fevertrees
07-05-2010, 09:47 AM
Sorry to all of the dreamers and people hoping the inept front office would basically give him away to your team :lmao
New Orleans Hornets reaffirm commitment to Chris Paul, building winning roster
In the team’s most strident denunciation of ceaseless trade speculation swirling around All-Star guard Chris Paul, team president Hugh Weber affirmed the New Orleans Hornets’ commitment to keeping Paul in New Orleans and improving the roster through this summer’s free-agency period.
chris-paul12182.jpgMichael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul is the foundation upon which the team will continue to build, team president Hugh Weber said Sunday.
Since shortly before the June 24 NBA draft and almost every day since, there have been stories about the Hornets dealing Paul, who himself said he’d be open to a change of scenery should the team not be focused on building a winner.
Weber again reiterated, however, that the Hornets have no intention of trading their primary on- and off-court asset.
“No question, yes,” Weber said, responding to a question whether he thought, 100 percent, that Paul would be in New Orleans for the start of the season.
With the eventual transferal of ownership from George Shinn to Gary Chouest slowed dramatically by the involvement of Chouest’s primary business, Edison Chouest Offshore, in the cleanup of the massive Gulf oil catastrophe, uninformed speculation regarding the collapse of the sale, and potential economic ramifications on the franchise, continues to be disseminated.
That the Hornets don’t have the cap space to enter negotiations with an elite free agent merely exacerbates the postulating involving Paul and the team’s future.
“We will be active,” Weber of the Hornets’ free-agency plans. “It’s funny, it’s just like last summer where we’ll move and you’ll see some changes on this roster. You look at those teams who have a lot of cap space, they’re no closer to winning a championship than we are.
“In fact, they’re probably farther away because they’re in more of a rebuilding process. We’ve got two All-Stars, we have a system and a coach, we have a philosophy and an infrastructure that’s already in place. You’ll see us make some moves and changes, but again it will be something that will progress over time.”
Last summer, and into the fall, the Hornets made two significant trades: acquiring center Emeka Okafor from Charlotte in return for Tyson Chander on July 28, and getting forward Darius Songaila and backup guard Bobby Brown from Minnesota on Sept. 9.
The team also signed free-agent forward Ike Diogu on July 29.
Weber, speaking at a team function over the weekend, said the plodding pace of the expected sale – the last two NBA ownership transfers took 10 months to fully consummate – is having no bearing on the Hornets current or future plans.
“We’re working with the two families to make sure we’re moving forward,” Weber said, “and it’s not affecting team operations at all.”
Paul, at the same event, said that even if the Hornets’ roster remained status quo, he feels that if he was healthy – Paul missed 37 games last year because of ankle, knee and finger injuries – the team could compete.
“We’re all professional players,” Paul said. “If we had no chance, why play? Why compete? I don’t care if we have four players. I’ll go out there and compete.”
Weber said he believes a foundation built around the team’s All-Stars, Paul and forward David West, and a season with fewer injuries than a year ago, would put the Hornets back into postseason contention.
“Certainly you need an entire team that’s going to work together with a philosophy and discipline and style of play that’s going to compete at a high level,” Weber said. “We had so many injuries last year. I think it’s unfair to look at our last year’s performance and say that’s how we’ll look moving forward.
“We’re going to make some improvements not only on the court, but also off the court so that we’re competing at the highest level. If you’re not moving ahead, you’re moving back. That’s the way we’ve always looked at things and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
New Orleans Hornets reaffirm commitment to Chris Paul, building winning roster
In the team’s most strident denunciation of ceaseless trade speculation swirling around All-Star guard Chris Paul, team president Hugh Weber affirmed the New Orleans Hornets’ commitment to keeping Paul in New Orleans and improving the roster through this summer’s free-agency period.
chris-paul12182.jpgMichael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul is the foundation upon which the team will continue to build, team president Hugh Weber said Sunday.
Since shortly before the June 24 NBA draft and almost every day since, there have been stories about the Hornets dealing Paul, who himself said he’d be open to a change of scenery should the team not be focused on building a winner.
Weber again reiterated, however, that the Hornets have no intention of trading their primary on- and off-court asset.
“No question, yes,” Weber said, responding to a question whether he thought, 100 percent, that Paul would be in New Orleans for the start of the season.
With the eventual transferal of ownership from George Shinn to Gary Chouest slowed dramatically by the involvement of Chouest’s primary business, Edison Chouest Offshore, in the cleanup of the massive Gulf oil catastrophe, uninformed speculation regarding the collapse of the sale, and potential economic ramifications on the franchise, continues to be disseminated.
That the Hornets don’t have the cap space to enter negotiations with an elite free agent merely exacerbates the postulating involving Paul and the team’s future.
“We will be active,” Weber of the Hornets’ free-agency plans. “It’s funny, it’s just like last summer where we’ll move and you’ll see some changes on this roster. You look at those teams who have a lot of cap space, they’re no closer to winning a championship than we are.
“In fact, they’re probably farther away because they’re in more of a rebuilding process. We’ve got two All-Stars, we have a system and a coach, we have a philosophy and an infrastructure that’s already in place. You’ll see us make some moves and changes, but again it will be something that will progress over time.”
Last summer, and into the fall, the Hornets made two significant trades: acquiring center Emeka Okafor from Charlotte in return for Tyson Chander on July 28, and getting forward Darius Songaila and backup guard Bobby Brown from Minnesota on Sept. 9.
The team also signed free-agent forward Ike Diogu on July 29.
Weber, speaking at a team function over the weekend, said the plodding pace of the expected sale – the last two NBA ownership transfers took 10 months to fully consummate – is having no bearing on the Hornets current or future plans.
“We’re working with the two families to make sure we’re moving forward,” Weber said, “and it’s not affecting team operations at all.”
Paul, at the same event, said that even if the Hornets’ roster remained status quo, he feels that if he was healthy – Paul missed 37 games last year because of ankle, knee and finger injuries – the team could compete.
“We’re all professional players,” Paul said. “If we had no chance, why play? Why compete? I don’t care if we have four players. I’ll go out there and compete.”
Weber said he believes a foundation built around the team’s All-Stars, Paul and forward David West, and a season with fewer injuries than a year ago, would put the Hornets back into postseason contention.
“Certainly you need an entire team that’s going to work together with a philosophy and discipline and style of play that’s going to compete at a high level,” Weber said. “We had so many injuries last year. I think it’s unfair to look at our last year’s performance and say that’s how we’ll look moving forward.
“We’re going to make some improvements not only on the court, but also off the court so that we’re competing at the highest level. If you’re not moving ahead, you’re moving back. That’s the way we’ve always looked at things and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”