Hornets Hype

So our Young Bees kinda sucked it up in Friday’s game. Let’s see if they can do a little beasting of their own on the Bobcats this afternoon. Game is at 3, so if you’ve got nothing better to do, you should check it out. Here’s the internet feed.

And I am not joking when I say nothing better to do. The screen is itty bitty, and it’s kind of hard to tell who’s who. If you look at the pics, the uniforms have names and logos and everything. But on the tiny 4×6 rectangle you get from the web feed, all I saw were numbers. And there are no commentators (although there is random 90’s rap!). The only way I figured out that the Hornets were the black team and not the white team was because I recognized Julian Wright’s unique bouncy run, then squinted and confirmed that he was wearing a 32.

P.S. Marc Stein of that 4-letter channel says that the Hornets are looking like the frontrunners to get Posey. Take that as you will.

EDIT: Baby Bugs win 77-75.

Hornets v. Grizzlies. I only got to watch half the game, but it got me excited, and it was free on NBA.com (don’t get TT6 started about free…) Yes, the Hornets summer roster leaves much to be desired, but everyone’s summer league roster does. There were some good signs, though, and some bad, bullet-style:

The Good

• Filip Videnov: A native of Bulgaria, he played in Italy last season. He’s a 6-foot-5, 28-year-old shooting guard, who was a pretty sweet 2-3 from deep, and 3-4 overall, and that other made shot was a deep two.
• Hilton Armstrong: plenty of minutes for this Hornet, but a strange game. He looked strong in the paint defensively, which was a real good sign, but only hit 33% from the field, yet was 7-8 from the line and his shot looked surprisingly smooth. Although, he had 9 fouls. Not a typo. 9 fouls (summer league rules give players 10 fouls).
• Adam Haluska: this ex- and maybe future-Hornet looked pretty good. He was only 2-6 from the field, but 4-4 from the line; I saw him make a sick penetration move late, get fouled, and then still put it in and then add one.

The Bad

• Julian Wright: a sure-thing Hornet and probably our best player on the court. But 4-17 from the field? Methinks someone was a tad overeager to prove himself. And he got a double-double. The bad kind. 12 points and 11 turnovers. Oof.

The Ugly, but Not So Much

• Bobby Brown: undrafted in 2007, he’s a 6′1 guard, who alternately looked good and bad. Saw some mean bricks, and sloppy turnovers, but he also had 5 assists and 11 points. He got the most minutes of anyone, so obviously the coaches want to see what he can do. Let’s see what he brings next game.
• Not a Hornet, but ex-Hornet-draftee, 6′9″ 225 lb. Darrell Arthur, must have been pissed about the draft day antics which resulted in him being traded 37 times, because he put up 18 on the Hornets on 9-12 shooting in only 26 minutes of play…

I didn’t really see much of anyone else, but the stats are on NBA.com, and maybe Ticktock will add more later. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon, so check it out!

Edited by Ticktock6: mW wondered why Derrick Byars wasn’t playing. I said I read somewhere he played for Orlando yesterday so he didn’t get there in time or wasn’t ready. He questioned the reliability of my source (mW, unlike me, is dubious about “the forums”), asking if that was even possible. Short answer: It is. He did. You can play in Orlando Summer League for one team and Vegas Summer League for another.

Nola.com reports the Hornets are pushing hard to get James Posey. Elsewhere, the Spurs have signed Roger Mason away from the Wizards; in response, the Wiz signed Dee Brown to an offer sheet (he played in Turkey last year, and no, not that Dee Brown; the Jazz own his rights and can match the offer). Ex-Spur, Brent Barry, has signed with the Rockets. Everyone and their mother is still looking at Josh Smith (mothers that have cap space, that is).

This leaves Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf, Ricky Davis, Jannero Pargo, and Emeka Okafor as some of the big names left not named Posey or Smith.

Yesterday I said of Chris Paul, “He’s pretty much been all over the U.S. in the last two weeks. Where will he go tomorrow? No one knows.”

Well, it’s tomorrow. Here’s your answer.

Right here. For four more years. [Edit: Oh, and press conference audio here.]

At midnight this morning, Free Agency officially began.  The NBA announced on Tuesday that the salary cap for the 2008-09 season will be $58.68 million, the luxury tax threshold will be $71.15 million, and the value of the mid-level exception will be $5.585 million. Over-the-cap teams can only offer the mid-level exception to free agents.  The Hornets are currently sitting at about $59 million with 10 players on their roster.  Re-signing Pargo, Wells, Anderson, or Bowen wouldn’t count against the salary cap, but the team can only offer other free agents the MLE, and will be sure that the combination of salaries offered stays under the luxury tax threshold.  I believe only Memphis and Philadelpia were originally under the salary cap, but Golden State and Los Angleles (Clippers) joined them after their free agents opted out.

Elsewhere, Philadelphia cleared up even more of their considerable cap space by trading Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to Minnesota.  More shocking, Elton Brand appears to have given the 76ers a verbal committment on a 5-year $80 million contract.  Back on the West Coast, Golden State is rumored to have won the Maggette sweepstakes in the 5-year $50 million range, showing us what Maggette was really after.  On the flipside, GS looks to have lost Mikael Pietrus to Orlando in the 4-year $20 mil range.  Multiple reports believe the Hornets have targeted James Posey.

But mostly, it’s all still rumor.  That said, the time for speculation is largely over.  The pens are out and the papers ready to sign.  Hopefully, with a few of the bigger names getting cleared out, and with the cap numbers known, we’ll finally start to see some action from the Hornets.

Chris Paul at LeBron’s camp in Akron… at Essence… in Vegas with Team USA… and, um, at Disney with some blogger’s cousin.

So… he’s pretty much been all over the U.S. in the last two weeks. Where will he go tomorrow? No one knows.

This, according to the official site, is when the Hornets will be playing at Las Vegas Summer League, which (hey now!) is coming up this weekend. Important to note that these times are Not Our Time Zone, aka Pacific Time, so you have to make it two hours later and you’re all set. The last game will be on NBATV, and the rest may be available a la internet.

Check out this great post from Jim Eichenhofer, over at the New Orleans Hornets’ official website for information about everyone who will be at the Las Vegas Summer League:

Summer League Roster.

I’ll try to keep updating as news comes in. Chris Duhon is expected to choose today between the Knicks and Bulls. The Jazz, who tried signing Maggette a few years ago are now said to be pushing hard. We can’t like him going to either Utah or San Antonio. Or anywhere in the West, really. Speaking of the West, the Lakers seem to be talking to James Posey and Brent Barry…

After making a qualifying offer to Nenad Krstic of $2.7 mil, the Nets are said to be eyeing a sign and trade. With a lack of small guys, could they be eyeing a trade for Mike James or Rasual Butler? Both make more than Krstic, but a 7-footer who likes to escape to the outside might be a nice add, if slightly dupliciative of D-West’s game. But taller. And with less skill. Hmmm.

The suspense is killing me. I want confirmed Hornets rumors. Damn it.

EDITED UPDATES: the good news? CP3 seems to have agreed to a 4-year $68 million deal. Still no other word on Hornets moves. As for the rest? Like everyone else, the Warriors are now talking to Corey Maggette. Seriously? I guess with B-Diddy gone they can give him some loot, but if he goes elsewhere, how bad will they have blown it? Especially with Brand indicating he’s probably going back to Hollywood and Arenas now saying he’s agreed to a 6-year $111 mil deal with the Wiz, taking considerable less than the max. Hmmm….why didn’t CP do that? As a rarely lucid Arenas opined, “What can I do for my family with $127 million that I can’t do with $111 million?” Interesting.

Elsewhere, Rockets (like many other teams) say James Posey may be their missing piece. The Bulls are talking to Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. Interestingly, Josh Smith visited the 76ers and left without an offer, but with the Hawks promising to match any offer, maybe that’s not a surprise. Especially as they’re talking to Josh Childress now and the Salary Cap won’t be set until Tuesday. Among the 9 or so teams talking to Monta Ellis? Knicks. Among everyone that’s talking to Maggette, Celtics; apparently he’s good friends with Doc. Here’s the funny thing. The Celtics could re-sign Posey to the full MLE, pick up a bunch of scrub free agents for a combined $4+ mil to fill out the roster, and then give Maggette about $10 mil a year before reaching the Knicks payroll. Not saying it’s going to happen. Just pointing out how fucked the Knicks are and/or how hard it is to end up 23-59. I mean you have to really want to suck.

That’s all I got for now.

… I find it amusing that I’ve managed to be on both Hornets.com and True Hoop (somewhat trickier to spot) today without having spent more than five actual minutes on the computer since I got up.

Now that’s efficiency.

Now, if you wanted actual news about the Hornets’ free agency moves, I got nothing. In fact, I’m starting to get a little frustrated and thinking maybe they don’t really have something major in the works after all…

HornetsHype’s official stance is that we are not in panic mode yet.

P.S. Olympics special “Road to Redemption” on ESPN2 at 6 P.M. Central. I’m sure it’ll be replayed, but Chris Paul is on it at any rate.