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. 

guys sorry for this message, but i know people from New Orleans can understand us.You may have heard of the typhoon that ravaged the northern part of the Philippines. I am a Filipino and the first floor of my home was flooded. Everything is all right now in our home, my family is safe. But people in areas who were much more afflicted by Typhoon "Ondoy" are still in relief camps right now because they have no place to go. All i am asking from the people of new orleans is pray for us. Thats all thank you for your support

[Great FanPost from nikkoewan. I haven't had the time to post much recently, so this is a great starting point. -atthehive]

First and fore most, check out my first fan post about the off season - 2009 10 off season

In this fan post, I will help other people come up with trade possibilites( don't we as fans just love speculating?).

As many of us here in the hornets community(hornets247 and atthehive) have suggested or implied, only one player is untouchable - Paul. ( But it breaks my heart not to include West and Chandler, they have a strong bond and that is important. Juju can become a touchable lol)

i will enumerate our trade chips and give them a letter grade to indicate how valuable they are:(numbers are 09 10 contract)

West - $ 9 075 000

- very cheap contract, front contract -> goes down every year, 28 years old, contract covers whole of prime(until 31)

grade: B+

Chandler - $ 12 300 000

too big a contract for what has been an injured player( also extends up to 2010 11 season). trade rescindment hurt his value, his toe hurt his value so much. however i do believe(hope) that this off season, the hornets will make all possible ways to ensure chandler is healthy( to increase trade value (possibly announcing things like chandler to consult specialist on ankle and toe, chandler doing well with rehab from two surgery, chandler running and gunning with paul in practice etc). However, Chandler is a 26 year old 7'0 center and good centers are rare in the NBA.

grade: B

Julian Wright - $ 2 000 040

has great upside, showed that he can become the next matrix( can do everything well). only 21 years old and has a long way before being called a bust( for a lottery) and has the professionalism and work ethic to be something else in the NBA. However, Basketball IQ is questionable, it may benefit him to play somewhere else where he can get many minutes to experience NBA basketball.

grade: C+

Rasual Butler - $ 3 945 000

has had a renaissance of a season and only upped his value with clutch performances from down town. great on ball defender( against SG who are strong but not quick), great help defender( especially on weak side blocks almost averaged a block per game). has an expiring contract, although not to big( decreases value). overall, a great trade chip for the hornets.

grade: B

Hilton Armstrong - $ 2 801 198

what more is there to say? bad footwork, bad hands, not a rebounder, not a great defender, not (insert basketball term).however, there are still a few NBA scouts who think he can turn into a serviceable( or above serviceable) center in the future. only 24 years old. expiring contract.

grade: C

Peja Stojakovic - $ 13 392 000

contract extends until 2010 11 season. not a great physical defender, but more than average team an IQ defender. has many injuries( including pride) is 31 years old, slow feet. however, he may have a good year next year, following an offseason of work outs and surgery and stuff. but thats all speculation. overall, only trade value is that he can get hot anytime from beyond the arc.

grade:D ( or F??)

Antonio Daniels - $ 6 600 000

hefty expiring contract( thats a big plus), more than adequate defender, great distributor, great veteran, great team mate. but he is old, 34, has no shooting touch. just an expiring contract.

grade: C+

James Posey - $ 6 031 800

great team guy, locker guy. tough, rugged defender, more than adequate 3 point shooter. although tough and rugged, a very slow footed one. Has a tendency to overfoul, also has a tendency to take bad shots in the post. contract runs through 2011 - 2012 and by then he would be 35.

grade: D( for non contending teams), C( for contending teams)

Morris Peterson - $ 5 800 000

great team guy, great professional, more than adequate 3 point shooter( excellent from the corner). average defender, uses size to cancel out slow footedness. contract runs through 2011 2012. has not had a great statistical time in NOLA(average last year, abysmal this year).

grade: D

C is a passing for tradeability, D is not so good.

we have 6 trade assets( West, Chandler, Wright, Butler, Hilton, Daniels). 7 if we include Posey to a contending team( our bad contract for your bad contract thing).

now, start typing and put your suggestions here, i'll post mine( via comments) here so that we can get an idea of what we( as a whole) want..

as i write this fan post, my heart is filled with anger, sadness, and hope.

first, anger against jeff bower and george shinn - this is not being pessimistic, but really, the only way to build a great team nowadays,when money and loyalty is everything, is through the draft.bits and pieces( maybe 1 or 2) should be taken from the free agent pool( and at a modest rate i must add especially for a small market like our very own). Bower never really understood that, he thought that free agents is where amazing happens, but its not, its in the draft.

Look at the spurs who WERE built through the draft. The spurs have great scouts and a great eye for talent and character( Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Salmons, Scola, Barbosa, Udrih, Splitter, Hill - pls include Josh Howard he was supposed to be a Spur draftee, but they traded the pick to save money for Kidd). Although they did not keep or sign all of their draft picks(Salmons - PHI, Barbosa - PHO, Scola - ??, Splitter - Next season i think, Howard - Kidd), you can't deny it, Spurs Management has an eye for talent.

The bulls of yore( Jordan, Grant, Armstrong, Stacey King, traded for Pippen on Draft night) then added pieces that were right for their price( Paxson, Kerr, Harper, Rodman, Longley etc). The Mavs of yore( Kidd, Mashburn, JJ, Dirk) and i could think of a lot of teams built through the draft.

Looking at the Hornets previous draft picks( after Paul), we were not doing so well. We did not hold on to Bass. 2006 draft - instead of Hilton, Cedric and Haluska( say what?), we could have drafted a number of players right here:

Thabo, Brewer, Balkman, Shannon Brown, MILLSAP, POWE!!

(bold for 12 and 15 pick, while Italicized for our 43 pick)

2007 draft:( although Julian for me is alright but Haluska isn't)

43 pick: MARC GASOL, DOMINIC MCGUIRE( who i really admire), AARON GRAY, and Taurean Green( who could have been a Jannero Pargo for Paul - look at eurobasket.com for stats, he shoots 40% from 3 pt range!! and is a great defender)

2008 draft: I really did not see the Posey signing as needed at that time, but i knew the team needed a leader of the bench now that Pargo left, but a few million wouldnt have hurt. A million?

27:Arthur, Chalmers, Jordan, MBAH A MOUTE, Weaver, Douglas - Roberts( who on draft night, many hornets fans were clamoring if i remember correctly), Mike Taylor.

that was why I was placing great importance in the 2009 draft, i did not have inside look on the scouting reports on each player, and will not have sufficient workout results on draft camp but it is important that the bees start in this year's draft to rebuild.

Looking at the Previous signings( in my recent memory of being a fan of the hornets which is 2004 - 2005 when they drafted paul, and 2005 when katrina struck the big easy)

Peja Stojakovic, Rasual Butler, Peterson, Posey, Peja Stojakovic(oops i said that again).

ranking by worst to best: Peja, Peja, Peterson, Posey, Butler....

looking at that 2006 draft, we could have improved by drafting any of the said players above, or trading our draft picks for future draft picks( like some teams do if the draft is not to deep).

we could have drafted in 2007, where the SF was overflowing with talent( not including Juju):

Rudy Fernandez, Chandler *gulp* Thornton, Splitter( who i really believe is going to be a solid NBA player), Almond, Etc...

we could have done what the Spurs, the Bulls of Yore, the Blazers, the Thunder and Grizzlies( hopefully if they keep drafting wisely) did/do.

instead we are left with this really old, really screwed up team... here is some looks of the Hornets team we could have had if Bower was wiser( starting in 2006, and I still would have gone through with the Tyson Trade)...

Draft Thabo with 12 pick, Draft Millsap with 43 pick( HOME BOY!!). Trade 15 pick to a 20 to 30 pick in 2007.

Roster 2006:

Starters: Paul, Butler, Mason, West, Chandler

Bench: Pargo, Devin( the good one), Thabo, Bass, Jackson

when West injured, Bass starts( we discover his skills), we use Millsap as bench

prediction: 39 - 43 ( no playoffs)

Draft: 2007

Draft Juju at 12

Draft Rudy at 22( Bobcats pick, Jordan would accept this and with the 15 pick in 2006, he would draft DAVID NOEL, LOLZ)- > unsigned

Marc Gasol with 43 pick-> unsigned

we let bass go( one of the wiser Bowers plunder), we trade for marks( conditional 20xx pick) haha

sign Kapono to same deal( instead of Mo, who was old)

Starters: Paul,Butler, Kapono, West, Chandler

Bench, Pargo, Thabo, Wright, Millsap, Marks - > what a small front court average of 6'8. haha.

Predictions: 60 - 24. Kapono is an upgrade over Peja at this time( Kapono shooting the same, and can back down somebody, although not as smart defensively as Peja). Lose to Lakers in 7.

 Then 2008

27: Draft Chalmers

sign Rudy and Gasol

Pargo walks away to Moscow

Starters: Paul, Butler, Kapono, West, Chandler

Bench: Chalmers, Rudy, Wright, Millsap, Gasol

Predictions: 64 - 18. 2nd best record in west, 3rd in league( behind Cavs, and Lakers). WIN NBA FINALS IN 5 over CAVS.

See the difference? Sorry for this tedious research nonsense( thanks to Basketball-reference.com for the draft pick knowledge on every team, Hoopstats.com for idea on the NOLA roster each year, NBA.com for draft coverage and Google for Free agent list.)

Let Bower read this. Some points may be invalid today( like will Millsap ever develop as a second fiddle here? will Chalmers, Rudy and Gasol like a backup role? will they excel? am I downplaying the effect of Peja( offense, defense). draft day uncertainties, etc..

But if you had a better staff, and keener sense in drafting, we would be in a different situation.

For next season, CHANGE OUR GM or OUR SCOUTS

if only we could....

(sorry specifically to atthehive for this useless fanpost. i think its over the top. but after the denver ownage, i just had to tell some hornets fans how i felt...feel free to kick me out of the community)

I was trying to find a way to find hope in a lost season, and I think that a trip to the 2nd round, much like last year, would make this season a success.

Anyway, looking at the Hornets roster, I clearly see 3 major problems:

1.) lack of another big man(bench)

2.) there is a plethora of wingmen - some over utilized ( ehem, Brick Brown), some under utilized( Wright and Peterson).

3.) we lack a 3rd or 4th(if Peja is still considered) player who can create on his own consistently. The keyword here is consistently - butler has some nights, Posey has some nights, and as bad as he as been, Brown even has some nights.( this 3rd or fourth option can go the bench)

Therefore, what can be done to improve this over the offseason?

first, I believe the untouchables for this group are the following: Paul, West, Chandler, Wright.

we can trade one or two of our 6 wing men( Butler, Stojakovic, Posey, Wright, Peterson, Brown),

resign Marks to the same contract, and let Ely and Bowen go( both are seldom used, although i would like Bowen to stay).

Bower should not pull out another bobby jackson for James for Daniels for (put name here with a average, non expiring contract PG).

therefore, I have thought of possible scenarios I like( well I hope you like too).

• consider that the Hornets have the 7th worst record in the 16 playoff teams( only DET, CHI, PHI, MIA, ATL and UTH have a worse record). therefore we may possibly get the 21st pick in the NBA draft. according to 82games.com, on average the 21st pick has produced a 13.1 which is a more than average role player.
  
• consider too that Paul's extension kicks in next season so we may be pushed well into the luxury tax. this may become a factor in my analysis of potential moves.(signings)
  
• consider that we have the Bi annual exception( i dont think we used it in the 2008 - 09 offseason) and a midlevel exception. I estimate that both are approx. 1.75 and 5 mil, respectively,
• we also take into consideration the fact that many teams will lobby for an expiring contract(much like us) and also prepare for the summer of lebron, wade, blablabla.therefore, we have a few expiring contracts( Sool, Armstrong, Daniels, Brown(if option is taken), Wright( if option is taken).

here are all the things we can do to improve on the off season.

1. hire a shooting coach(much like lebron, calderon, parker etc) to work with Juju in Chicago( hometown). This should be imperative as we need him to improve big time in shooting. Also, tell Scott to work with Juju one on one on training camps to help with his defensive rotations. I believe the reason Juju is lost defensively sometimes is because he did not participate well in the training camps with his injury. this might change this off season.
2. Trade Peja for Dalembert. What does this move do for us? well we basically would solve the first two problems but complicate the 3rd problem and also save a 1 million or less( Peja's contract is slightly bigger). I do believe that the 76ers might agree to this why? They clearly play better small, they have Speights improving and they need 3 pt shooting, and clearly, if your going to spend money, why not improve your weakness? i clearly see the 76ers sporting a lineup of Miller, Green, Iggy, Young and Brand with Williams, Speights, Green and Peja the first guys of the bench with sporadic minutes for evans and ivey( along with Marshall if he resigns).

if we do trade peja, we still have a draft pick, and butler, armstrong as trade baits.

therefore, here are some things we can do...

a.)Draft Blair, Hansbrough*update include Patrick Patterson( according to nbadraft.net) - i see blair as a "Millsap" with more refined post moves. hansbrough can become a better Bowen for us - hustler, rebounder, and Great basketball IQ( which bodes well for his relationship with Scott because Coach doesnt usually play rooks and sophs with low basketball IQ: see Juju, JR Smith). this solves problems 1 and 2 even more. Drafting Blair, I believe kind of cures our problem 3. i see him, along with Posey, as the primary scorers of the bench. Hansbrough is basically a Bowen with more offensive moves, so again solves problem 3 but again not totally.

Lineup: Paul, Peterson, Butler, West, Chandler

Reserves: Daniels, Wright, Posey, Blair/Hansbrough, Dalembert.

b.) draft Teague, sign Novak, Mashall, or Diogu to less than 1 mil. I like this better because we stock pile on talent( Teague) and at the same time solving our bench problems( Novak and Marshall are basically the same, Diogu is great in the post but bad on defense - complements well with Dalembert).

Lineup: Paul, Peterson, Butler, West, Chandler

Reserves: Daniels, Wright, Posey, Novak/Marshall/Diogu Dalembert with spot minutes to Teague(if Daniels or Wright play badly)

This is all considering we will not use our Mid level and Bi annual exceptions, to save money. but if Shinn gives Bower the permission to use them( that is a very BIG IF), we have a lot of possible targets.

1.) Ben Gordon( unlikely),  Varejao( if Peja - Sam does not go through -> unlikely), Bass(unlikely), Andersen(unlikely), CJ watson( restricted), Singleton, W. Bynum( unlikely Pistons do not exercise his Team option), Kleiza, Jack( I like this one although restricted), Wafer(unlikely) Ariza and Shannon Brown( both unlikely), Juan Carlos Navarro!!( unlikely) and Warrick( unlikely), Bobby Brown, Carney, Gortat, Matt Barnes(unlikely), Jackson( if possible, only 1 or 2 years), Gooden( i also like this one -> we then draft Teague :D), Delfino and Parker( both unlikely)...

however i did not delve deeper into the mid level exception and bi annual exception because it is highly unlikely that we can use them( with the luxury tax in shinn's mind). that is why i had analyzed those cheap ones( the Peja - Sam and draftings and lineups) thanks to 82games.com...

we should keep Hilton and Daniels( allow their contracts to expire) and Butler( obvious reasons).

so basically, Hornets are not really doomed, we just need to become like the Spurs, rely on our drafts to get good role players, and Denver, rely on our cheap signings to get good role players.

Geaux Hornets!!

Dream playoffs:

NO in 6 against Denver, NO in 6 against HOU, NO in 6 against LAL, NO in 6 against CLE

we have all suggested that peja be our sixth man, and posey play 15 to 20 minutes. but that would seriously destroy the hornets rotation. byron scott would not love that cause he would be thinking of a new rotation. so to help byron scott, here is a rotation screen where peja is our sixth man.

via i596.photobucket.com

there. the numbers on the right are minutes played. as you can see. even though peja is our sixth man, he plays 30 minutes. CP3 plays 34 minutes, west plays 33 minutes, TC plays 34 minutes, butler plays 31 minutes. but the important thing here is we have an offensive option everytime. as you can see, when west goes out, peja goes in. when peja comes out, west comes in. on the 2nd quarter, 9 min mark. paul is surrounded by shooters, so than takes care of the offense. if paul is trapped boom, THREEE. otherwise, we can post posey, or iso juju( although this may lead to a turnover, at least). 

so what if daniels plays poorly? in the measly 14 minutes he plays? all he needs to do is orchestrate the offense( give the ball to west or peja). we have *gulp* brown to replace. the same goes for marks and armstrong ely. the good thing is, mo pete isnt even on the rotation. 

i am not saying we should use this rotation for every games. but we should use this rotation when playing gimme games - new york, memphis, clippers etc. that extra 6 to 7 minute rest means a lot. 

also, if daniels and brown play so poorly, we can experiment juju, butler and peja/posey at the same time with the other bigs. juju and butler can handle the ball, so i hope there would be no problem there. 

also in this rotation scheme, we play 2 types of defenses, the normal face guard, where our last resort is TC(when he's in the game) or a disrupting defense adept at rotations and clogging passing lanes with lengthy arms( such as when Peja and Posey are on the floor at the same time). 

i know there are flaws in this rotation, but at least its and experiment. comments and suggestions?

can the NOR participate in the bidding wars for gooden, smith( highly unlikely - wrapped and packaged to CLE LMAO), mihm, swift and head?

if we can just get one big man( gooden, smith, mihm or swift) plus head... we'd be rolling a depth chart of:

Paul and Butler - Stojakovic and West - Chandler

Head and Daniels/brown/wright/peterson- Posey/Wright and Marks and the big man( i think swift or mihm are very possible).

that would be a better bench than what we had right now with head being a speedster and swift or mihm big bodies who can rebound..

however, with the luxury tax weighing on George Shinn's budget conscious mind, i wonder what Jeff Bower can do??

if head gets snatched by another team, is pargo available?

please j. bower george shinn! we don't have any more mid level exception, is the bi annual exception possible? if not, another 1 M in the book wouldnt hurt nobody, if it meant more revenues in the post season for your greedy spirit G. Shinn. plsss!!! head and swift/mihm to NOR!!!