Good Riddance

"I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!" - Michael Corleone

Chris Paul has taken on the Fredo title. As news comes out that Chris Paul is demanding a trade, I can't help but feel betrayed for what he has done. Basketball was my first love. I fell in love with Michael Jordan, but when he left, I left as well. I switched full-time to football and felt the stinging failure of the Saints organization. It took a miracle performance by Dwyane Wade in the NBA Finals to pull me back through.

Wade's Finals performance reminded me of why I loved the NBA in the first place. I have always been in awe of the things these players are capable of. The individual talent and spectacle always played to my desire to be a star as well. After the 2006 NBA Finals, I decided to start watching basketball again, specifically the hometown Hornets. Unfortunately, though they were still the New Orleans Hornets, they were playing in Oklahoma City. I still watched as a young star in the making, Chris Paul, won Rookie of the Year, and continued to develop a rapport with power forward David West. I transferred to Tulane in the fall of 2007 and became a season ticket holder for the New Orleans Hornets. All through 2007, I went on a journey following Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, and the crew to a 56 win season and a number two seed in the Western Conference. We lost in the second round, in a game seven to the spurs, but I knew something special was developing.

In the years that followed, the Hornets only underwhelmed making the playoffs in 2008 and missing them in 2009. During this time, I kept the faith with Chris Paul. I knew he was talented enough to take this team to a higher level. I knew that he would be able to make everyone around him better. I knew that he could bring New Orleans it's first basketball title. The only problem is Chris Paul doesn't know that.

The trade demands from Chris Paul hurt every New Orleans resident, no matter what their basketball affiliation. Chris Paul has been lauded in the media for his dedication to the city of New Orleans and the community work he has done. Now, Paul has ruined all of the goodwill that he earned. New Orleans is a loyal city. People returned after Katrina and kept up the traditions, no matter how difficult it was. This city is resilient and never backs away from a challenge. We follow our sports teams, through thick and thin, especially after losing them due to Katrina. None of these traits describe Paul anymore.

Say what you will about Lebron James, but his decision was at least acceptable. He was a free agent and went to the place that would give him the best chance to win. Chris Paul is demanding a trade, and frankly, I cannot support him. I have been the biggest Chris Paul supporter I know. While many of my friends have said trade Paul, I demanded we try and keep him to build around him. I have lost all respect for Paul because of this move. I know people like KG did it to move to Boston, but Garnett was an older player, and the Wolves were far away from winning. It was only two years ago that the Hornets were the #2 seed! Paul is still in his prime. To do this to the city of New Orleans is classless, Chris. You said that Oklahoma City was a great place to play, and I bet you wish'd you'd stayed there. We still filled the arena and sold out games! There was a death sentence for the Hornets if we did not fill out the stadium, but New Orleanians came out in droves for you! We don't want to watch David West or Okafor. Every fan in the house was there for you, Chris and you failed us.

I used to say that the race between you and Drew Brees for King of New Orleans was a close one. You were closer to winning a title. You were one of the biggest stars in the NBA. The Saints were merely .500 teams and looked to be talented but going nowhere. I just knew that you were going to be the one that came out on top. Then something strange happened, Drew Brees showed dedication that we loved. He kept his head down, kept working, and helped to make his team better. He volunteered all around New Orleans and truly embraced the culture. He is one of a very few athletes to even live among us. Drew Brees did everything right, especially trust his organization, and it paid off for him. I thought that's what you would do Chris. Instead, you went all titty-baby on us and decided to leave. Well good luck, and good riddance. If this trade goes through, I'll cherish the past and curse your future.

The Indecision

As I sat and watched Lebron James confirm all suspicions, I couldn't help but feel odd about the entire decision. From Lebron's standpoint, the decision makes perfect sense: he has always wanted to win a championship. All throughout history, every champion has had at least two superstars or two excellent players on the team. Jordan/Pippen, Magic/Kareem, Bird/McHale, etc. Only recently though, with a proliferation of talent in the NBA, the model seems to have changed to a three player system. Think about the teams that have been very good recently. The Celtics had Garnett, Allen, and Pierce. The Magic had Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu/Carter. The Lakers had Kobe, Odom, and Gasol. These teams were designed to fit around these trios. Lebron knew this and never saw himself getting the help in Cleveland.

It has been said before, but it must be said again, Cleveland never proved itself to be the team that Lebron would win championships on. Whether it be inept management making the wrong moves, or the karma of fnas booing the team after playoff losses, the city was too emotionally daaged and too many mistakes were made to go back. Cleveland had 7 years to put even one superstar around Lebron and they always chose the easy route with a third-tier player or a washed up has-been. Lebron saw the writing on the walls and decided to get out before he lost any more of his youth.

Now that Lebron has gone to the Heat, their chances of winning a title have increased dramatically. Lebron, Wade and Bosh will coexist and prove that this was the right decision. The fast breaks are going to be ridiculous with this team. Bron Bron and Dwyane were both in the top 10 in steals last year. If each player keeps those numbers up, and has the other running the floor to finish, they migh tbe the most fun team to watch. Lebron will change his game to fit the system. He can be an NBA chameleon, but must improve his jump shot. I think that all three players recognize that Wade is the leader of this team. They know he is the only one to have won things at all different levels. The two will cowtow to Lord Wade and all will be right in the world.

Still though, I cannot get used to the images of Lebron James over the Heat logo. I knew that Chris Broussard was right when he said Lebron was going to Miami for the next season but I guess I didn't believe it. I know Lebron is getting killed from all angles for this but he shouldn't be. The decision he made was the right one. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have called the Cavaliers first. Have some class Lebron and talk to your previous employers. They supported far better than they should have. I understand wanting to keep the suspense aspect but call the others teams too. Quit stringing the teams along as if your were a high school boy toying with a girls emotions. You have grown from that, you are a man now. In this sense, you should have acted like one.

I love Dwyane Wade. Always have always will. I hated Lebron James. Now that the two have teamed up, I have no idea how to feel.

Grading the Hornets Draft

Well, well, well. The New Orleans Hornets went into the draft for the first time with a lottery pick in 3 years and came out with ... absolutely nothing! Nothing may be a little too harsh. The Hornets did receive two warm bodies to man the bench and should be able to fill out the salary cap nicely. For real, I don't like the picks, but I will still give the facts for the public.

Craig Brackins, PF, Iowa State

First off, Brackins is listed by NBADraft.net as 6-10. That's a lot taller than I initially expected. Considering the lack of height the Hornets have, Emeka is as tall as Brackins and he is our center, it's nice to see Bower go after a big. Brackins stats all decreased from his sophomore to junior year except for his assists which he increased greatly. I think this bodes well for him in the NBA. His assist to turnover ratio was at just a shade over one. Having a big man that doesn't turn the ball over is not the Hornets strong suit. Hilton, Emeka, and West all give it up like regular street hookers. Brackins was not very efficient in college and has not shown that he can be an elite rebounder. Many say that being the only option for Iowa State led to increased double and triple teams, lowering his stats across the board. I don't know if this is true but I just hope that he can turn his athleticism into a new Crescent City Connection, maybe we can call it the Causeway or Huey P. Long this time.

Quincy Pondexter, SF, Washington

I much prefer Pondexter to Brackins for the New Orleans Hornets. SF is a position of need, with Treyja Stoi-arc-a-swich, probably leaving in a trade at some point this year. I love the fact that he is a senior and will come in to contribute right now. He is long athletic and can straight up fly down the court which is perfect for Paul. Solid rebounder and gets a lot of steal because of his length. Scouts are saying that he may not be comforable taking his man off the dribble and that he doesn't have good lateral movement. Hopefully this man can develop into a defensive stalwart who will finish breaks better than Posey and any other member of the Hornets can. Seriously, did last year have any alley oops? THAT'S PAUL'S SPECIALTY! Good to see an athletic wing that we can develop and isn't named Julian "Figured out which players are teammates is difficult for me" Wright.

Overall, the two players are okay. I just get some 2006 vibes from this draft though. For those who don't remember, we had two picks very close together with one in the lottery. That year we chose, drumroll please: Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons. That draft is remains hilarious to me because I thought they would actually be good. I really want to be wrong about these two players but I don't think I am.

Side note: Eff the Jazz. Why do they always have to steal things that New Orleans wants and needs? First, the name the Jazz. Then they took the "Best Point Guard in the League" title and gave it to Deron Williams when Chris Paul was injured. And last night, they took my beloved Gordon Hayward, two picks before the Hornets. They should just change their name to the Utah Blizzard: fits with the atmosphere, tame for the Mormons, and they have so many white guys already. I hate the Jazz.

Here's some highlight reels.

Craig Brackins just dominating Rider, Colgate, and othe POWERhouses.

Quincy Pondexter dunking over people.

A New Year, A New Team

Well, ladies and gentleman, I am back. Your trusted Hornets blogger has returned with some updates on what the team has been doing.

Byron Scott's Firing

I know I should have written this moons ago but good riddance. I am glad Byron Scott is gone. The man is a great coach, don't get me wrong but his pettiness has been so frustrating to the fans. Why not let the rookies play? Why play Chris Paul for 43 minutes a game? Why jerk every players minutes around and never develop a solid rotation? He's a coach who wears players down quickly and it was his time to go.

Emergence of the Rookies

Collison and Thornton have been everything and ore than we hoped they would be. Collison steadied the ship when CP3 went down with his ankle injury earlier in the year. Thornton is doing his best Pargo impersonation except more efficiently. These two are superb and will only continue to get better.

Bonus: Thornton provided me with the best moment I saw in the Arena all year. This block was fantastic.

Hilton Armstrong Trade

We could have burned the money and made off like bandits in this trade. Hilton Armstrong might be the only player in the league that made his team worse EVERY time he was on the floor.

Hopefully I can start getting more posts out there. I want to reward the readers.

Are the Hornets Ready for a Emeka Okaforsome?

Finally, the New Orleans Hornets have done what fans are calling for: a genuine attempt to improve the team.  In a little less than a week, the Hornets traded away our defensive stalwart Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor and then signed a serviceable back-up big man in Ike Diogu.

I like the Okafor move for two reasons:

 1. It gives the Hornets a little more offense while not sacrificing defense comparatively

2. Ownership has proven they are dedicated to providing a winner now.

Okafor saves the Hornets a little over $1 million this upcoming season but is on the books for $40 million the next 3 seasons.  Emeka gives Chris Paul a running mate and is the only player, other than Posey, whose contract runs fully with Paul's.  There is no question that Okafor is an offensive upgrade over Tyson Chandler.  If I had a nickel for every terrible low-post move Tyson has exposed to the world, I would be able to fund this country's bail-out.  Okafor is not as bad on defense as everyone says he is.  Watch the game footage.  He seems to have trouble keeping people out of the post but the majority of the centers he will face are exterior post players.  Only Howard and O'Neal still bang down low on a consistent basis.  Emeka should be able to slow others with his exceptional timing and length.

The New Orleans Hornets have also finally shown that they are willing to spend money to make the team better.  For a long time, it was assumed that George Shinn would only trade Tyson for salary cap reasons.  Okafor shows a commitment to winning that Shinn did not display earlier this offseason.  I think the Hornets still need to make another move (Michael Redd when the Bucks inevitably suck?) but for now they are a better team on paper.

Ike Diogu, one of the most tantalizing players in the NBA.  Ever since he has entered the league, Diogu's per 40 numbers have been absolutely spectacular.  He is the perfect backup for someone like David West.  Diogu has been able to produce efficiently and hits his free throws at a nice clip.  The only problem, that I see, is that he is a bit turnover prone.  Of course compared to Hilton Armstrong, Diogu is Fort Knox.

(Speaking of Hilton Armstrong, I read Tip Off: How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever by Fillip Bondy.  In the epilogue, it talks about the 2006 NBA draft and how teams were trying to trade up to get Hilton Armstrong.  Can you believe that now?  Every GM who was unable to make that trade is probably breathing a big sigh of relief now.   I can't believe that was the thinking.)

So for now, the Hornets have improved.  We are still paying too much money but hopefully we can get rid of Antonio Daniels and others to make this team even better.

Ranking the Offseason Moves

This 2009 offseason, 2010's nerdy brother, is actually a lot more exciting than I though it would be.  The bad teams are gearing up to try and sign the big players in 2010 while the rich got richer.

In order from worst to best:

432. Allen Iverson

Iverson says that he will not come off of the bench to play for a team.  He also wants a bigger contract than most teams can offer and who wouldn't.  Have you heard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2skYVPGExgy?  How can Allen fund another CD without making over $6 mil a year?  In all seriousness, a top 50 player in NBA history but just not cutting it anymore.  Rough offseason for Iverson.

279. Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers have been getting rejected more than Paul McDaniel's Discover card.  Every free agent they have tried to sign has gone elsewhere.  The offer to Millsap was not enough to discourage the Jazz from matching.  Turkoglu was whipped and his girl convinced him not to go to Portland but to move to the great white North and play for Toronto.

107. David Lee

David Lee is an odd player in the NBA.  An absolute rebounding machine.  His arms change form like the T-1000 to get all available rebounds.  He averaged 11.8 rebounds per game and an insane 16.8 rebounds per 48 minutes.  David Lee averaged a robust 16 ppg last year while averaging 1.42 points per shot.  Lee is a great rebounder who can score, yet no team has offered him a contract yet.  Some will say that Lee is a product of Mike D'Antoni's system.  It may be true to an extent, but Lee hustles too much for a team to not try and sign him.

63.  New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets are an oddity.  A small market team that tried to play big-market basketball and have failed.  They own too many contracts and cannot sign any free agents that others are looking for.  In other news, Jeff Bowers feels like he must get under the cap so Tyson Chandler is on the block for beans on the dollar.  I feel like Jack's mother right now.  Tyson Chandler may get traded for magic beans, but I am still pissed that we are trading the cow.  The Hornets only get this high of a rating because Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton have shown promise in the summer league.

56.  Richard Jefferson

In case you haven't heard yet, Richard is a single man still.  Three days before his wedding, Jefferson e-mailed his fiancee to call the wedding off.  Usually this would result in a bad offseason, but Jefferson did the smart thing.  He saved money from the inevitable divorce.  In this economy, any money saved is a good thing.

Alright enough dilly-dallying, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

4. Boston Celtics

Usually adding a nutcase to your team hurts your cause, but when that nutcase is Rasheed Wallace, one of the most talented players in the league, your team gets better.  Add in "signing" a healthy KG and the Celtics are poised to fight for a championship again.  The only reason the Celtics aren't ranked higher is the fact that they kept trying to trade Rajon Rondo which may cause him to overreact and play terribly this season.  Otherwise, great offseason for the Celtics.

3. Los Angeles Lakers

This position is assuming that the Lakers re-sign Lamar Odom.  Lamar was the glue that stuck the Lakers team together.  Everyone calls him the Candyman and if he re-signs, the Lakers are in a great position.  Also, the Lakers essentially traded Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest.  Artest is effing mental.  He is the one player who may kill someone on the court in an NBA game.  Hopefully Kobe can prove to be a strong enough force.  If Kobe can't even handle watching the puppet kid in those commercials, I don't know how is going to watch over the craziest man in the game today.

2. San Antonio Spurs

This team is good as crud.  Take one part surefire Hall-of-Famer, Top-2 all-time at his position, Tim Duncan, add a little French seasoning in Tony Parker, give it some Latin flair with jalapenos aka Manu, and then throw in a token Blite (Black/white) guy in Richard Jefferson.  The Spurs are stacked at all positions 1-4 and McDyess is a servicable big man.  The team is also coached by diabolical genius and potential homeless man Greg Popovich.  No way they don't make it to the Western Conference Finals.

(Seriously Pop, shave the beard.  Do you look in the mirror every morning and enjoy what you see?  When little kids around you are constantly crying that's not a good thing?  Change it up, go clean shaven again.  For the youth of America.)

1. Orlando Magic

Wow, just wow.  I don't know where this team suddenly got money, I'm looking at you Barack, but this team signed or traded for so many players.  Vinsanity drastically upgrades the 2 spot for the Magic.  Carter can be dynamic when he tries but most of the time he runs around as if he were in a food coma.  Hopefully Van Gundy will yell at him enough to where he starts dunking over people again.  They signed both Marcin Gortat, a personal fave for the Hornets, and Brandon Bass, that LSU boy.  That gives Howard and Lewis two legitimate backups to play behind them.  On top of all this, they also signed Matt Barnes and X-factor in this equation.  If Barnes shows up, this team could be deadly.  With all the changes, I don't know if this team got better but on paper they certainly did.

We'll see how the rest of free agency turns out and hopefully the Hornets pull something off to make this a worthwhile offseason.

Why Dwight Howard Actually Is Superman

Dwight Howard, man-child for the Orlando Magic, is the best center in the game right now.  Only Yao Ming and Shaq have a claim and considering Yao breaks more things than I do and Shaq is just a little old, Howard will do.  Recently, Dwight has taken to calling himself superman, a moniker an old Orlando center had before him (Shaq).  Many people are upset that Dwight Howard would just steel (see what I did there) the Man of Steel's name.  I am not upset because I believe that Dwight Howard might actually be Superman.

Evidence #1:  Both Superman and Dwight Howard came out of nowhere.

Superman fell to Earth after his home planet of Krypton was in trouble.  Dwight Howard rose from being a nobody in high school to being the number one overall pick.  Many experts argued that Emeka Okefor, the great player that his is(n't) should have been chosen first overall.  Many comic book nerds think that the Kents should have traded Superman for Spiderman or some other hero (the last fact may or may not be made up).

Evidence #2: Both have superpowers that a normal human being can only dream of.

Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound.  Dwight Howard can dunk on 13' goals.  Superman can run as fast as a speeding train.  Dwight Howard, when motivated, is fast as crud.  Superman can shoot heat lasers out of his eyes.  Dwight can blind other players by flashing his ridiculously bright smile.  Superman has super-strength.  Dwight Howard is the biggest and most jacked player in the league.  Superman can withstand being shot by a bullet.  No one has shot Dwight, but don't be surprised if when he does, nothing happens.

Evidence #3: Both have really dumb weaknesses.

The only thing that can stop Superman is kryptonite.  The only thing that can stop Dwight Howard is not having deep post position.  If Dwight can develop any post game, look out. 

(Speaking of kryptonite, how stupid is that stuff.  It seems like just putting Superman near it weakens him.  Why don't his enemies just wait until they have a buttload of it to attack?  I mean clearly small pieces aren't working.  Another idea: inject Lois Lane with it.  Superman loves her too much to not be away from her.  Also, kryptonite bullets.  Two birds with one stone.)

Evidence #4: Both have civic duties.

Superman serves and protects Metropolis from anyone trying to harm the city and people he love.  Dwight Howard protects the post from all who try and enter.  Defensive play of the year he uses his super-strength to send things into the third row.

Clearly, Dwight and Superman are the same person.  I am on to you Dwight Howard.  You can't hide under your alter-ego anymore.