2009-2010 Finish: 50-32

What went well

The New Orleans Hornets have slowly become one of the better teams in the NLL. Fronted by GM Daved for a long time, the Hornets went into the 2009-10 still hoping to prove their glorious 2006/07 underdog season wasn’t a fluke. Though the team has been middling since those exciting playoff games, the Hornets and GM DaveD decided this would be a season to be reckoned with.

The offseason began with a giant trade where the Hornets jettisoned Shawn Marion, a 1st rounder and Jamario Moon and got back George Hill, Taj Gibson, Earl Watson, Ryan Gomes and the rights to Linas Kleiza. Next, DaveD grabbed Ray Allen from the Mavs for the relatively cheap price of Mike Miller and sold off Travis Diener. He then nabbed Dahntay Jones, David Andersen and Solomon Jones. The team was ready to go!

With no other moves for the rest of the season, the Hornets managed to gel and play some strong basketball. Allen had his best season in years, complementing Andre Iguodala’s slashing play with some finesse shooting from the outside. GM DaveD even trusted Rajon Rondo to start most of the games this season.

The Hornets finished with their best NLL record ever, a sign that its good the Derrick Rose deal didn’t go down. Storming into the playoffs with the 2nd seeding, they mopped up the Timberwolves in four games. But the soon-to-champs waited in the next round.

What went worse

Chris Bosh proved to be too much for the old-young combo of Marcus Camby and Taj Gibson and the Memphis Grizzlies swiped the Hornets’ honey in an exciting six game series. This is where GM DaveD decided the Hornets needed a big man, one like Bosh or Amare Stoudemire and perhaps the turning point for what could be a new breed of Hornets.

Stars

- Andre Iguodala, GF -

In his third season with the Hornets, Iggy continued to put up respectable numbers. While not quite the breakout franchise star that DaveD had hoped for, Iggy hasn’t missed one game to injury while wearing a Hornets jersey. Despite his respectable 17.6ppg, Iggy move never be the guy in New Orleans.


- Rajon Rondo, G -

After four seasons in the NLL, Rondo has become one of the league’s top point guards. Although not as good as his sophomore season, Rondo averaged a respectable 12.2ppg and 5.4apg. Like Iggy, Rondo is a great player, but not a STAR. It might be time that changes here in New Orleans.

Goats

- Earl Watson, G –

Watson spent an expensive final year of his contract riding the pine in New Orleans. He played in only 11 games all season, spending most of the time banished to the IR by GM DaveD.




Looking to the future

Following the draft, the Hornets shipped out the rights of Kleiza to the Jazz for the rights of Terrico White. They also moved Gomes to the Celtics for the rights of Devin Ebanks. In White, the Hornets get a combo guard who can shoot and provides instant, aggressive offense. However, the Mississippi sophomore can be too aggressive on and off the court, and may be a major headache. Meanwhile, Ebanks gives the team a small forward that can rebound with a high percentage shot. But, the West Virginia sophomore can sometimes get lazy on the court and seem even afraid to take a shot.

GM DaveD has made it no secret that he wants to get bigger and better next season and isn’t afraid to shake up his roster to grab some of the marquee names out there. Iggy, Rondo and Camby may all be gone before the season starts while Allen is due for a new contract. Rondo’s new deal is also another for the team to consider moving him. Free agents Watson and Dorell Wright will be gone too. The Hornets have some money to play with too. The sky’s the limit for this newly hot team. Let’s hope DaveD makes the right decisions to keep them on top.