Games Review Blog

After a great 2007-2008 season and a very impressive playoff run, the 2008-2009 Hornets looked nothing like the team from the season before as they rolled over in the first round of the playoffs. Fans in New Orleans were disappointed with the result, as the season before paved the way for hope that the Hornets team was on the rise. Clashes between players and coach Byron Scott, among other things, killed the momentum for the New Orleans Hornets last season.

Perhaps it began when the Hornets traded Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to learn soon after that this trade attempt would fail due to a failed physical. The trade made sense for New Orleans, since the loss in talent was offset with the fact that New Orleans would save financially by avoiding the luxury tax. Failure of the trade led to complications in both the financial and the team morale department.

The team has made a few trades, most notably the trade of Peja Stojakovic, a player with tremendous upside (one of the best shooters in the game when hot) who never realized his full potential as a Hornet. The team has made it publicly known that every player on the team is expendable at this point, with the exception of Chris Paul.

So many teams in the Western Conference have actively made moves during the off-season, bolstering their rosters and their chances in 09-10. The Hornets, on the other hand, have done virtually nothing so far.

The Hornets seem destined to regress once again, all the while paying a luxury tax. Without any major moves on their part, fans in New Orleans will probably look back at the 2007-2008 season as “the best it got”, for now at least. Chris Paul is a gift to the NBA, but requires some pieces that the Hornets lack.

It’s up to the front office to seize the day and put this team back on track.