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When I put together the Taking Offers for Paul post, there was a behind-the-scenes discussion with Henry Abbott of Truehoop about just how talent-bereft I thought his offer was.  I opened it by saying that as soon as I saw Marcus Thornton involved in the trade, I didn't even really care what the Hornets were getting back, the deal was dead in my mind.

The question, though, is whether I'm not just a little nuts to think that way.  There is a lot of sentiment amongst Hornets fans that Marcus Thornton is untouchable.  But should he be?  Let's break him down.

General Stats

Taking his season as a whole, Marcus Thornton graded out to be a bit above average.  If you look at his monthly stats, he did clearly have an generally upward trajectory(after a dismal December) but it's probably better to take his season as a whole to set a basis for what to expect next year.  Larger sample size and all that.  Here are his advanced stats, and the average stats of a shooting guard in the league who played 20 games and at least 15 minutes a game.

That is fairly solid production, and it's better than any Hornet shooting guard has produced since Eddie Jones. (apologies to David Wesley)  I still worry at times, however, that my pleasure of seeing the ball in Thornton's hands is more because I was starved of good wing play than anything spectacular on Thornton's part.  So, let's dissect his game, and and see if Thornton is a truly exceptional player.

Shot Selection

My favorite part about Thornton's game is his perpetual motion and ability to cut to the basket, receive and finish in traffic.  One of the main reasons West's assist totals doubled was purely due to Thornton receiving that bounce pass from the high post.  But was he exceptional at this?  Indeed he was:

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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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As Monty Williams continues assembling what appears to be a talented group of assistants, one name remains missing. Former Hornets assistant Robert Pack, credited by both Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton as crucial in their development last season, has yet to sign with a basketball team for the coming season.

If Monty's brief track record of cleaning house is any indication, there won't be an announcement that Pack is returning. The Hornets have yet to retain a single coach from last year, in what is likely an attempt to cleanse the locker of of any lingering resentment from last year, and an effort to eliminate the mentality from the Bower era.

While Monty Williams isn't the first coach to completely clean house, and won't be the last, it seems unwise not to retain a coach as obviously talented and familiar with the team as Pack. The New Orleans native is a 13 year NBA veteran and has coached for only a single season. Despite being new to the coaching game, Pack played a huge role in the development of the rookies, both of whom gave the Hornets considerably more than was expected.

Earlier this summer I asked Marcus Thornton about Robert Pack and all of a sudden Thornton, who had been rather emotionless up to that point, seemed genuinely interested in the conversation.

Joe: I wanted to ask a little about Robert Pack and the role he played in your development.

Marcus: Ah man, he was huge. Me and DC will both vouch for him. I hope he's back because he was a big part of our success last year.

Joe: Anything specific?

Marcus: He was just there when we needed him. He brought us in hours and hours before practice and just made us do what we had to do to get better. He was a player once, so he knows what he's doing out there.

The Hornets had no comment when asked about Pack. What do you think? Is it worth it to bring back Robert Pack, or should the team continue it's complete house cleaning?

All summer long Hornets fans waited, speculated, and then waited some more for the franchise to open up it's pocketbook. Finally, on July first the opening bell rang and the money started flowing out, for most teams anyway. A month later, the Hornets faithful were left with only the taste of Luther Head lingering on their breath, afraid to even open their mouths for fear of letting a realistic Chris Paul trade rumor in by accident.

Now that the Paul rumors have come and gone yet again, Hornets fans can continue to look to add pieces to a nearly complete puzzle. Monty Williams and company seem content to head into the season with the current roster, but there are still a few holes that need to be filled before the team can truly be called complete.

Starting Lineup

PG- Chris Paul- Feels nice to type that and know that it's going to be true (knocks on wood).

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