Chris Paul’s Injury Spells Disaster For The Hornets
Yesterday, the Hornets found out Chris Paul will miss the next two months or so following surgery on his left knee, which he hurt against the Bulls the other day. With the game in-hand, all New Orleans had to do was inbound the ball, get fouled and the game would be over. Instead, David West sends the rock to the other end of the floor, and in pursuit, CP3 smacks his knee, the Bulls get the ball and score, and eventually win it in overtime. Paul is definitely out for All-Star, meaning somebody – Chauncey Billups, Monta Ellis or Aaron Brooks – will be getting the alternate spot. But the bigger question is this: What will the Hornets do now?
I wrote at length last week about the Hornets and their present situation in a post titled, “The Hornets May Have Won The Battle, But Lost The War.” In there, I looked at both sides of the coin in New Orleans where the team was making cost-cutting moves, while also trying to put their franchise in the best position to win.
All this changes with Chris Paul out for the foreseeable future.
From fighting for a playoff spot to ping pong madness at the NBA Draft Lottery, you have to assume the Hornets’ season is over. Sure they’ve gone 6-4 in their last 10 games, even beating the Grizzlies without Paul on Saturday, but that is more the exception than the rule. And with rookies Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton as the only guards left on the roster – seriously, that’s scary – the Hornets better act fast.
Because management worked so hard to get under the cap, although there are still some legit veteran guards left in the free agent pool – Shaun Livingston, Antonio Daniels, Brevin Knight, Jason Hart, Jacque Vaughn, Rashad McCants, Von Wafer, Morris Almond – chances are the Hornets will only go after a D-League call-up or try their hand at some 10-day contracts to try and stop the bleeding. (These guys could include Curtis Stinson, Desmon Farmer, Mustafa Shakur or Curtis Jerrells.) Not exactly what you want to hear if you’re a Hornets fan.
What do you think? Who should they sign? Will the Hornets make a trade? Do they have any chance at making the playoffs?
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February 1st, 2010 at 10:26 am
Sweet English says:
and cuuuuuueee ticktock6
February 1st, 2010 at 10:40 am
ticktock6 says:
Here I am!
“Sure they’ve gone 6-4 in their last 10 games, even beating the Grizzlies without Paul on Saturday, but that is more the exception than the rule.”
False. The Hornets this year are over .500 without Paul. Just saying.
They also still have Morris Peterson on the roster, who actually contributed to the Memphis win despite not having played in a month or so. He’s older, but he’s a guard. I would honestly rather have a D League guy– more likely to play harder for less money. With Collison and Thornton taking a bigger role, the Hornets are going to be speedier. They could bring Antonio Daniels back, sure, but he’ll just slow them down. Hornets are one of those teams that seems allergic to the D League for some reason. A D League big could have solved some of their depth problems last year with Chandler out, but it was almost like they didn’t bother to look.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:52 am
Sweet English says:
I love it when a plan comes together.
Nice teamwork ticktock.
Giggity.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:08 am
BNZA says:
go for the lottery and draft a scorer CP3 can team up with. poor Paul…. get well soon!
February 1st, 2010 at 11:37 am
yoda says:
i agree with bnza. even with cp healthy, hornets would be out from first round, at best. they should tank it and go for some good draft pick, while they save some money this year. get some d league guys at best, try to make something out of them, so you can use them next year, when hornets try to get back to NO from two years ago
February 1st, 2010 at 11:38 am
Heckler says:
trade for larry hughes.
hahahahaha
February 1st, 2010 at 11:42 am
The other Aj says:
somebody page Dee Brown…
February 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am
mess says:
too bad for the hornets that the jazz already picked up Gaines.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:18 pm
B-Rad says:
Is this going to lead to a similar situation to when David Robinson sat out a year and received the gift of Tim Duncan?
February 1st, 2010 at 12:19 pm
cg_atti says:
hornets are 23-12 after the coaching change and 3-9 start. they’re also above .500 without cp3, and they’ve won 8 out of their last 11 road games after a dismal 2-13 start on that front. seriously, i cannot figure out why they’re perceived the way they are by some sites.
at minimum, he’ll be gone one month. no need to act like this is the end for the team that is consistently counted out and underestimated.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Seany T says:
I say give the rookies as many minutes as they can handle and look to the D-league for some call up’s. No sense making a trade that you don’t really want, and for what??? Unless they pulled off some blockbuster trade that could acquire someone that could take them deep into the playoffs, and thats not gonna happen without giving up CP3. Write this season off and try again next year. Same as Portland keep fighting but don’t mortgage your future with a panic trade.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Aron Phillips says:
@B-Rad
I don’t think it would be that drastic, but wouldn’t be a bad idea.
February 1st, 2010 at 1:08 pm
ProphetGK says:
Wait for John Wall to come..
February 1st, 2010 at 1:59 pm
GoEasy says:
What this means for me is OKC = playoff run. Sick.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Jay says:
Shaun Livingston and Morris Almond count as “legit veteran guards?”
February 1st, 2010 at 2:26 pm
AllThatJazz/Amar says:
I have 3 more assists in the NBA than Morris Almond does.
February 1st, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Dave says:
Morris Almond? I can’t wait for the day he’s playing against the Jazz, his defense was possibly the worst in the history of the league and whoever he’s guarding will go career high.
Durability was always a question with Chris Paul, he’s always injured….I wonder how many GM’s would say they’d pick Paul over DWill now that we’re a few years into their careers.
February 1st, 2010 at 3:30 pm
CP3DaMan says:
Imagine if byron scott were still the coach…
Marcus and Darren would have played a combined total of 7 minutes up to this point in the season and we’d be starting mo pete and posey or some shit haha. He was allergic to rookies
February 1st, 2010 at 5:12 pm
ticktock6 says:
“I wonder how many GM’s would say they’d pick Paul over DWill now that we’re a few years into their careers.”
Um, most of them? Because he’s better? DO YOU PEOPLE NOT KNOW HOW TO GOOGLE BEFORE YOU POST SH*T?
Williams — 351 games
Paul — 338
Yeah, I’m sure NBA coaches are so concerned about those 13 games over 4 1/2 years. That’s a big fat difference maker there. *facepalm*
February 1st, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Dave says:
Most of them would take CP3? Not likely because not only is DWill a better player, he’s stronger and more durable. How about tryng to work out some projections on how many more games he’ll miss being out on before he’s close to healthy and there will be a difference of about 40 games, HALF of a season.
February 1st, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Mark says:
Dave, I’d also like to take Kirilenko, Boozer, Okur, Milsap, Miles, and a hall of fame coach too. kthxbye.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:26 pm
ticktock6 says:
I would laugh my ass off, Dave, if Deron Williams broke his leg tomorrow. You have no argument. You just like Deron better. It’s OK to. But you don’t have an argument.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Random says:
Dave kill yourself now