New Orleans Hornets Complete Undefeated Offseason

After last seasons playoff massacre things looked grim in the Big Easy. They were over the salary luxury cap more than any other team in the league and coming off one of the worst playoff losses in NBA history.

What made it worse for New Orleanians were the expectations the team had for the prior season. Picked by many as a dark horse NBA title contender, the Hornets instead were likely the biggest disappointments.

An ongoing injury to center Tyson Chandler brought their lack of depth squarely into the foreground. Without him the Hornets were forced to start the likes of Sean Marks and Hilton Armstrong at center.

Early speculation about the Hornets offseason moves had them trading Tyson Chandler for whoever offered the most cap relief. At one point that was Ben Wallace's contract which was expected to be bought out.

Even after that fell through it didn't appear that they would getting anyone of equal value in return for the 7'1 Chandler, let alone someone superior. The Hornets would be possibly be counting on Hilton Armstrong to deliver key minutes again which as you can imagine was demoralizing to the fan base.

On draft night they got an NBA ready point guard in Darren Collison and the SEC player of the year, Marcus Thornton. Both are expected to compete for minutes, even more so after owner George Shinn stressed the importance of developing young players.

It wasn't until July 28 (only days after CP3 questioned the front office) that GM Jeff Bower made another move, but once he started he kept going. 

Chandler for Okafor, signing Ike Diogu, the Rasual Butler salary dump, resigning Marks for the minimum and now trading a useless third string point guard Antonio Daniels for solid big man Darius Songalia and young point guard Bobby Brown. All are moves that helped the team both on the court and financially.

In what will likely be the Hornets last offseason move GM Jeff Bower had yet another beneficial trade to complete an undefeated offseason. The Hornets not only were able to unload Daniel's 6.6 million dollar salary, but were able to obtain another precious backup big man and a guard with potential, something Daniels was out of.

Let's briefly look at the moves so far from a Hornets perspective:

Drafting Darren Collison- With the departure of Daniels, Collison will immediately step into the role of backup point guard.

Drafting Marcus Thornton- The Hornets liked him so much they traded two future second round picks for his rights. He was the SEC player of the year at LSU so he should be comfortable in the area.

Chandler for Okafor (July 28)- Okafor hasn't missed a game in two years, is a superior offensive player to Chandler, and has a contract that will save the Hornets over two million dollars this year which is simply icing on the cake.

Signing Ike Diogu (July 30)- Ike's numbers per 48 minutes are off the charts. In the only two games he played more than 20 minutes last year, he averaged 30 points and 12 rebounds.

Financial terms have yet to be disclosed.

Unloading Rasual Butler (August 12)- Despite having the best year of his career and providing a few clutch shots, Rasual was a drain on the team and among the worst starting shooting guards in the league. His departure saves the team nearly eight million dollars.

It also opens up the rotation for a young player to come in and make an impact. The current frontrunner is Julian Wright who should slide into the starting rotation, immediately improving the unit.

Signing Sean Marks (August 30)- Although not a real impact player, Marks provides energy off the bench. Last year he made a game winning shot for the first, and likely only time in his career. He's only making the veteran minimum.

Daniels for Songalia and Brown (September 10)- There was no room for Daniels in the backcourt and after his performance last year that's a good thing. He's on the wrong side of 33 and his numbers suggest he won't be in the league much longer.

Songalia is the final piece to a revamped frontcourt and Brown is young and talented enough to be a nice bench player in the future. The deal saved the Hornets another two million this year.

After all these moves, the luxury tax number is now around $73 million. The total realized savings for this offseason is nearly 14 million dollars despite clear improvements in the roster. With one more move the Hornets could well wind up below the luxury tax line. All things considered, Hornet fans are thrilled with what transpired this summer.

If the Hornets are able to take a top three seed in the West there will be lots of talk about Bower for executive of the year.