Hornets' Future?

[kd35sneighbor]

Hey guys I'm just curious to know who are the players that are here to stay and those who are only serviceable/temporary.

Of course CP3 is forever here, and probably David West. But after that? What is the status on your cap space? salaries? Who are players you guys want to replace? What is the position you guys need improvement on? Who still has potential to be something?

All these questions stem from me becoming almost a fan of your team.

Thank you.

[ChrisTheFuturePaul]

Heya mate, welcome aboard,

I guess i'll try and give you a run-down of the roster...

Starters:

Tyson Chandler - Keeper, hes a beast and complements David West perfectly.
David West - Keeper, He and Chandler work so well together.
Peja - Keeper, Many say hes injury prone and overpaid, both statements are a little exaggerated. Unless he takes a big paycut and role reduction come end of his contract we prolly won't resign.
Mo Petersen - Keeper, Mo is servicable, understands his role, wants to be here, he'll play out his contract here, then depending on whether or not we can find a replacement, deal from there.
Chris Paul - Franchise player, fairly short extension (3yrs if I recall correctly?) Could be a sign of 2 things: Shinn not wanting to over-commit on salaries or CP3 keeping his options open should we not contend for a title in the next 3 years.

Bench:

James Posey - Keeper, Hes played a crucial role in each of his first 3 games with us, just manages to make big plays, likes his 6th man role, really good fit.
Julian Wright - Keeper, I can see him taking Peja's starting role in a year or two, so versatile, really active, just needs to keep improving his game.
Mike James - No-ones really sold on Mike, he just doesn't seem to be the floor general we need off the bench, often criticized for being shoot-first, overpaid. He may be on the trading block before the year is over.
Hilton Armstrong - Prospect, Hes getting real PT this year, In the first game against the Warriors he got the nod ahead of Ely which surprised me, and with Chandler out hes been starting, still not 100% in the system, but getting there.
Melvin Ely - Hes our only other big off the bench worth playing, had some really good showings last year before he got injured, will stick around prolly.
Rasual Butler - Earning minutes this year, was in the dog-house for a while last year, not sure if we're showing him off for trade bait or if Scott's or he's just put him in Wright's position while hes been injured.

Thats about it for now, hope that helps

Go Hornets

[Copperhead]

Don't forget Ryan "Hustleman" Bowen. And Devin Brown and Sean Marks. Marks hasn't been able to do anything for the team yet since he has that calf strain and all. Was doing really well in training camp until that happened.

[ChrisTheFuturePaul]

Haha, yea, the bench warmers are all keeper too, how can you not love Ryan Bowen?

Sean Marks i'd be surprised if he made the rotation, I figure if we need a shooting PF in the 2nd unit we could small ball w/ Posey?

Also heres some salary info: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_orleans.htm - The link doesn't have details of CP3's extension on it. Also West and Chandler's player options could cause issues if things don't go that well in the next couple years, could see them bolt, but I doubt it

Really the only position we're needing a long term answer for is SG, but we can probably just keep getting a decent vet with the MLE every couple of years to lock that down, so at the moment the Hornets are really stable

[kd35sneighbor]

THanks for the replies.

Another thing, who are the injury prone players on your team? Tyson CHandler right? Are you guys worried about him one bit?

Btw, at first I loved your new uniforms... but I'm starting to miss the previous ones. IMO, they look better. Miss the teal/yellow color scheme, but ah well.

[rose2tyrus]

Miss the teal/yellow color scheme

same here...

[Copperhead]

THanks for the replies.

Another thing, who are the injury prone players on your team? Tyson CHandler right? Are you guys worried about him one bit?

Btw, at first I loved your new uniforms... but I'm starting to miss the previous ones. IMO, they look better. Miss the teal/yellow color scheme, but ah well.

I'm not worried about Tyson. Peja has that "injury prone" tag placed on him more than Tyson but even Peja's "injury prone" tag is a bit overexaggerated. If you listen to some people you'd think Peja misses 50 games every season. Tyson should be available on Wed. or Fri. I really like the new uniforms. Not missing the old ones one bit. Perhaps when they're allowed to get alternate unis they will bring the gold back but until then, I think these new unis look pretty nice.