Rumors continue to circulate over big deal for Hornets
The NBA’s trade deadline is Feb. 24, and the New Orleans Hornets are likely to be a key player on the open market.
Rumors have been circulating about the Hornets since their 2-29 start to this season — a low point for a team in slow decline since its move to New Orleans before the 2002-03 season.
The slide has been fueled by the loss of players like Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis to injuries. Mashburn, a top scorer, played in only 19 games last season and zero this one, and his career might be over. Point guard Davis has played in only 117 of 164 games the previous two seasons, and only 17 of the first 40 in this one.
On top of that, the franchise shifted from the East to the West’s Southwest Division this season. After 40 games, every team in the division except for New Orleans was above .500. The irony is that the Hornets were shifted because a new franchise was born in Charlotte, the Hornets’ home for 14 seasons. Adding insult to injury, the expansion Bobcats have had a better record for most of this season.
Things have been so bad that when veteran Jim Jackson was traded to the Hornets in December, he refused to report and had to be dealt elsewhere.
All of the above helps explain why Hornets general manager Allan Bristow could be the host of the NBA’s “Let’s Make a Deal.” Bristow has indicated he’d like to retain his veterans, but others believe he is willing to dump players like Davis, P.J. Brown and Jamaal Magloire for young talent and draft picks, which equals “rebuild.”
But there’s a bigger buyer in this market — Kansas City, Mo. The city is in the process of building the Sprint Center, a state-of-the-art arena that is expected to open in 2008. Kansas City has made some noise about having an NBA tenant to fill it.
The Hornets currently play in the New Orleans Arena. The team was drawing about 14,000 fans per game in the first part of the season, 81 percent of capacity, but next-to-last among NBA teams. Of more concern is that the Hornets’ average attendance has declined each season.
Now picture what will happen if the Hornets embark upon a rebuilding program that takes a few years to bear fruit. Those casual fans who show up to support winners won’t be filling seats. With the right deal, Kansas City will look mighty attractive to a franchise that once had 364 straight sellouts in Charlotte before its relationship with the city soured.
The moves Bristow makes now might affect the franchise’s future locale, and Kansas City could be a key player in this year’s dealings despite only having two big chips on the table — a new arena and a future of promise.