Chad Ford and John Hollinger rank the NBA teams on their future potential, based on players under contract, financials, ownership and draft potential. The Hornets do not come out well, ranking 23rd out of 30 teams.
It’s a good-news, bad-news situation in New Orleans. The good news is that the Hornets’ disastrous cap situation will ease after this season, especially if they can pay somebody to take James Posey off their hands. Alas, New Orleans could be facing an even worse problem. Point guard Chris Paul appears to be trying to force his way out of town, taking with him the Hornets’ lone source of star power.
Even with the superstar guard, it’s hard to get excited about the team’s future. They have two good young guards in Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton and a minor star in power forward David West. The ownership is in flux while George Shinn negotiates a sale to Gary Chouest; the threadbare front office is now under the control of Dell Demps, who was fourth on the totem pole in San Antonio until his recent hiring; and the market is one of the least appealing for free agents. And while it’s possible the Hornets could be well under the cap next summer, it’s also possible West could leave as a free agent.
Tracking the T'Wolves
Young Pups