Hornets on the Internets: Bobby Brown is a Wanted Man Edition
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Bobby Brown's been lighting up the summer league. (Note: Let it be known that I was/am the first official member of the Bobby Brown bandwagon). And now, he may end up getting an NBA or overseas gig for the upcoming season. Marc Stein of ESPN has more details:
Though he's not a pure point and frequently has to be reminded by coaches to be more vocal, Brown has become an NBA player. And that's according to numerous expert witnesses in Vegas as opposed to a shameless rooter like me...
...Consider, for example, that my Maccabi Tel-Aviv is suddenly trying to lure Brown to Israel as a marquee foreign signing. That's a big step up from where Brown was last season, helping Germany's Alba Berlin win the Bundesliga title.
But Brown's also getting enough NBA interest now to conceivably land the guaranteed deal that would enable him to stay home. New Orleans wants to bring him to training camp and had Chris Paul call Brown to invite him to compete for minutes as CP3's backup. I'm hearing that the Warriors like him just as much, if not more, which must be why Nelson could be spotted at most of Brown's games.
Come on, Jeff Bower/George Shinn! You're gonna be paying the luxury next year unless you cut some salary. Here's a fantastic opportunity staring you right in the face- let Pargo walk and let Brown be the 3rd string point. Please. Please. Please.
Speaking of Brown, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram has a video interview with him.
And speaking of video interviews with Bill Ingram, here's one of Hilton Armstrong.
Back to the same Stein article: he also chimes in on the James Posey deal:
...[D]on't look for me to join the chorus of concern that the Hornets overextended themselves to sign the 31-year-old to a four-year deal worth about $25 million. I love the move.
I can't deny that I was not-so-secretly expecting owner George Shinn to make his checkbook hard to find after the Hornets re-signed Paul to a max contract extension earlier this month. But showing an immediate willingness to spend some more to get Posey as the lead acquisition to address their leadership and depth shortcomings suggests that Shinn isn't satisfied with one breakthrough season.
And one last tidbit from Stein:
In New Orleans, though, it's hard to top Byron Scott's ambition. The NBA's reigning Coach of the Year shared that he hopes to eventually develop young (and long) swingman Julian Wright into a backup for Paul at the point. Pretty interesting if it actually happens someday.
Charley Rosen's Q&A piece for FOX Sports is pretty interesting. He starts with some Posey (mostly Celtics related) stuff before delving into the nuances of the following question:
After watching Tyson Chandler have so much success in slapping the ball back to Chris Paul, this seems like a highly effective maneuver. What do you think? Also, if he does tip the ball to a teammate, does Chandler get credit for a rebound?
NBA players will take on professional bowlers in October in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hmm. NBA players who like to bowl, hailing from Winston-Salem... oh yeah, that Chris guy. The Mount Airy News explains:
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and Paul's CP3 Foundation announced today the creation of the inaugural Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by the brands of Ebonite International which will be televised on ESPN.
The Invitational will take place at the AMF Major League Lanes in Winston-Salem on Sept. 20 taped for broadcast on ESPN, airing on Oct. 19...
"I am thrilled to have a PBA event be a major part of my charity weekend and bring some of the best bowlers in the world to Winston-Salem," said Paul. "I always tell people that I am a bowler first and a basketball player second, so I know this event will be an ultimate test of my bowling skills."
The Hornets Report Boards have the low-down on next year's new jerseys. As bonitapplebum87 says:
If I could post the pics I would guys but I don't wanna get in trouble. Anyway, my friend Soso on the first page gave you an accurate description except it should be a little more like this:
White with creole blue and purple pinstripes going through the jersey. Name and number is in creole blue.
Away:
Creole blue with purple and gold pinstripes going through the jersey. Name and number is in gold.
*Both jerseys have New Orleans across the chest. Unless there are last minute changes I won't be aware of, there will be no NOLA on the jersey. However, there is a very cool new logo with NOLA coming out of a trumpet...I thought it was pretty dope.
I haven't seen the actual jersey, just pics.
Thanks for the neat info!
Moving on to the big Posey signing and various internet reactions- Hoops World tracked down Julian Wright and got his thoughts on the signing:
"I think he's going to be a great add," Julian Wright told HOOPSWORLD at the Las Vegas Summer League. "He obviously has a lot of playoff experience, a lot of experience period, and that's what the Hornets have been looking for."
Posey joins the Hornets bench as Wright is working to earn more minutes as a role player. However Wright sees his new teammate as a contributor, not competition to his game. Posey is an outside shooting, perimeter defender whereas Wright has been asked by Bower and Scott to become a more aggressive offensive playmaker.
Indeed. The more I think about it, the more I realize how well the two complement each other. In some ways, Posey is an "old" JuJu, but in many other ways, they're very different players.
Check out this comments section on the Lakers' blog Forum Blue and Gold. The general consensus among L.A. fans is that the Posey signing is a great fit for the Hornets and that New Orleans and the Lakeshow will be duking it out for a Finals appearance next year. As reader and Laker fan Darius says:
I'm sorry to say this, but the Hornets are stacked. They have scorers at almost every position, they have interior and perimeter defenders, they have post offense, and they have Chris Paul and that deadly high P&R. Can you imagine a crunch time line up of Paul, Posey, Peja, West, and Chandler? Who do you leave to stop penetration? I understand that Peja and Paul aren't the best defenders (understatement, I know) but West is decent and Posey/Chandler are pretty strong for their positions. I'm not shaking in my boots or anything, but those guys are (mostly) young, hungry players that just got a ton of experience in a brutal conference and have a lot of confidence based off of last season.
Good to see that our opponents respect the move.
FOX Sports' Mike Kahn discusses the "Horry aura" surrounding James Posey and ponders whether the deal was worth it. In the end, he comes to this conclusion:
All things being equal, Posey will be a factor for the Hornets because of his experience and ability to maximize his impact in a limited amount of minutes... But he won't be the difference. So the rest of the Hornets better had better grow up over the next two seasons, or they'll regret those third and fourth years of the contract sooner than later.
I couldn't have put it better myself.
FOX, hate as I must your news station, your sports analysis is actually kind of good.
Meanwhile, if you're wondering why SI has been slipping in popularity recently, look no further.