In an admittedly twisted sense, a lockout-shortened 21-45 season could prove to be extraordinarily beneficial for the New Orleans Hornets as they embark on an offseason in which an already in-motion rebuilding mode can take firmer shape.
As each injury domino toppled this past season, it gave the team an opportunity to evaluate players who might have otherwise languished at the bottom of Monty Williams’ rotation, or worse, been saddled with a year full of DNP-coach’s decisions.
But the coming months provide the promise of a new beginning, from ownership to roster moves, with the strong likelihood that Williams and General Manager Dell Demps will still be making the basketball decisions.
Prospective owner Tom Benson, whose acquisition of the Hornets is pending approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, cannot make any changes in the operation until his ownership has been formally endorsed, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
But sources close to Benson say he is enamored with the job Williams and Demps have done, especially this season, and no change is likely to occur.
That out of the way, the basketball brain trust can continue to improve on the product that closed the season with six wins in the final 10 games and a work ethic that earned league-wide respect.
Demps, acknowledging the disappointment of a losing record, viewed the events of 2011-12 with a glass-half-full perspective.
“We looked at this as an opportunity,” Demps said. “When the injury bug hit, we got a chance to see some guys play some big minutes.” He added that because of that experience, he is better able to decide whom to keep and whom to discard off the current roster. “(There were) guys that played more minutes than at any time in their career. That gives us a good building block to move forward with.
“And I think moving forward, we’re not happy where we are. I thought Coach Williams did a great job of keeping the guys going and thinking big picture and preparing them for the future. And I think the biggest compliment we received was from other teams and other coaches about how hard the guys played, and how they competed. And we want to just build on that and establish our culture and put a team out there that can go to the next step.”
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