then worth his salary. Also, folks on this site know that I love me some Freddie Garcia. Also, if we ever made the move that I've been pleading for (getting Diop), we could play an absolutely ginourmous second unit

6'7 Garcia

6'8 Juju

6'9 AK

6'10 Meka

7 Diop

 or a small uber quick second unit

CP

Collison

K Mart

Juju

AK47

The down side of this move is that it would essentially kill this year. Both Martin and Garcia are injured and won't be back for months. We would have to rely on  Mo and Juju on the wings.

For Sacto, getting D West allows them to play Jason Thompson at his natural center position. And Dwest gets anthoer mobile big to cover for him on pick and roll d. Evans is a 2. His last few games with Sacremento have highlighted this. 

As for Utah, this move allows them to move Korver at the trade deadline for just cash. He makes less than 6 mill, so if sold to a team with cap room halfway through the year, Utah can just pay a team 3 million to take him off of their hands for cap space.

   
So not a good game.  I have now been to the past 2 Hornets games at the Garden (wearing the same shirt both times) and we have lost both.  Needless to say shirt is in the garbage and I may not be back to watch them just in case I'm the jinx.  At any rate, here are a few pics:

Warm-ups:

Tip-off:

David West jumper:

Chris Paul Assist:

Morris Peterson (I think):

And one for the boys:

OK i forgot how to make a fanpost, and this is going to be very quick.. 

im mad at byron scott for not being a motivational speaker to the players. not a sign of a good leader.

i know our wings are a question mark but i have a quick fix( in paper) for what seems to be a weak link for the hornets....

next year, the hornets will have a lot of expiring contracts. and I mean A LOT. what i would like to happen is the following.. 

trade mo pete and darius songaila for kevin martin...

now what would our team look like?

paul || collison

martin || brown or thornton

wright || peja

west || posey

okafor || diogu

and we can still trade peja for a BIG MAN( maybe 7'0? hahah were a small team) and slide posey to 3, diogu to 4.. 

we'd still have marks for 3rd string big man. thornton for injured swing man... just a thought. comments on kevin martin fitting hornets. 

Hey im a rockets fan here. And i was wondering.. if somehow cp3 were to demand a trade would you be mad at him for it? Im just wondering because all these frustrations seem to be just adding on and cp3 really seems to want a new team.

p.s i understand this is a highly doubtful senario.. if chris paul were that kind of player he would have voiced his concerned a long time ago

Clearly this team is in a state of confusion. They have no identity on any part of the game, and I believe that has a lot to do with the coaching of this team. I would like to present a few options that may get us a step closer to becoming a better team. While most of this is unlikely as George Shinn is a failure as an owner, I can still fantasize right?

• First and foremost we must fire Byron Scott to give our guys enough time to learn a new system that hopeful replacement Rob Werdann or Robert Pack would place
• I would try to find some potential trade partners for guys like Jim Posey (I call him Jim now because he's only a shell of the player he used to be, so it's not really fair to call him by a name he no longer truly plays to), Morris Peterson, and David West. Now the reason I threw West in there is because we have Ike Diogu who has proven when he has starters minutes, he can play huge on offense, defense, and in the rebounding department. Ike is still young and has a much upside as anyone in the NBA.
• Now if i was to trade David West I'd look to get as much value for him as I could possibly get. I'd definitely try to get an atheltic 2 guard that can play or a true center (Sam Dalembert?) and Meka Tron could move to a better suited PF spot. Heck maybe try to get both! Don't get me wrong, I love DWest, but he doesn't play defense and if he's not hitting that midrange jumper then he will struggle for points all night. 
• Some guys I'd be looking at for trade would be Thaddeus Young, Samuel Dalembert, Andris Biedrins, Kelenna Azubuike, and A.I. (mainly as a stop-gap until Thornton is ready)
• Next I would bench Bobby Brown and put Collison in. Collison is more a true point guard, Bobby Brown plays like a ball hogging shooting guard in the body of a PG, therefore he is no PG.
• After I did that, I'd let Marcus Thornton fight for a starting job. A guy with this much potential shouldn't be rotting away on the bench, he needs to be getting live reps. 
• I would also get Darius Songaila much more involved. This guy is a chippy guy who can play the 3,4, or 5. I'm not sure exactly what Scott has been using him as in his offensive schemes, but it's not suiting him. Get Songaila on the block or let him post up, he plays down low, not it the grey area where Scott has placed him.
• Next, I'd MAKE Julian Wright get involved. All too often he becomes completely invisible in games, and thats not what starters do. Now I'm willing to put much of this on Scott's misuse of Julian in his position on the court, but he needs to get more involved. I'd work diligently on working up plays to get him free in the lane, ready for the lob and slam. Not to mention, he has been nailing open shots unlike some people *cough*Bobby Brown, Jim Posey, Morris Peterson, David West*cough*. Woo, ahem, must've swallowed a fly right there.
• And the last adjustment I'd make is to yell at Hilton whenever he's on the floor at all times, just to remind him to keep his head in the game. If he could somehow manage to put it together this guy could be sooooooo good. I'd also tell him to stop taking jumpshots, even if they are open, because that's really just not his thing.

So with all of that being said I would like to make a dream depth chart!

Point Guard!: The Great, Goodly, and Godly 6 Footer, out of Wake Forest, Number 3, CHRIS PAUL!, spelled by Darren Collison, replaced by only in an emergency Bobby Brown

Shooting Guard!: The New Orleans Native and "Young" Gunner THADDEUS YOUUUUUNG! (or Kelenna Azubuike!), backed up by the other Louisiana Native Marcus Thornton!, backed up by Devin Brown(!?)

Small Forward!: The Feisty Slam Jammin, Shot Shootin, Rotin Tootin Julian Wright!, followed by your 6th man of the year candidate, The Serbian Assassin, PEJA STOJACAVIC!

Power Forward!: Making a recent switch in position, at 6-10 out of Conneticutm the Nigerian Nuke Bomb, EMEKA OKAFOR!!!, followed by Ike Diogu!, followed by Darius Songaila!

Center!: The newest big man on the block in the BIG Easy, the Haitian Sensation SAMUEL DALEMBERT!, followed by Hilton Armstrong, and Sean Marks

And standing at 6-11, 240 pounds out of St. John's University, your new head coach, ROB WERDANN!

GEAUX HORNETS!!!

...oh how I would love to hear that at the beginning of every home game...

Trade Posey and Julian wright for Stephen Jackson

This would make New orleans a contender for probably the fifth or sixth seed, and make sure they don't lose to NY

Jackson can shoot pass defend and is very versatile.

When he is motivated he can produce like an all star, and playing with CP3 would definitely motivate him.

This team has so few passers on the roster and CP3 is arguably the best but the Hornets need another playmaker and Stack can dish 3-6 assists that would help this team a lot

He can also score he is a fantastic three pointshooter  and he is average player when it comes to driving to the rim

 Jackson can take pressure off CP3 teams will have a hard time defending those two 

CP3's passing will only make im better

Also this will drasticsally improve their scoring without having to give up on defense

You have a great scorer and passer in Cp3 and then you have a great passer and above average three point shooter in Jack, and a great 3 pt scorer in Peja, you have a talented inside scorer in David West, and you have a guy who can put up 13-14 a night in Emeka.

Then there is the defense 

You have 3 above average defenders in CP3 Jackson, and Okafor i do't know much about west's defense

The keys to success

CP3 produces like a superstar

Jackson keeps his mood swings to a minimum and dishes at least 4 scores at least 15 and steals 1 a game and grabs  at leat 4 boards

All Peja has two do is make threes and play at least 50-60 games if possible 

West needs to keep scoring, play defense, and improve rebounding

Emeka needs to play a Ben Wallace role doing all the dirty work(rebounding, blocking shots etc) while scoring efficiently and consistently at least 13 at a high of 16

give Diogu a chance Chris Paul can help him, giving him minutes raises his confidence and lets him show he can score rebound and defend he is pretty good if you let him play.

The bench has to produce they don't have to be good, just not bad

I hate when people compare Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson to Chris Paul as if they are equally skilled. I think Chris Paul is overrated and is actually not that great of a player. Many of the greatest players in NBA history have been players that have carried their team to a championship. Chris Paul has shown us for four years straight that he is not capable of taking his team to the finals. He needs to work on his three point shooting and shots under pressure. He has proven himself to not be a clutch player and relies on other teammates to make game winning shots. Also, they are not systematic players such as Chris Paul. You could have put Jordan on any team and I guarentee he would've taken them to the championship within four years. Can Chris Paul play for any team, except the Hornets, and still produce similar stats?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!

Chris Paul is the type of player that fits into a certain style of basketball. The style of basketball that the Hornets play is similar to street ball because they set one screen and hope that someone is open. If not they are often seen playing one on one basketball. Chris Paul is a perfect fit for this type of basketball because he is a young player who loves to shoot and make flashy plays. His assist per game can be extremely misleading to someone who does not watch him play regularly. Chris Paul is a ballhogg and since he loves to dribble he often gets double teamed, it is then that he contemplates whether to shoot or pass. I have witnessed many situations where Chris Paul has shot the ball with two opponents defending him. The only reason he averages 11 apg is because Tyson Chandler is a great finisher. Many players in the NBA are not capable of jumping over there opponents head to slam dunk all over them. If Chris Paul played for a championship team like the Spurs, Cavs or Lakers would he still be considered a great point guard?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!

First off he would have to share the ball which may be his biggest problem. Second, most championship teams are not known for their fast break points but instead for there half court offensive skills. This style of play is not familiar to Chris Paul and would result in a decline of his stats. I have noticed Chris Paul has a hard time scoring once the defense has set up, because it becomes harder for him to penetrate to the goal or throw an alley oop to Chandler.

These are just some things to consider before you compare CHRIS PAUL TO THE GREATS!!!!