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Hornets Happenings: Rebuilding of the Roster Pt. 3, New Bees

Paul Augustin

Correspondent Written on June 15, 2009

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DENVER - APRIL 29: Head coach Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets leads his team against the Denver Nuggets in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Pepsi Center on April 29, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Nu

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

This is part three in the series "Rebuilding the Hornets." I thought a slide show would be a great way to show some of the players that the Hornets could or should be looking at to bulk up their roster and give Chris Paul a supporting starting cast and provide a bench that can give productive minutes and provide some needed rest to the starters.

It is easy to say that the Bees should go out and sign the top free agents available. Not so fast—the contract structure must fit within the cap and not bankrupt the owner

This show assumes that the Hornets find some creative ways to shed some of the fat contracts (e.g. Peja Stojakovic) that are pushing them way over the 2009-10 salary cap.

Also, the Hornets need to look to the future by adding some younger players as starters and as role players off of the bench.

Jannero Pargo

After the 2007-08 NBA season, Pargo left the Hornets for big bucks. He signed a one year, $3.8 million contract with the Russian Super League team Dynamo Moscow. Rumor has it that the Russian club was not always making its payroll.

In January of 2009, Pargo secured a buyout from Dynamo and signed with the Greek League club Olympiacos Piraeus. He was released by Olympiacos on May 5.

He would be a perfect backup for Chris Paul and will probably sign for way less than the $3.8 million he received from the Dynamo.

Brandon Bass

I am not sure if Byron Scott would swallow his pride or if Brandon Bass would want to come back to New Orleans.

Bass would give the Hornets some much needed strength on the inside and would come at a reasonable price by NBA standards. This photo of Bass manhandling Chris Andersen says it all.

Thomas Kelati—Who is that?

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 10: Chris Hernandez #11 of the Stanford Cardinal drives against Thomas Kelati #11 of the Washington State Cougars during the 2005 Pacific Life Pac-10 Men's Basketball Tournament Game 4 at Staples Center on March 10, 2005 in Los An

Thomas Kelati was a four-year starting shooting guard out of Washington State and has played his entire pro career in Europe. Kelati could replace Peja as one of the Hornets outside scoring threats.

The scouting report on Kelati is as follows:

Pros: Extremely quick coming off the shooter’s screen; very quick release; excellent three point shooter; very good individual defender; usually assigned to the opponent’s most dangerous backcourt player.

Cons: Commits unnecessary mistakes on offense; sometimes has poor shot selection.

He is a free agent with his last salary being approximately 300,000 euros. Chris Paul could make Kelati shine, just like he did Tyson Chandler.

Marcin Gortat

Gortat will never have a chance to be a starter as long as he is playing behind Dwight Howard. He is a seven-footer who is mobile and can run the floor.

He is, however, a restricted free agent.

He is also strong enough to stand up to the pounding of the Western Conference big men. Gortat is 25-years-old, which is a positive for the Hornets. At this point in his career, he is certainly no worse than Tyson Chandler, is stronger, has had few injury problems, and has a lot of potential.

Ben Gordon

It is not certain that the Hornets would be able to afford Gordon or that Gordon would want to play in New Orleans. However, can you imagine a Gordon-Paul backcourt? It would certainly be in contention for the best in the NBA.

Begin Slideshow

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written on June 15, 2009 Opinion

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