Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 13:59 Central
-- Joshua Davidson, TigerWeekly.com
After hearing talk of Thornton's stock rising in the weeks leading up to the draft, many draft analysts believed Thornton would go somewhere from the 20th pick to 30th pick. Falling to the 43rd overall pick and the 13th pick of the second round, Thornton was a huge steal for the Hornets, who used their first round pick, the 21st overall, to take former UCLA point guard Darren Collison.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 09:58 Central
-- Dennis Rogers, Hornets.com
The New Orleans Hornets today unveiled their roster that will participate in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 10-19.
Complete coverage of the Hornets Summer League Action, including box scores, photos and game summaries will be available at hornets.com. Their entry will feature recent draft picks Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton plus current Hornet Julian Wright.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 09:54 Central
-- John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune
We soon will see -- really, really soon -- just how interested Brandon Bass is in the Hornets. Because money-wise, the NBA field is level this offseason.
In Bass' case, make that mid-level.
There only are about four or five unrestricted free agents this year who can expect a major payday, and Bass, a former SEC Player of the Year from LSU and an ex-Hornet, isn't one of them.
So when he signs, probably for a salary in the range of the mid-level exception (expected to be about $5.6 million), it's going to be with a team he really wants to play for, instead of the one that ponies up the most cash.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 09:53 Central
-- John Reid, The Times-Picayune
Although Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower initially said addressing the team's frontcourt depth was a priority in free agency, one of the first calls he made after midnight Wednesday morning was to guard Jannero Pargo's agent, Mark Bartelstein.
Teams could begin negotiating with free agents at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but players cannot sign contracts until July 8.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 14:00 Central
-- Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
New Orleans will open its game participation in NBA Summer League on Sunday, July 12 in Las Vegas, facing San Antonio at 3 p.m. Central time. Here’s a look at each member of the Hornets’ roster:
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 09:52 Central
-- Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune
For the third consecutive year since entering the league as a first-round draft choice in 2007, forward Julian Wright will be part of the Hornets' summer-league team that will play this month in Las Vegas.
The Hornets' team, scheduled to be coached by team scout Rob Werdann, will play five games against teams from the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
Wright will be joined on New Orleans' summer roster by Darren Collison, this year's first-round choice from UCLA who was selected with the 21st overall choice last Thursday.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 02, 2009 at 09:33 Central
-- William Guillory, New Orleans.com
The NBA opens the first phase of its free agency period on July 1. Free agents can hold discussions with any team they choose but cannot sign with a new club until July 8.
Despite the fact that some teams have already made big splashes this offseason with trades and acquisitions made during the NBA Draft, free agency is where teams can either put themselves in a position to win a championship or start looking forward to next year’s draft.
While big moves will be made throughout the NBA, we will be focusing primarily on the Southwest Division because that’s the New Orleans Hornets’ division.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 01, 2009 at 12:55 Central
-- Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
As we’ve discussed on this site in recent months, with NBA teams allowed to begin negotiations with free agents at 12:01 a.m. EST Wednesday, various national media members are erroneously presuming that the Hornets will avoid the luxury tax by all means necessary.
On this topic, it’s probably worth re-visiting some of the comments made by New Orleans president Hugh Weber -- who oversees the team’s business operations -- in mid-May regarding the luxury tax. Weber’s meeting with the local New Orleans media was interesting to watch, partly because he was able to dispel some of the assumptions that were being made at the time. I remember beat writer John Reid of the Times-Picayune asking Weber, “you realize that ESPN is reporting that the Hornets will avoid the luxury tax no matter what, right?”
Weber responded that he can’t control what ESPN or any other media outlet reports. He later tried to clarify the Hornets’ philosophy on how they will approach being over or under the luxury tax.
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 01, 2009 at 12:49 Central
-- Marc Stein, ESPN.com
From Marc Stein's Collection of rumors about the Free Agency Period:
"Talks have undeniably cooled for the Suns and Warriors on the Amare Stoudemire trade front, but I was told again Tuesday that (A) it is a virtual lock that the concept will be revisited since the teams have been exchanging Amare proposals since February and (B) Phoenix has not abandoned the idea of dealing Ben Wallace to New Orleans for center Tyson Chandler.
. . .
As for Chandler, Phoenix continues to be intrigued by the idea of gambling on a big man who, when healthy, has the qualities Nash been lobbying for: Chandler's athleticism, defensive presence and mobility. But Phoenix also fears that bringing him in will drag the Suns right back into the sort of financial straits that motivated them to dump Shaquille O'Neal's contract to Cleveland for two players (Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) who have no future in the desert."
Posted by Ryan Schwan
July 01, 2009 at 12:42 Central
-- Keith Prince, thenewsstar.com
Monroe’s Terry Martin has had some great moments on the basketball court, first helping Richwood’s Rams win a state title and then going on to a productive college career at Texas Tech and LSU, but today he is preparing for an opportunity that hopefully will open an even bigger door to the NBA.
Martin was invited to participate in a New Orleans Hornets tryout session June 16 and impressed coach Byron Scott enough to earn an invitation to play on the Hornets’ summer league team in Las Vegas.
This is our news section. If there's an article worth reading about the Hornets online, we'll find it fast and list it here.
Links in the internal feed bring you to the news story pages here at Hornets247. Links in the external feed bring you right to the full articles on other sites.
Hornets247: Working to spread information, provide analysis and encourage discussion. Learn more about us »
Copyright © 2003-2009 Hornets247.com
Recent Comments