New Orleans Hornets Will Regret Not Signing Eric Gordon to Long-Term Extension

The New Orleans Hornets are going to be kicking themselves for not signing Eric Gordon to a long-term contract extension when they had the chance.

Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports the two sides were unable to reach an agreement before last night's deadline, which means Gordon will become a restricted free agent at season's end.

That has added fuel to the fire linking Gordon to his hometown Indiana Pacers. ESPN's Marc Stein had previously reported the Pacers were attempting to trade for the injured star.

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NBA front-office sources continue to say that Indiana native Eric Gordon is the Pacers' dream trade target, but Indy has yet to make serious progress in trade discussions with Gordon's new team (New Orleans), much like it struggled to get very far with his old team (LA Clippers).

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Now that the Pacers know Gordon will be available for offer sheets during the summer, their pursuit of the guard doesn't have to be as hurried. They can either demand a reduced trade price from the Hornets or just wait until the offseason to make a massive offer.

Gordon was averaging 21 points and five rebounds in two games this season, but is currently sitting out due to a knee injury. It's unclear if the ailment had anything to do with the lack of progress in extension talks, though.

Either way, the Hornets would have been much better off signing Gordon to an extension now instead of having to trade him or match another team's huge offer. Those forced deals usually end up hurting the pocketbook a lot more than a simple deal made during the season.

The Pacers' constant pursuit of Gordon illustrates just how much interest they have in him and rightfully so. He's one of the most talented pure scorers under the age of 25 and should only continue to improve as he enters his prime.

That means his value now is probably less than it will be for quite some time. So the fact New Orleans, which is still being run by the NBA, couldn't reach a deal is an ominous sign for what's to come.

The bottom line is that the Hornets will need to start keeping their star players if they want to turn things around. They can't continue to let players like Chris Paul, and potentially Gordon, walk out the door if the franchise is going to turn things around.

Not making an extended financial commitment might have seemed like a smart move now, but the Hornets will come back to rue the decision.