Chris Paul's injury was a blessing in disguise for the Hornets.

[JSD]

Chris Paul going down with injury this season was a blessing in disguise for a Hornets team that is now in position to package a showcased Collison with a bad contract to get out of financial trouble. The Hornets are only slightly above the the luxury tax threshold for 2010, but with an increasing payroll next season (even without considering the addition of rookies and free agents) their hands would have been tied in making roster improvements over the summer.

That has all changed now.

With Paul in the lineup the team posted a 23-19 record (.548), which percentage wise doesn't even qualify for an 8th and final playoff spot out West. Without Paul, the Hornets went 12-21. So the injury helped the team get better draft position and helped the marketability of a young player who has proven he can be an effective starter in this league. Isn't it amazing how a star player's injury can actually help a team once in while?

[jgod213]

We've had similar discussions on the Hornets/Collison relatively recently here.  I agree that it's a blessing in disguise but i don't think the outlook of the Horents has changed all that much.  This team is hampered by the horribly bloated contract of Okafur and, due to their hemoraging of money they will probably have no chance to resign David West, whose player option in 2 years is only for about half of what he's actually worth.

I'm not one of those guys who loves to say: "this team should package WXY for Z," ect ect, but in the Hornets' case i really see no other option for them to survive financialy unless they package West and one of their PGs for assets next season and start over again - that is, unless they can find a taker for Emeka.

[jdpapa3]

Isn't it amazing how a star player's injury can actually help a team once in while?

Yep. Paul Pierce's injury led to the pick that netted us Ray Allen and could've landed us Kevin Durant.

I agree with you on Collison. They need to find something for him this summer. Get one more solid player on that team and they become very dangerous. But I just looked at a bunch of rosters and I don't really know who matches up. Maybe the Lakers are sick of Bynum's injuries and their lack of a decent pg. Maybe they can swing a s&t with Memphis for Rudy Gay(imagine those alleyoops). There's gotta be something out there.

[Greenbean]

Isn't it amazing how a star player's injury can actually help a team once in while?

Yep. Paul Pierce's injury led to the pick that netted us Ray Allen and could've landed us Kevin Durant.

I agree with you on Collison. They need to find something for him this summer. Get one more solid player on that team and they become very dangerous. But I just looked at a bunch of rosters and I don't really know who matches up. Maybe the Lakers are sick of Bynum's injuries and their lack of a decent pg. Maybe they can swing a s&t with Memphis for Rudy Gay(imagine those alleyoops). There's gotta be something out there.

You would think something would be out there but infortunately the state of the NBA financially is quite bleak. NO needs to focus more on money saving rather than roster building this offseason.

[nickagneta]

Their ability to move Coliison and a bad contract might be complicated by the Spurs having a very similar situation and might want to move either Parker or Hill with a contract for someone. Compound that with the fact that Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn and/or Ramon Sessions might also be on the market and it's going to lower the valuye with a possible glut of good young PGs on the trade market.

I wouldn't rule out teams like Indiana, Philadelphia, Washington and Cleveland come knocking showing interest

[Chris]

It is great in the sense that it builds the value of Collison.  But from a fans point of view, it may end up hurting them even more.  The fans are going to become attached to Collison, so if they do just use him to dump salary, there will certainly make things uncomfortable for them.

[nickagneta]

Also, another positive factor in the Chris Paul, silver lining injury situation is the development of Marcus Thornton. Now maybe he develops anyway but he is looking like a real steal.

[PosImpos]

I'm very interested to see what they do with Collison.  He deserves to be starting somewhere, but it might be difficult for them to get fair value for him.

[Truck Lewis]

i am a huge fan of both thorton and collison...interested in seeing what happens there

[Overrated]

They need a legit scorer. At least that's what I'd go after with Collison as bait.

[Who]

New Orleans needs interior defense + perimeter defense + rebounding from both bigs and wings + go-to scorers + shooters.

They need just everything outside of a starting point guard. Just about any move they make will be an improvement.

[Who]

Emeka Okafor and David West have been huge disappointments for the Hornets this season.

David West has become a team cancer. A player who isn't bothered to play defense or rebound the ball and demands a huge amount of touches + shot attempts without producing all that much with them.

Emeka Okafor is a financial problem. A solid performer but hasn't come close to being value ($7-8 million) for his contract ($12-15 million) and he has a lot of money left on that deal (almost $54 million for four years). I'm disappointed with his defensive play more than anything else. Lackadaisical in transition defense, so-so in pick and roll defense, and his man-to-man defense hasn't been strong enough either.