Before the 2008-2009 campaign, the New Orleans Hornets signed veteran James Posey and were hoping to compete with the Los Angeles Lakers for the number one spot in the West. However, Byron Scott’s team barely made the playoffs at the seventh seed and was eliminated 1-4 in the first round by the Denver Nuggets. Especially their game four 63-121 loss was a humiliation on their home court that Hornet fans do not forgive easily. In fact, the said 58-point home loss was a new NBA playoff record that certainly left a big question mark around the will and dedication of the Hornets. Granted, starting center Tyson Chandler was banged up and only at about 70%, but not all of the Hornets’ failure can be attributed to injuries.

Considering the aforementioned issues, the overarching question seems to be where the Hornets will go from here. The one piece which can safely be assumed being untouchable is all-star point guard Chris Paul. Arguably the best playmaker in the league, he finished the season averaging 22.8 points, 11.0 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Likewise, jumpshooting power forward David West who made its second consecutive all-star appearance this season performed well. In contrast, everyone else could possibly be regarded expandable by New Orleans General Manager DeShazier.

However, the big issue here is that nearly all other contracts offer very little trade value. For instance, Peja Stojakovic is currently making about $15 million a year and offers no offensive weapons apart from his streaky 3-point shooting while playing little to no defense. Thus, if they traded him they would not be able to get anything else than another overpaid player. Given the current state of the economy and the decreasing salary cap, it appears to be highly unlikely that there would be much demand for an overpaid role-player at $15 million a year. Connected to the lower salary cap next year is New Orleans current roster composition that will likely exceed the cap and force them to pay luxury tax. Even though they have a few minor contracts coming off the books this summer, increased salaries of other contracts are projected to make it a zero-sum game.

Taking everything into consideration, the New Orleans Hornets may very well be stuck with deciding between doing nothing and hoping for the best, or trading their core player David West and taking a huge risk. It does not sound very promising for the future, but only time can tell what will happen to the Hornets next year. There is always the possibility of a draft steal or a trade that turns out to be better on the court than on paper.