Peja, Jackson, & Chandler

[Peoriabird]

That Gm is a fool!!! $125 mil in salary for one dimentional players. Go figure

[1524]

I happen to love what the Hornets have done so far this summer. They will be the most improved team this year, not the Bulls.

[Traceman]

Chandler/Armstrong/Jackson

West/Simmons

Stojokovic/

Mason/Snyder

Paul/Jackson

With all that length and athleticism, a Chandler/Simmons combo up front could be a nightmare in a couple of years, particularly in transition. Few teams will have PFs and Centers who can run the floor like those two and if they are covered, Paul can kick it out to Peja for the 3. Their half court offense might not be much but Paul and Peja can both score in the half court. Add a SG who can shoot and look out.

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

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I happen to love what the Hornets have done so far this summer. They will be the most improved team this year, not the Bulls.

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You have got to be kidding me.

Peja's scoring average has steadily decreased over the past 2 1/2 years shot 43% from the field and 40% from threes. He already plays no defense or pass the ball. The guy is a specialist like Stoutomire and you don't Pay $50 mil for that.

Chandler has no game period except he rebounds a little and blocks a little. Can't hold the post and that is why he could start in Chicago ahead of Micheal Sweetney. You don't pay $56 mil for that.

Bobby Jackson is a 3rd guard off the bench. He is a 33 year old combo guard that can't shoot or distribute and you don't pay $17 mil for that.

[CBAreject]

I also think the Hornets have overspent. Trouble is, it's hard to assemble a contender. You can't afford to wait years and years for just the right opportunities. The Hornets think they can win now, and they've tried to complete a playoff roster in one off-season.

I still think Peja is on the decline and Chandler is WAAAAAY overpaid for his 5/9. WOW!

P.S. I also think Hilton Armstrong is garbage.

[Packfill]

Quote:

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Chandler/Armstrong/Jackson

West/Simmons

Stojokovic/

Mason/Snyder

Paul/Jackson

With all that length and athleticism, a Chandler/Simmons combo up front could be a nightmare in a couple of years, particularly in transition. Few teams will have PFs and Centers who can run the floor like those two and if they are covered, Paul can kick it out to Peja for the 3. Their half court offense might not be much but Paul and Peja can both score in the half court. Add a SG who can shoot and look out.

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West is good in the half court game as well.

[CrawDaddy]

The Hornets will make the playoffs and might make some noise while there. The Hawks, on the other hand, will be sitting at home watching again.

Again, it's not overspending if you are building a team that will win, which is exactly what Nawlins has done.

Why would you not spend the money if you can build a winner? They're going to put butts in seats and make money off TV/merchandise. You gotta spend money to make money.

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

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The Hornets will make the playoffs and might make some noise while there. The Hawks, on the other hand, will be sitting at home watching again.

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

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The Hornets will make the playoffs and might make some noise while there. The Hawks, on the other hand, will be sitting at home watching again.

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New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets

When it comes to personnel decisions, the single biggest mistake teams make is not being honest with themselves about where they stand. Examples abound, but one that sticks out came two years ago. That's when the 76ers imagined themselves to be a player away from contention and pulled the trigger on a deal for Chris Webber, a trade that only put them further away from the promised land and will probably result in Allen Iverson's departure this summer.

This year's better-take-another-look-in-the-mirror award goes to the Hornets, who apparently think they're on the cusp of something big. How else to explain the free-agent acquisitions of Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson, or the trade for Tyson Chandler?

The Jackson addition can at least be written off as a wash. The man he replaces, Speedy Claxton, was an energizing, shoot-first backup point guard who will spend 30 games on the injured list next year -- just like Jackson, in other words. No harm, no foul on that one.

The Peja deal is harder to stomach. I talked in the winners column about teams signing players to big free-agent deals and then feverishly trying to unload them just a year or two later. This contract seems like a mortal lock to fall in that category.

Stojakovic will be making $13 million a year for the next five years, even though he's barely been worth half of that over the past two seasons. He's also had injuries to virtually every square inch of his legs in that time -- plantar fasciitis, sprained ankles, pulled hamstrings, sore knees -- which should be a giant red flag for any team about to sign him to a long-term deal that runs into his 30s.

When the Hornets are trying to unload Stojakovic in the summer of 2008, they'll also be desperately seeking takers for the final three years of Tyson Chandler's six-year, $60 million deal. (And unfortunately for the Hornets, Isiah Thomas probably will be out of a job by then.)

The Stojakovic and Chandler acquisitions might be acceptable if the Hornets were a veteran, 50-win team trying to make one last push for the ring. This team desperately needed shooting, and Stojakovic certainly can shoot the ball as well as anyone in the game.

It also lacked size in the middle, so adding Chandler to the mix should put the Hornets ahead on that front, too. Of course, cynics will point out that the Hornets already drafted not one but two big men that can't score (Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons), so adding Chandler to the mix seems like a Department of Redundancy Department special.

Let's get back to that pesky mirror, though.

Stojakovic and Chandler will probably help, but will it really matter if they do? The Hornets won 38 games a year ago, and were significantly worse than their record indicated -- based on points scored and points allowed, they could have expected to go 31-51. Thus, even with Stojakovic and Chandler, they could easily end up south of .500.

Moreover, the two contracts they took on mean the Hornets' rebuilding effort is essentially over already. Even after signing Stojakovic, they were looking at having significant cap space again next summer because the contracts of Brown, Marc Jackson, Desmond Mason and Moochie Norris were coming off the books. Instead, they've essentially opted to have Chandler be their free-agent signing for 2007. That is, unless they don't plan on extending David West this fall, which would be an odd move considering he's twice the player Chandler is.

(Incidentally, this is why we shouldn't be too quick to pat Hornets owners George Shinn on the back for spending money. Even after all this action, the team is under the luxury tax and will barely be over the cap next year.)

The Hornets should have gone in an opposite direction from the one they took.

Rather than trade a 20-year-old with Smith's potential, they should be exploring ways to mend his relationship with Byron Scott.

Rather than targeting Stojakovic, Jackson and Chandler, they should be focused on adding less expensive players with greater upside -- Jackie Butler instead of Chandler, Eddie House instead of Jackson. And, if they were really that desperate for a shooter, Vladimir Radmanovic instead of Stojakovic.

They'd be slightly worse in 2006-07, but have much more room to maneuver in the future.

Instead, because they weren't honest with themselves, the Hornets may have inadvertently made themselves the new 76ers -- a capped-out 38-win team that has itself painted into a corner with untradable contracts.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Solomon Jones > Cedric Simmons and Hilton Armstrong

Salim Stoudamire > Peja

Shelden Williams > Chandler

We win

[CBAreject]

LOL

I think this is a joke, but I actually agree with the Shelden Williams > Chandler part. I think Shelden will be a better pro. He certainly is a better option, given the respective salaries.