Eric Gordon continues this offseason in the same way that he started it: as a member of the Hornets.
By matching the Suns’ offer sheet, the Hornets have signed Eric Gordon to a max deal, and apparently Gordon has “stated his committment to the Hornets” according to Yahoo’s Marc Spears. The four year, $58m deal ($13,668,750 first year, $615,093 increases), consumes a large portion of the Hornets remaining cap space, leaving them approximately five million under the $58.044 million dollar cap. They also have the “room MLE” available to them, which allows them to pay a free agent up to $2.575 million.
The Hornets have renounced their rights to Marco Belinelli, Carl Landry, and Chris Kaman, so they cannot be signed by the Hornets into Bird exceptions. Additionally, the Hornets have forfeited the use of the midlevel and bi-annual exceptions. Rumor has it that the Hornets may place a bid on Luis Scola, and now that they have matched Gordon’s contract, they can place a maximum bid of a little over 15 million for the remaining years (three) on Scola’s contract.
More details on the exact framework as we get them. Stay tuned.
136 responses to “Hornets Match Suns’ Offer Sheet, Retain Gordon at Maximum Salary”
Big three!
Scola??; man how many power forwards are we going to have next year?? Are they going to ask Elvin Hayes and Karl Malone to come out of retirement? Jeez.
Why can’t people understand that Anthony Davis is our center? Just so perplexing.
He might be “our center” the same way Tim Duncan was a the Spurs “center” but they’re really power forwards. But hey call him a point guard for all I care.
Why can’t people understand that the line between “center” and “power forward” is blurred right now so traditional positions don’t really hold up anymore? You don’t need a traditional center playing big minutes to contend. Especially not on a rebuilding team. I’d rather have guys who can mentor Davis in whatever they can. Scola has one of (if not the) best set of low post moves in the NBA, sounds like a fine teacher for a young big man with little offensive game right now.
Why can’t people understand that when someone criticizes the Hornets for having too many PFs, he/she might not be talking about Centers at all?? Last time I checked we got holes to fill at other positions. 2 and especially 1 and 3 could use some shoring up, unless, for example, you feel comfortable with a rookie and GV being your point guards.
I do actually, given that this is a rebuilding team. Why get a veteran who will take those minutes from GV and Rivers? We already have Gordon playing 35-40 minutes at SG (hopefully). If we have a guy like Calderon playing 30-35 minutes per game at PG, and GV as his backup, when will Rivers get time in to develop as a distributor? Also, we have 3 young guys in Aminu, Henry, and Miller to try out at the 3. Why do we really need a vet? We aren’t contending. The next couple years are all about development. You get 4 power forwards and play one at the 5 and one at the 4, with the others coming off the bench. Hey, maybe one of them will develop an ability to guard positions they couldn’t coming into this year.
Why everyone is asking hypothetical “Why cant people understand” questions?
Offensively I agree, there really is no “position”. You put your best guys out there, and it is the job of the defense to matchup. But on defense, you certainly take the shape of a PF and a C. Just because there aren’t dominant Centers doesn’t mean the lines are blurred. Many PF are lacking in bulk, but are more athletic and stretch the floor. In the case of Davis, you absolutely do not want him banging down low with guys much bigger than him at this stage in his career.
Well at least it is over. Time to start a good year. I just hope we don’t pick up Scola, and instead we pick up Haywood or someother nitty, gritty big.
Scratch that since Haywood seems to have been picked up by the Bobcats. Milcic is on the market and we definitely should make a push.
Sign and Trade for McGee if we cant get him outright.
I want that so bad. I am not sure it is too possible or what we would send them? The draft picks we got? Maybe we are pursuing Scola as a trade asset rather than a player. I am sure Demps and Monty are well aware of the power forward situation.
Kumar, The Hornets don’t have the cap space to sign Scola, or any other offensive minded PF, and sit on him for a year until they are allowed to trade him. The reason why is they already have two offensive PFs: Anderson & Smith.
The real question is what are the Hornet’s plans for the Center position?
I agree, we need a temporary fix at center for at least this year and try to do something with next year’s free agent class.
why wouldn’t we have the cap space to sign Scola? He’s on the amnesty bid market. Players there come dirt cheap. We have 5 mill in room, and so far everyone is getting claimed around 2 mill. I think Scola’s min bid is higher (supposed to be around 3.3 mill, I believe), but that is still very cheap for him
Mike,
What I said was we don’t have the cap space to get Scola to be a tradable asset (as Kumar suggested) because Scola would have to sit around for a year before we are allowed to trade him. This is because we have other needs to fill as we enter the ‘where GMs really make their money’ stage of Free Agency, and we will need cap space for them. [Just consider how having extra cap space would have allowed us to complete for McGee.]
Also, if Scola played, he would take minutes from younger guys we are trying to develop: Davis, Smith, and Anderson. That is the opposite of what I think we should be doing.
Ah, okay. I thought that you meant we wouldn’t have the necessary financial space this year. I think there is a case to be made to sign Scola, simply because he is an extremely creative in getting his shot in the post. I remember David Thorpe came on our podcast and talked about how he had never seen someone find so many unconventional ways to score in the post. I like the idea of Davis being exposed to that kind of stuff day in and day out, because I saw what it did for Eric Bledsoe this year. In the playoffs, we saw Bledsoe trying to mimic a lot of stuff we’ve seen CP3 do for years, and did so pretty effectively. I don’t know if AD can ever mimic Scola in the post, or if he’ll ever have to, simply because he isn’t short and slow like Scola, and thus won’t have to be quite as creative.. I just want him to be exposed to good post scoring, and Scola would come pretty cheaply. We also could trade Scola the following year to a contender that needs post scoring. Just spitballing here.. I can see both sides
PG – Rivers,Vasquez
SG – Gordon,Henry
SF – Aminu,Miller
PF – Anderson,Davis,Smith,Scola
C – ???
And Lance Thomas… This PF thing is getting ridiculous…
We do need a 6’11” or taller center but AD can play C against the average and smaller Centers. Jason Smith is tall enough and big enough to hold his own against the bigger centers if he works on his defense. That would give us Anderson as a starter with a Scola backup…. not bad. I give AD two years to bulk up a bit and he will be able to handle any center you put against him.
chris Johnson???
Jason Smith couldn’t hold his own against Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum and Demarcus Cousins if those are the bigger centers you’re referring to.
Jason Smith can do it since he’s got Davis to bring in the double-team. Anytime you go up against a D12 you need a double-team anyway. We’ll have the speed advantage, however much like OKC minus Perkins.
may be greg oden……IF healthy (hoping)
Im with you but thats a BIG “if” for him
PG – Rivers,Vasquez
SG – Gordon,Henry
SF – Aminu, Miller
PF – Anderson, Thomas, Bowles
C – Davis, Smith
Davis WILL be a center, he will need double-teams to combat centers until he bulks up though.
This was more predictable than DB9 signing his contract. Am beyond pumped to have EG10 next season. I’m telling you. If he stays healthy, we are going to be beyond competitive. I’m expecting big things.
Time for EG’s mea culpa. It better not just consist of talk. I hope it consists of 82 games played and 20pts a game.
If EJ is healthy and plays a full schedule, he will average 24 or higher. Last year he played at about 75%.
Ignorance is sometimes bliss, but not on this occasion. Why is Eric Gordon referred to sometimes as EJ? Can’t be a typo, I’ve seen too many different people use it.
Eric Jordan. LMAO. Kidding. Because he’s Eric gordon Junior, and his dad is Eric Gordon Senior.
Why is Eric Gordon referred to sometimes as EJ?
Because he’s Eric Gordon Junior. I prefer EG, though, since no one here knows or really cares about his father any more than any of the other 7B people on the planet.
The same reason J.R. Smith is called “J.R.” you dont see anyone calling him ES
The New Orleans Power Forwards. << REbrand!! lmao
I say New Orleans Chris Pauls, maybe that will get him to come back!
Scola would probably play center to relieve pressure off Anthony Davis. It would be a great pickup!
Scola is too short to play the 5. He’s only 6’9″ and not a great defender.
Mike, you can take out the “Scola is too short to play 5. He’s only 6’9″ part because Elton Brand is 6’9” and a hella defensive player. Don’t get me wrong, height is where it’s at, but I think we focus on if Scola has the defensive skills to play 5. Not to worried about if he is tall enough. I know he doesn’t have the weight to go against a true big man. At this point it should be obvious that we plan to at least try out AD or Smith at the 5 until we get a center that fits our plans and there may not be one.
Did B.Davis just say “hella”???? I demand a 1 day band LOL
Height doesn’t matter at all. It’s about length and vertical and strength and anticipation and timing. Besides, Chuck Hayes plays center at 6’6″. Scola just plain and simple isn’t a good enough low post defender to play center against someone bigger and stronger and a good low post game.
that’s why monty willimas is are coach…he will know how to play defense in this system
lol @ Scola playing Center
I still say if we can find a really good trade for him, we pull the trigger. We need a
Center and we can get some good value for him. The only reason I say this is because I personally dont think his knee will hold up for four years. Maybe not even the whole season. I could careless about the comments he made, I take it with a grain of salt.
People weren’t sure if Drew Brees was worth the risk after a much more gruesome injury than the one Gordon faced. I’m not saying the two players are anything alike (we can only hope), but when it comes to injuries, they normally are a fluke, and only few players get injured time and time again throughout their careers.
The team still desperately needs a center. Xavier Henry and Lance Thomas, maybe even through in Al-Farouq Aminu in there as well, along with some of those draft picks we’ve picked up, should help us land a center through a trade.
I agree on both your points. We desperately need some kind of a true center. And it is true about Brees and Gordon. The difference is that Gordon is on a max contract after an injury and the Saints took a genious gamble on Brees for half the price he was worth healthy. I wouldnt have made a trade comment if we wouldve gotten Gordon for a cheaper price. I think we could package him with a one of our young players (probably Henry) and get several up and coming young players of our own WITH a real center. Just a thought though.
But now you just traded the only 3 guys on your roster who can play SF, unless you consider Miller a starter, which I don’t.
And I just want to say that I’m glad I can come here and actually read educated comments from fans. I started looking at the comments on the ESPN story and every other comment was just about how New Orleans put a bounty on Gordon to make him stay.
yeahh I think we keep Al, especially if Monty worked with him this summer on his game like he had done with Pondexter. Imagine a starting line up of Rivers, Gordon, Aminu, Anderson, and Davis if Rivers can play like a Westbrook that makes better shot selections, Aminu getting an offensive game and slightly better on D, and a bulkier AD!! That would be amazing.
Lets just sign Scalabrine to play center
That’s not funny but a try again
lets bring back bowen to play center
lol better
“I set the over/under on hornets move at 2.5 for the day. If pressured I will take the over.”
Your wrong.
Your grammar wrong.
I don’t get your response. Were you trying to be funny by using incorrect grammar? But I didn’t forget to use is, I incorrectly used your. I’ll conclude you made a grammar mistake in a sentence where you were correcting someone elses grammar. Bravo!
Very disappointing. I was hoping that we would be able to S&T Gordon for something like Gortat, Dudley + picks. Gordon is a fun player to watch but he’s pretty overrated in terms of production.
http://www.thenbageek.com/players/127-eric-gordon
Gordon has only had one season, where he was a truly above average player (2 years ago). The one positive aspect about Gordon’s game last season is that he got to the free throw line a ton (highest rate of his career…yes, it’s a small sample size). $8-10 million would have been fair value for Gordon’s production. When you factor in his injuries, this contract could be pretty detrimental to the Hornets if they decide to keep him for all 4 years.
I suppose everything balances out. The Hornets got an absolute steal on Ryan Anderson who is a poor man’s Dirk.
The one good thing about matching on Gordon is that he’s a tradable asset. There probably are a few teams out there that would still be interested in him a year from now (Indiana, Charlotte, Portland?).
FMV is what a team is willing to pay for a player. PHX and, ultimately, NO decided Gordon was worth the max. If NO felt that Gordon wasn’t worth max, they had the opportunity to say to PHX, let’s work out a sign and trade. They decided to keep Gordon.
Imagine what Demps could have done with the cap space. There are a lot of good free agents next year. How does Andrew Bynum sound?
The big problem is that EJ is rarely healthy. He has missed 20+ games for the past 3 seasons. I don’t understand why people continue to ignore this.
We have a great coach and a really nice young core (Davis, Rivers, Aminu, Anderson, Vasquez). Wouldn’t also having a bunch of cap space to pursue star players through free agency and trade be pretty appealing?
Mark, no one has forgotten EG injuries. What really happened (I think) is Suns weren’t willing to let go of enough assests for us to complete a S&T. There was a S&T on the table with Rockets, but again, I don’t think they were willing to give up what Dell wanted either. I agree with you, Gordon is worth all of those players you mentioned and then some…but if no one is willing to give it up we sure as hell don’t let him walk away!
They made the right move. You don’t get a chance to add players like Gordon to your team everyday. He is an allstar caliber shooting guard. Gortat is a decent center that will never make an allstar team and the same can be said of Dudley. Picks are great and all, but you never know what can happen in a draft, especially next year considering all the good talent came out this year. We were guaranteed Eric Gordon for the next four years and you can not pass on that. Yes, Andrew Bynum and other free agents will be available next year but how do you know that they would want to come to NOLA? You don’t know that for sure, but you do with Gordon. Simple as that…
CajunHornet,
EJ stands for Eric Gordon, Jr.
So happy to have Eric Gordon on the Hornets for the future.
He is going to prove to not only New Orleans but the world that he is an elite talent.
As far as a center, the Hornets have enough length in Davis and Smith to play the 5. We could use another big, but the trio of Davis, Anderson, and Smith is very nice.
None of them can play center, effectively.
Who is EG’s back-up going to be?
xavier henry, i would assume, with rivers going to pg presumably
dats right, lets not forget that Henry was a lotto-pick and has only played one asterisk season with no training camp…he’s gonna play and play well…
I didn’t get to see too many games last year so somebody has to fill me in, why can’t smith play center? he certainly has the size, so its obviously something with his game, can someone fill me in on his shortcomings?
Smith is a hard worker and i’m sure he his smart enough to be an effective center for or team.
He can, but not effectively. Center has some fundamental skill differences versus PF that need to be practiced.
Can anyone here imaging Tyson Chandler playing PF?
I think people are concerned with the fact that he hasn’t played it in the past and he doesn’t really have the bulk or athleticism to match up with guys like Bynum and Howard so he’ll get worn out quickly. Then again, there aren’t that many of those guys around so I think he absolutely can for 20-25 minutes if necessary.
I haven’t seen anyone talk about George Hill but he seems like a viable option. I feel like we have something big coming down the tubes that we don’t know about. Either that or we just had a strange whiff of a free agency. If we don’t show why we cut Jack (aside from giving more playing time to Vasquez and Rivers) I’ll be pretty disappointed.
I love the Hornets but I think the warriors are becoming more interesting. I just like how it feels like every player seems to have a well defined roll on the team and it has a backcourt kind of like what I was hoping we were developing.
Hill resigned with the pacers. tonto!
haha woah there crazy. I meant Jordan Hill not George Hill.
Name=Win! If you ever watched water boy
Then you should probably start following the Warriors and get out this post…
You’re right. I mean as a fan of the Hornets since 94 I should probably just up and change teams because I think another team is interesting.
There are some teams I really like other than the Hornets, there are some players I like that aren’t on the Hornets, and I don’t see any problem with that. I’m a fan of the game of basketball and enjoy learning and watching as objectively as possible but I’m all in on the Hornets and I don’t think anyone should have to validate themselves or be questioned on a forum. I would hope that fans of other teams should feel welcome to post here too.
Booyashaka!
Zombian, If you don’t hear us talking about a player it’s usally because he’s already been picked up by another team (in Hill’s Case), Or they’re a lil’ ways down our list at that moment, and behind the players we’re talking about.
The Warriors are coming out of rebuilding as we are going in it.
At the start of every season I pick how I think teams are going to do and it seems like there are some teams that are my kryptonite. I pick a few teams as sleepers who I think are going to break out. For the last 3 seasons I have thought that the Warriors, Clippers, Blazers, and Grizzlies were going to break out and where I was right in two cases I’ve been dead wrong in the other two. Meanwhile I keep picking against the Lakers, Dallas, and Spurs. Here’s to hoping the Hornets surpass all of them!
@Zombian aaaaahhhhh Jordan Hill that changes things. Lets see…..whelp his price at the moment is in our range but Lakers want him back and 4 other teams looking at him as well. Good chance he signs back with the Lakers, so that’s prolly why he isn’t on our radar. Looks like it’s going to be a fight to get him….
haha yeah, my bad. Who are the other four teams? The list of players who can play the 5 in Free Agency is growing thinner. Unless Demps has another Gustavo stashed or unless we’ve got a trade coming then it seems we’re in D-League territory for a C.
Or they’re looking for more money than we have or willing to spend for their talents…or any # of other reasons we’re not talking about them….but yea Hill woulda been nice!
DARKO!!!!
thats who i want right about now
Hoorah, a big baffoon with a 9 PER, a negative simple rating, a negative on/off court, and a negative win share. Do not understand why people want him so much.
I dont want him for his skill set or talent, but its hail mary time when it comes to big bodies, we need somebody, and there isnt too many options
He may not be efficient offensively(he won’t be asked to do much on that side) but he is solid rebounder and defender…
Big body to bang and let AD and smitty be their athletic selves…
Isn’t it strange how expectations effect everything. Now that we know what kind of player he is we actually have a need that he fits!
Where crazy happens.
I hope we get Scola (Just testing out that bold thing).
HOW
I am wondering. Do we now have Gordon for the next four years, or can he like decline our contract and play one year for us then become an unrestricted free agent? Basically, is Eric Gordon under contract for the next four years with the Hornets?
I’ll give it a shot even with my neophyte understanding of the NBA. Yes, he is under contract to the Hornets for the next 4 seasons. The Hornets can trade him at any time, but in the 1st season of the contract Gordon has veto ability as to the team he is traded to. In the last 3 seasons of the contract, the Hornets can trade him to whomever they please whether Gordon likes it or not.
Except Pheonix, we can’t trade him there for the life of the contract now because he signed the first offer sheet with them.
Is it just me or is Aminu not very good?
I agree, I think he has a linited role at best for a few minutes, no way a starter. Hope I am wrong and the light comes on
This made me laugh. Speaking diplomatically I’ll say that he certainly has some shortcomings on the offensive end, but his defense is great. Remember how young he is too. Most players hit their peak at 24-29 (I think those were the years, please correct me if anyone knows the actual stat) so he still can turn a corner. Also remember not to think of players in a 2D good and bad but as the role they fit. He can fit a role as a perimeter defensive stopper. Personally I think that we need a wing who can knock down threes. His first couple months in the league on the Clips he looked like he could do that but has since degenerated. If someone could explain why I would love to hear it.
We could also try to pry birdman away from denver for cheap as a short term solution
Oh man. There are a few players out there who I really dislike. More than the Kobes, Anthonys, or Lebrons and Andersen is totally one of them. Besides, he may be going to jail here soon and who needs that distraction? He was removed from the Nuggets for the last month or so before that ordeal. I really don’t want to root for that guy.
I understand why everyone says we need a “true center” but at what cost, I would rather play with 2 PFs if they are the best 2 bigs on your team. Last year our Centers where Emeka “I can’t finish at the rim” Okafor and Chris “I shoot 18 foot fallaways and turn the ball over every other possession” Kaman. I know there wasn’t a PF in the league scared to guard either one of them last year. If Anderson and Davis are undoubtedly your two best bigs just roll with them and go from there. So if we get McGee do you bench the NBA’s most prolific 3 point shooter from last year or the #1 pick and future of your franchise for 5 years??? That’s not smart at all. Find some random throwaway big and what you sacrifice on defense by being small, punish them on offense with speed, shooting, and athleticism. Those 2 bigs Anderson and Davis will finish every crunch time situation at the 4 and 5 so just put your best lineup out there and live with the results.
I co-sign!
**Michael McNamara does not approve of this post**
You bring up a good point but there are a couple of risks that could be mitigated with a “true center”. If we had a player that could bang in the post against the Cousins, Boguts, Randolphs, Howards, Bynums, Pekovics, Chandlers, Jeffersons, and Gortats in the league it would help take pressure off of Davis until his body fills in. Its been said by Demps or Monty (I forget which) that we don’t want there to be too much pressure for Davis to perform at a high level right out of the gate. Assuming that’s not lip service then I think that’s exactly the kind of player we need. I don’t think we should risk Davis having an injury or getting discouraged in his first year.
I am not a fan of the Anderson signing for this reason exactly. It means either Anderson or Davis goes to the bench if there’s a player who pushes Davis around. I think we needed to determine what kind of player we needed to go alongside Davis for the future but I can’t argue with the value. I wish we got Camby to help bring up Davis and in the future come off the bench for us.
Dont get me wrong I understand that point completely I’m not disagreeing with you at all, but those guys to bang are far and few between. Solomon Jones can do that. Out of the 7 centers you mentioned only Tyson can guard a Pick and Roll and Gordon is arguably the best pick and roll player with Davis crashing to the rim and Anderson spotting up at the 3point line. Only Gortat and Bynum on that list are average FT shooters. It goes both ways. Those offensive bangers will need to get the ball in good spots and their perimeter guys better be able to shoot or Hornets will run them out the gym. It is much easier to limit a big in today’s game with hard doubles and the fact there are few knockdown shooters in the league.
You guys are both right…or I should say you both have valid points. How about this? Next year we have the cap to make a max move for a player. I’m currently doing research on RFA next season to see who we could go after, but what if we’re not worried about filling center now because we going after our guy next season….don’t see a lot of ppl talking about this scenario as of late. Somebody did bring it up though….and I feel like this is the best move. We could use the money we have left now for assests/bench?
the only problem is Camby is like a grandpa!
Are we 100% sure that Brad Miller won’t play one more year?
yes 100% sure. he’s 36 and he’s retired!
Im sure the monty:eg10 talk went like this.
Monty: i know you’re pissed and i understand, but us matching the offer for you against your wishes proves how extremely important to our success. That is why from the get-go we said we would match and we did. We traded our old leader in jack, and named rivers our point guard. You are the new leader. You train from rivers on how to be a killer and we train him on how to be a team mate. We have a bright future and we want you to lead us there.
Eg- weeps. Ok coach. Sorry i said some stupid things. I commit to being a leader for this team.
Monty: just show it on the court and the fans will forgive you too.
Wow. Sorry for the typos. Im high and typing on my vita. Life…High on life. (cough cough)
We need another big man and Luis Scola would be perfect. I don’t care if he’s a power forward, center, point forward, or whatever you want to call him. Scola is the best available big man out there. I would hate to be right on the cap incase we need to make a move cause of injury or what not. As long as we are not over the cap, we need to make a play at getting this guy. I don’t understand some fans, saying we need a center not a power forward. As long as the guy is big and can play a little D at the center position sign me up. Who would you rather have a center like Greg Steimsma, Ryan Hollins, or Darko Milicic for a year at the minimum or a legit low post presence in Luis Scola for 3 years at a decent number that is not over paying the guy? I would take Scola over any of the available centers out there. Unless you are in a dream world and think we will sign Javale McGee? Sorry to say it but that’s not happening. We can’t afford him and I really would not want him for another 58 million dollar deal like Gordon’s when Davis can do what he does but way better! Come on Demps, let’s get Scola in here like we almost did last year!
indeed…..remeber dell demps almost get dis same guy last year……thank god david stern vetoed dat trade….if we get scola for 2M dat is a steal for us…..if he avg 10pg and 7reb…..i wil take dat…..he wil make d bench deep as well…..smith,scola,miller,henry and vasquez not bad
I’m still sayin…ROBIN LOPEZ is the perfect fit….. chingados ! do we have enough in the cap space to fit him ?…Phoenix may not be able to afford him after tomorrow…Comments please
I think that Luis Scola would be an awesome addition to this team. He’s got mid range game like David West did here a couple years ago. He would be a great guy to help out Davis. Austin Rivers is our PG (or at least that’s what Monty is trying to do), so there’s no point in getting an average veteran PG to steal minutes away from Rivers. Look, this team probably won’t make the playoffs this year. I think we can all accept it, and just hope for the best. However, give this team a few years to mature and develop and we should see a very talented group (just like OKC). Speaking of OKC, Serge Ibaka is a free agent next year, so I think he should be our #1 free agent target next year. Imagine Ibaka and Davis working the front court. That would be sick! GEAUX HORNETS!
Hopefully, he can stay healthy, act professionally, and mentor Austin Rivers in a positive manner.
I am so hopeful that EG will come in and do his job and remain healthy. He wanted this money and now he mus earn it and show us the caliber of player he says he is. This is the perfect opportunity for him to shut up all “naysayers” and make it do what it do. He doesn’t have to love NOLA or remain there in the off season, but moving forward show respect to its citizens and Hornets fans. He probably won’t give an apology so I’ll just move on from that. He’s a part of our team and I respect that but don’t push it Mr. Gordon.
Glad that whole thing is over. Next! Now we just need one more big to fill out the rotation and one more guard.
True dat, sir. I’m thinking Dyson might be our guard, though I know Monty also wants a veteran presence. Lance (Socks) makes a good fifth big, but we do need a serviceable big body that won’t need a ton of minutes. This team is coming together nicely. I hope they are all as committed to the team as we fans are. If so, it is going to be a remarkable season.
I don’t know about Dyson yet but Michael “Juice” Thompson could be interesting to watch in the summer leauges.At the same time Thompson is a 2 guard to me.
Veteran ledership is what this team needs if you get Scola,Millicic and/or Oden this team can be an 5th to 8th seed.If you think about it the west is weak so we’ve a chance this season.Scola can average 14 to 16 ppg a night,Millicic whose career has been ressurected in Minny than becoming a bust with the Pistons back in the day and Oden is a low risk high reward if healthy he can be a steal limited his minutes would help dispite the Blazers misused him.
Surely veteran leadership is important. However, let’s not overstate the importance of veteran leadership from guys who have fairly limited success in the NBA. The Hornets bringing in Darko is not like OKC bringing in Fish.
And Oden is no vet. He is 24 (he just looks like he is 36. Suffers from Old Face disease).
Everybody let’s forgive Eric Gordon for his comments. I’ve read other articles about how the hornets fans will “boo” him more than the away teams fans, that’s horrible. He is on our team, we need to support him and the rest of the team. Let’s just move on and forget those comments. I hope his play will definitely make us forget those comments, and I think it will. Can’t wait till the season starts! Iam even pumped to see the summer league game tonight to check Austin and Darius out.
Would have been great to get Gordon without it being for the make. However, you can’t let the kid walk and I’m still excited to have him back. Gordon knows the situation and is already working to save face.
Eric Gordon on Twitter: “I look forward to giving my very best on the court this season to make our team successful. Never lost my appreciation to HORNETS FANS.”
I’m excited. Now, I hope we get Scola. I was against it at first saying he’s another PF. But then you look at the Center market and you’re either signing just a body cheap or overpaying for someone like Asik or McGee. If you can add Scola on a cheap deal, do it. Will we be crowded with “4’s” sure. However, they’re all good. Davis and Smith can take minutes at the 5 as needed. Anderson can stroke. And Scola has a great offensive game and Davis could learn some tricks too. If the Hornets can place a bid and have someone with Scola’s abilities at say 3M a year for 3 years. I want him.
PG – Rivers, Vasquez
SG – Gordon, Henry
SF – Aminu, Miller
PF – Davis, Anderson, Smith
C – None (Pure Center)
Not a depth chart, but what we have. I’d love to find a spot for Lance Thomas too. I hope he comes back. You have Jerome Dyson as another who could return cheap if we need to get to the NBA minimum for players. I think it’s 13, so 4 guys would be added. Definitely have to add 3 I know for sure. Bid on Scola. Hopefully win that and get a steal of a deal.
Then I’ll say Thomas and Dyson come back to start. Then maybe call Greg Oden? I’ve heard he’s taking the year off. I’ve heard he’d only sign with Miami. Call him. Offer a 1 year deal. If he’s healthy, he is a huge asset. If he’s hurt, it’s a one year deal and we play a little small.
Looking forward to seeing how this roster rounds out in the coming weeks. When would bidding end on Scola?
I don’t think I even want a true center on this team this year. Let the team play out the season and see where they are. Did we get a 6-8 seed, and will a center put us in the top 4? Trade for one. If not, we can see who will be a part of this team’s future and who will not. I think this is the season we see if Aminu will pan out as an NBA starter at the 3.
As an aside, Javale McGee doesn’t look feasible right now unless we do a sign and trade, and Denver is going to want more than second round picks. That is the only center I am truely interested in seeing the Hornets go after.
The Hornets will certainly be a team to watch this upcoming season.
Scola would be a nice fit. We don’t have a PF who can physcially keep the centers mentioned off the bolck (when they don’t hae the ball). it’s a game of strength, leverage, weight and position. Yes we lack the center we cvt.
But Scola’s build and skills warrant our attention.
It’s ok if these centers, like Bynum, get the ball 8-feet out; and Scola would be able to do just this.
And BTW Aminu can play. Just keep thinking Luol Deng/Boris Diaw
Ryan Anderson @ryananderson33
Excited to play alongside @TheofficialEG10 congrats man! This is gonna be the start of something great New Orleans!!!
i feel the same way as mr. anderson!
vasquez/rivers/dyson
gordon/henry/rivers
aminu/henry/miller
anderson/davis/smith/thomas
cheap C/davis/smith
I don’t know if anyone has looked at our summer league roster but we have 3 centers on the team. I have read some articles on Darko Planinic and heard nothing but good. He’s listed at 6’11” 255lbs. Maybe we are looking to develop him or one of the others. Play smith and Davis at the 5 also. There is plenty of depth to have 6 players play the 4 and 5 effectively and save valuable cap space!!
Who will land Scola? Dicision coming soon!
Decision
Anthony Davis
I know he is a PF and our C of the future… But given his frame and abilities along with our team make up at the moment… Could maybe see him playing some SF… Maybe
Suns get Scola
Son of a B! The Suns of all teams won Scola. I thought they had plenty of bigs, but guess that means Robin Lopez will not be going back. Maybe that’s who we go after? I’d take him, but would really like Anthony Randolph. Only reason I wouldn’t is because he is about the same build as Davis and we need a bigger post presence. I just love his upside, athletic ability, and his age. He’s more of a face up forward and we have that already in Anderson and not much of a post presence at all. So yes on further thought, give me a Robin Lopez type big man! LMAO!
It looks like Lopez could get a mid-level type of deal from any team for that particular matter, and the Suns will not match it. The Suns’ top prize is OJ Mayo in which he is going to be around the 30-40 million dollar range. It seems the Suns’ focus is on Mayo and they are willing to let Lopez go. I would not mind giving Randolf a look even though there is a report that he may go to the Nuggets.
Luis Scola: “Mi corazon es en fuego para Phoenix”
Andrey Blatche would be a good pickup for 10-15min at the C position. He has the length and strength and a massive chip on his shoulder being the youngest player to have been amnestied. I think his bargain basement price is well worth the risk.
[…] our prior examination of the salary cap, the Hornets have traded for Brad Miller and signed Eric Gordon. Let’s talk about these, then look at our salary figure and what it […]