The Hornets picked center Cole Aldrich out of Kansas with the 11th overall pick and then they traded him along with 32-year old small forward Morris Peterson to the Thunder for the 21st and 26th overall picks in the NBA Draft. Peterson played in 46 games (39 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 21.2 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. In his three years with the Hornets, Peterson played in 165 games (124 starts) in which he averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. This was little more than a salary dump move for the Hornets as Aldrich and Peterson will make a lot more money in 2010-11 than whoever the Hornets use their two first round picks on.

32-year old PF Darius Songaila has exercised his player option for the 2010-11 season allowing him to return to the Hornets. Songaila played in 75 games (1 start) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 18.8 minutes, 7.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 485 games (79 starts) in his seven years in the NBA and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Hornets probably could have used the money elsewhere but Songaila is a decent backup forward.

The New Orleans Hornets have the #11 pick in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft. They should be looking at getting either a SF or a SG with Marcus Thornton playing the other spot. But rumors abound that the Hornets are in financial trouble which could cause them to trade Chris Paul as early as tomorrow night. If he is truly available teams will be lining up to make the Hornets offers involving both picks and players. The Hornets could also demand that the team getting Paul takes back a Morris Peterson or James Posey to clear more cash off the books. It will be a interesting night to be a Hornets’ fan tomorrow.

29-year old power forward David West just keeps putting up big numbers for the Hornets. He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 36.4 minutes, 19.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. West has now played in 460 games (368 starts) in his 7 years with the Hornets and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. West is moving up in the record books for the Hornets as he is #5 in games played with 460. He is also #3 in rebounds (3,324), #10 in assists (878), #8 in steals (329), #5 in blocked shots (373) and he is #4 in points scored (7,368) in Hornets’ history. West is already one of the very best players in New Orleans Hornets history.

The Hornets have signed 38-year old Monty Williams to a 3-year deal to be the new head coach of the New Orleans Hornets. He has a lot of winning in his background. He started coaching with the Spurs in 2004-05 and they won the NBA Championship that year. Williams then went on to be a assistant with the Portland Trailblazers from 2005-06 to 2009-10. I think Williams will do a good job for the Hornets as he hopefully learned well under Gregg Popovich and Nate McMillan.