NBA Free Agents 2012: Eric Gordon Should Stay with Hornets over Pacers

Apologies to fans of the Indiana Pacers, but Eric Gordon should re-sign with the New Orleans Hornets instead of bolting for Indiana this offseason.

According to the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells, the Pacers met with Gordon on Sunday.

Of course the Pacers would love to have him playing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but Gordon should stay with the Hornets unless the Pacers offer him an irresistible contract.

The Portland Trailblazers offered Roy Hibbert a max contract over the weekend. Hibbert was the Pacers' main weapon in the playoffs against the Miami Heat. Without him, they're not going to have any chance of making a deep playoff run.

Indiana knows what they have without Hibbert. There is the franchise player in Danny Granger. The up and coming shooting guard in Paul George. A mediocre point guard in Darren Collison. And an aging, but effective power forward in David West.

There's not too much that could change there.

The Hornets, on the other hand, are much more intriguing.

Anthony Davis has finally arrived as the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He's been relentlessly touted as a game changer and a future superstar.

Austin Rivers was taken No. 10 overall. His unparalleled confidence and silky stroke would be a perfect complementary piece to Gordon, who has similar skills. The Pacers don't have another volume scorer who can shoot as well as Rivers can, even in the earliest stages of his career.

Jarrett Jack is a decent veteran point guard, but would certainly give way to Rivers at times, giving the Hornets a young, effective big three of Davis, Rivers and Gordon.

That's a better foundation than Paul George, Danny Granger and Gordon. Sure, the whole hometown factor comes into play with Gordon and Indiana, but we hardly see players today become sentimental.

Another issue that arises with Gordon joining the Pacers is that Paul George plays the same position.

Rivers plays shooting guard as well, but it's much easier to see the Hornets going with a three-guard set thanks to Davis in the middle than it would be for the Pacers to do the same with Louis Amundson in the paint.

The Hornets are a much different team than they were a few months ago. To disregard their chances to make waves next season would be completely ridiculous.

While they're not likely to make the playoffs in 2012-13, they could turn into one of the more formidable teams in the Western Conference over the next few seasons.