When the news about Mr. Tom Benson buying the New Orleans Hornets was first reported my reaction was relief. Like many other Hornets fans I immediately thought what a great opportunity for Mr. Benson, the fans, the city and especially the New Orleans Hornets.
Mr. Benson’s New York press conference had an atmosphere of a grandfather adopting the adolescent child who is now living with relatives after his parent’s recent divorce. Mr. Benson’s enthusiasm with his new venture and take charge attitude was certainly infectious and fans responded with the same enthusiasm.
New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson agreed Friday to purchase the Hornets from the NBA, meaning the franchise will no longer have to deal with the complications that come with having an arm of the NBA run the team’s operations. No official figure has been released yet, but a person familiar with the deal said the price tag was $338 million.
Benson, who was responsible for bringing stability to the NFL franchise, now hopes to do the same with the Hornets, a franchise that’s had a rough year and has lost respectability as a legitimate basketball club over the years.
With Samuel L. Jackson following Will Ferrell in announcing the starting lineups, he announced that Chris Paul was still “Number 1 in our hearts.”
Then, during a first quarter time-out, the Hornets played a video tribute on the scoreboard dedicated to Chris Paul’s tenure in New Orleans. Paul had become a staple in the community since he first arrived in New Orleans.
That was the start of what should have been a night to honor Chris Paul. Instead, it was tarnished by the display of poor sportsmanship from New Orleans Hornets’ forward/center Jason Smith. Smith has become a regular contributor for the woeful Hornets, and had a nice night yesterday with 17 points and 8 rebounds, but displayed antics that have no place on the professional level.
Mike Dunleavy, a former NBA coach, is working with a group that is looking to purchase the New Orleans Hornets. Now, personally, I could see Mike Dunleavy doing very well running an NBA team. He’s worked in the league for so long that, sitting back in the front office, he could easily figure out a plan to improve a team.
Apparently, there are two groups vying to bid for the Hornets. There are not many details on the groups, but if there are two groups that are willing to bid, then a deal could get done soon. David Stern had this to say about it:
Remember all of two weeks ago when it appeared that New York Knicks were dead in the water?
Well, now it would appear that they are building a juggernaut.
Shooting guard J.R. Smith tweeted Friday that he has decided to join Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and some guy named Jeremy Lin in New York.
“New York Knicks It Is!” he posted on his Twitter account.
Smith, who played last season with the Denver Nuggets, had listed the Knicks, Clippers, Lakers, Magic, Bulls and Pacers as teams he was considering joining after a stint in China that started during the NBA lockout.
The New Orleans Hornets may have the second-worst record in the NBA, but at least they can brag about being the only NBA franchise to have one of the biggest comedians on the planet come do player introductions for their team.
Will Ferrell was the center of attention during Wednesday night’s game between the Chicago Bulls and the Hornets at New Orleans Arenea.
Adding anything else would only take away from the hilarity of the video clip.
All I can say is that if the NBA can somehow simulcast Ferrell’s player introductions for every NBA game on every night, that would be cool.
After weeks of speculation that center Chris Kaman would be traded, the Hornets have now announced that they are pulling him off the trading block and inserting back into the lineup. Kaman will not be with the team for tonight’s game at Detroit, but he likely will rejoin the team before Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
Sorry to break your hearts, Hornets fans, but there are rumors floating around that Chris Kaman is on his way out of New Orleans.
Now if you’re scratching your head, desperately attempting to figure out just who exactly this Chris Kaman is that I speak of, he was essentially the throw-in as part of the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers (or that huge seven-foot white dude who has been stinking it up at the center position this season).
Head coach Monty Williams will start limiting Chris Kaman’s minutes, so Williams can give his younger frontcourt players some more time out on the floor.
Russell Westbrook received a new five-year, $78 million contract less than a week ago. Kevin Love was just given a four-year deal worth in excess of $60 million.
While it’s up for debate if those two players are really worth that kind of cash, there is no disputing the fact that there are quite a few NBAers who are being ridiculously overpaid for bringing very little to the court.
Here are just some that will make some owners, and fans, cringe.
When the news about Mr. Tom Benson buying the New Orleans Hornets was first reported my reaction was relief. Like many other Hornets fans I immediately thought what a great opportunity for Mr. Benson, the fans, the city and especially the New Orleans Hornets.
With Samuel L. Jackson following Will Ferrell in announcing the starting lineups, he announced that Chris Paul was still “Number 1 in our hearts.”
