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ESPN.com's John Hollinger and ESPN the Magazine's Chris Broussard are doing projections and previews for all 30 NBA teams and have ranked the Hornets as the 14th best.

Here is the Hornets relevant portion of the predictions:

14. New Orleans Hornets

The More Things Change: First and foremost, Chris Paul, who missed 37 games because of injury last season, is back, though he's not necessarily happy about returning to New Orleans. The Hornets' point guard wants to play for a contender, and new GM Dell Demps, along with new head coach Monty Williams, have tried to make moves to appease their superstar. They traded away his backup, Darren Collison, to bring in Trevor Ariza and sent Julian Wright to Toronto for Marco Belinelli. Both Ariza and Belinelli are young and full of potential. The hope is that with Paul getting them open looks, they'll finally tap their upside with the Hornets.

The More They Stay the Same: If Marcus Thornton can improve on his pleasantly surprising rookie year, in which he averaged nearly 20 points over the last three months of the season, the Hornets could have their best backcourt in recent memory. That would make the already-solid big-man tandem of Emeka Okafor and David West that much better, and with Ariza aboard, Peja Stojakovic can perhaps fill the role of sniper off the bench. Basketball-wise, it doesn't look as bad as many might think. But off the court, it's a mess, as the ownership transfer from George Shinn to Gary Chouest continues to hit stumbling blocks. Closure for this club won't come until Chouest is running the team."

A few other notes-

• Although it's better than league average, there are still 8 teams expected to be ahead than the Bees out west, which would leave them on the outside looking in come playoff time.
• Marcus Thornton is projected to lead the team in points per minute.
• Ariza is projected to average 15.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per 40 minutes
• Louis Amundson is expected to make a decision this week between the Pacers, Warriors and Hornets. "We're getting close to doing something," his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. "I think we'll get something done with Louis this week."
• Rondo is off the Olympic team. Take that for what it is.
  

The Hornets are trying to fill the void behind Chris Pau, and yesterday they agreed to partially guaranteed a contract with Mustafa Shakur.  I would assume that means he comes in to training camp, and the Hornets will decide there whether to hold on to him.

Before we get to Shakur, and what he could bring to the team, I did want to point out that this would be only the second time in recent memory that the Hornets will be trying out a former D-Leaguer in training camp.  After years of hoping the Hornets would dump the over 30 veteran retreads and instead bring in someone young and developing like Courtney Sims to compete for end of the bench roles, it looks like I'll finally get my wish. 

I reached out to Matt Hubert of THN's D-League Digest, to get his take on the Hornets signing of Mustafa Shakur:

The Hornets' decision to sign Mustafa Shakur makes a lot of sense to anyone who followed the D-League last year. After going undrafted out of Arizona and spending two years overseas, Shakur turned heads in his rookie season in the D-League, averaging 19.2 points with a true shooting percentage of 58. His strong play earned him a spot on the D-League All-Star team in February, a call-up to the Oklahoma City Thunder in March (though he did not see any game action) and a second-team all D-League selection at the end of the season in April. He also helped lead Tulsa to the conference finals of the D-League playoffs.

In the wake of the Hornets' decision to send Darren Collison to Indiana, New Orleans has a need at backup point guard, and I think Shakur could be a good fit. He won't be asked to score like he was in the D-League, but he will be asked to be smart with the ball if and when he sees the floor. Last season in the D-League he finished eighth in the league with 6.9 assists per game and a respectable but not great 2.14 assists per turnover.

But the biggest takeway from this signing is the fact that the Hornets appear to be turning over a new leaf under new general manager Dell Demps, formerly of the Austin Toros. His D-League experience may prove to open new doors for an organization that previously had very little involvement with the D-League, and the signing of Shakur could be just the beginning.

Mustafa Shakur, 1984, 6'5, 185, Point Guard

It has been a while since we've checked in on Shakur, who has made notable strides since leaving Arizona. After stints with Prokom Trefl of Poland and the Euroleague and TAU Ceramica (now Caja Laboral), Shakur exploded in the NBADL last season, showing some new wrinkles to his skill set that make him a much more viable NBA talent. He's a considerably better shooter than he was as a collegian, improving his mechanics and forcing teams to respect his range in catch and shoot situations. His improved range and confidence off the dribble have opened up his floor game. Showing a knack for playing with pace, seeing the floor better, and making much better decisions with the ball than he did in the past thanks to his increased maturity level and basketball IQ, Shakur is a clear-cut NBA caliber player when you factor in his outstanding physical tools.

About a week ago I sat down, thinking about writing something about 'Melo, but opted against it. The lingering hatred of the Chris Paul rumors stopped me for a while, but with each passing day more and more experts are mentioning New Orleans as a possible landing place for Carmelo and I can't help but feel excited that the Hornets are being mentioned as a destination.

Let's start with going over the differences in the situations so nobody bites my head off. 'Melo is about to be a free agent. His contract expires after this season if he decides to not pick up his player's option. That's about 9 months away at this point, assuming the Nuggets don't surprise anyone by making a deep run. If they want to get good value on him they need to move now. There just isn't time to re-tool and convince him to stay, and there's no guarantee that he wants to stick around even if the team was better.

To be fair, ESPN is now reporting that Chauncey Billups talked to 'Melo, and is claiming that he's happy in Denver. Well, actually it just says that he loves the team, loves the fans, and loves the City. Some, including myself, can see Anthony following those statements with "but I'm just not in love with you."

I'm making that up entirely, but wouldn't it just make sense to hear it? The guy has a 3 year, $65 million dollar deal on the table with a looming expiration date on it  - and he hasn't touched it.

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New Hornets GM Dell Demps met with Chris Paul today to discuss the recent trade rumors and to assure Paul that the team is headed int he right direction

Below is a transcript from the press conference that followed.

Opening Statement

First of all I’d like to say I’m really excited to be here today. This morning, Chris Paul, his agent Leon Rose and his brother C.J. Paul met with Hugh Weber and Monty Williams and I at about 10 a.m. We met for about an hour and a half and I thought it was a very productive meeting. I was encouraged. It was the first time I met Chris. It was a good opportunity for us to open the lines of communication. Chris had some very good points. He’s a smart, young, intelligent person, and I was really excited about the meeting.

Q: At any time, did Chris, Leon or his brother formally request a trade or talk about wanting to be traded from New Orleans?

Demps: You get right to the point, huh? He did not. He did not request a trade.

Q: Did he seem disgruntled whatsoever. What was Chris’ demeanor?

Demps: He was energetic, he was open, he was honest. He showed that he wants to win, and that’s what we want to do, as well.

Q: Were you confident that he will play for the Hornets this season?

Demps: I am.

Q: There has been so much conjecture and hearsay in the media. How much did Chris confirm these thoughts, as far as his desires that were put out in the media?

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Well, the Hornets and Paul had their sit-down.  The Hornets were doing the presenting, with Hugh Weber, Dell Demps and Monty Williams doing the talking.  Paul and his agent Leon Rose were listening - and there's no word about if they were doing any presenting themselves. (of lists, that is) 

Paul's first statement, via twitter:

On Monday 26th July 2010, @Oneandonlycp3 said:

“The meeting went well.  It was great to get an opportunity to sit down with Coach Williams, President Weber and our new General Manager Dell Demps. I expressed my desire to win and I like what they said about the direction that they want to take the team.  I have been a Hornet my entire career and I hope to represent the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana for many years to come.”

For those of you who want Paul to stay like me, let's hope it's real.

[Update]  As to the idea that Paul was presenting lists of destinations, here is the Hornets statement addressing that issue:

Hornets general manager Dell Demps says star guard Chris Paul did not request a trade during a meeting with New Orleans executives.

Demps says he is confident that Paul will be playing with the Hornets this season after Monday's meeting, which included new coach Monty Williams and team president Hugh Weber.