The 2008-2009 season ended on a bittersweet note for all fans of the New Orleans Hornets. A promising 2007-2008 campaign left fans with high hopes for the Hornets of 2008-2009, who easily bowed out in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Players in New Orleans seemingly gave up on their coach, and morale was at a low point as the season ended.
Things looked like they started coming undone once Tyson Chandler was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a move to save money so that the Hornets would not have to pay the luxury tax. As things turned out, the trade was rescinded and the Hornets were "stuck" with Chandler and his contract. This put a damper on Chandler's enthusiasm and the team's chemistry.
While a few minor trades have been made, no moves have been made that blatantly improve the quality of the Hornets' roster. They were wise to lose Peja Stojakovic, a player whose style never seemed to fit in with the New Orleans game, not to mention a long string of injuries that left him benched for significant portions of a few seasons. Management has also informed the team that nearly every player is subject to a possible trade, save for Chris Paul and maybe David West.
Now it's the off-season, the draft has come and gone and the Hornets have yet to make an off-season move. In fact, they are the only playoff team in the "Wild West" who have not made a move yet.
Because of this, it's very likely that New Orleans will be stuck paying yet another luxury tax. This could be justified if there was an improvement in the team's talent pool, but this isn't the case whatsoever. It's starting to seem more and more than the 2007-2008 season was the near-term pinnacle for the Hornets, and each season from here will fall short, and possibly even regress, if no moves are made.
Well, good luck to the Hornets and their fans as they try to fit the pieces together, and let's hope they just might finally make an off-season move.
Things looked like they started coming undone once Tyson Chandler was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a move to save money so that the Hornets would not have to pay the luxury tax. As things turned out, the trade was rescinded and the Hornets were "stuck" with Chandler and his contract. This put a damper on Chandler's enthusiasm and the team's chemistry.
While a few minor trades have been made, no moves have been made that blatantly improve the quality of the Hornets' roster. They were wise to lose Peja Stojakovic, a player whose style never seemed to fit in with the New Orleans game, not to mention a long string of injuries that left him benched for significant portions of a few seasons. Management has also informed the team that nearly every player is subject to a possible trade, save for Chris Paul and maybe David West.
Now it's the off-season, the draft has come and gone and the Hornets have yet to make an off-season move. In fact, they are the only playoff team in the "Wild West" who have not made a move yet.
Because of this, it's very likely that New Orleans will be stuck paying yet another luxury tax. This could be justified if there was an improvement in the team's talent pool, but this isn't the case whatsoever. It's starting to seem more and more than the 2007-2008 season was the near-term pinnacle for the Hornets, and each season from here will fall short, and possibly even regress, if no moves are made.
Well, good luck to the Hornets and their fans as they try to fit the pieces together, and let's hope they just might finally make an off-season move.
About the Author:
Zack Slattery is an amateur NBA reporter with a love for the New Orleans Hornets. He's a regular contributor to both the NBA basketball forum and the New Orleans Hornets forum at RootZoo Sports.
No comments:
Post a Comment