Three months into the season, very few things panned out as the Hornets’ front-office had hoped they would. More precisely, New Orleans is struggling to stay in the playoff mix and is currently 10^th in the Western Conference, just three games over the .500 mark. To make things even more complicated, the small market franchise from Louisiana is facing considerable financial problems as they are still above the luxury tax threshold.

Thus, GM Jeff Bower has to tackle the difficult issue of improving on the floor while cutting costs at the same time. His first move as the trade deadline approaches was to ship backup center-forward Hilton Armstrong to the Sacramento Kings for a 2016 second round draft pick. Considering that Armstrong only got to play 13 minutes per contest in which he averaged 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, his loss will most likely not have any significant impact on the Hornets’ performance. Moreover, getting rid of his contract, worth nearly $3 million this year, brings New Orleans closer to the luxury tax line. In fact, the Hornets only need to find a way to shed another half million of salary somewhere and could avoid paying any tax at all. That said, it appears to be questionable whether Chris Paul and company will be able to compete for more than a first-round playoff exit this season. Having a few bloated contracts on their roster and not many attractive trade chips, it looks like New Orleans might have to stay put unless they are willing to take on more payroll. Obviously, All-Stars Chris Paul and David West would raise a lot of interested from General Managers around the league, but the Hornets’ front-office repeatedly stated that neither of them is available.

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