Last Season: The Hornets put up the white flag midway through the season when they tried to unload Tyson Chandler. The Chandler trade fell through and the Hornets made it into the playoffs as the seventh seed. The Hornets weren’t bad last year, but they definitely took a step back and it showed in the playoffs. They were killed by the Nuggets in five games including a 101-63 loss in Game 4.

Acquisitions: C Emeka Okafor, G Darren Collison, F Ike Diogu, F/C Darius Songaila, G Bobby Brown, G Marcus Thornton

Departures: C Tyson Chandler, G Antonio Daniels, F Rasual Butler, F Melvin Ely

Starting Five: F Julian Wright, F David West, C Emeka Okafor, G Chris Paul, G Morris Peterson

Bench Mob: Hilton Armstrong, James Posey, Darren Collison, Ike Diogu, Darius Songalia, Peja Stojakovic, Sean Marks, Bobby Brown, Devin Brown

Most Interesting Man in the World: Chris Paul – He might be the most fun basketball player to watch in the NBA. At best he’s 6 feet tall and 175 lbs but he doesn’t back down from anyone. He can slash to the lane with ease and has the best court vision of anyone in the NBA. He completely revitalized the Hornets franchise, especially post-Katrina. On top of his dominance on the basketball court he’s also a pretty good bowler with an average of around 200.

Over the Hill: Morris Peterson – There was a time when Peterson was a legitimate scoring threat and could catch a hot streak and drop 20-plus points a night.  Those times have past, but with Rasual Butler’s departure Peterson is thrust into the starting lineup. Look for rookie Marcus Thornton to push for minutes and Byron Scott to shuffle the lineup around to work Stojakovic in and take Mo out.

Ready to Break Out: Emeka Okafor – There are a lot of doubts surrounding Okafor. He’s replacing Chandler but he’s not the athlete Chandler is. But Okafor should benefit from playing with the best point guard in the league. The two should connect for their share of lobs and Okafor’s offensive numbers will increase.

Outlook: Last year the Hornets had no depth, especially in the frontcourt. They have addressed this issue by bringing in Diogu and Songalia. Byron Scott will look to keep Peja healthy by having him come off the bench and limiting his minutes. CP3 will produce and so will David West, but the Hornets need a third option and it’s unclear who that will be. If Okafor can provide scoring in the post then the Hornets will be much improved over last season and could be fighting for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

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