The Hornets have spent a lot of money on player payroll the last couple of years so they expect to be a lot better than they have been the lately. Byron Scott led the Hornets to a 49-33 (59.8%) regular season record last year but the Hornets were whacked 4 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs and that just isn’t getting the job done. In five seasons with the Hornets, Scott is 200-210 (48.8%) during the regular season and he is 8-9 (47.1%) in the post season. Overall, Scott’s career record as a NBA head coach is 349-349 (50%) during the regular season and he is 33-24 (57.9%) in the post season. If the Hornets don’t get to the 2nd round of the playoffs this season they might be looking for a new head coach next summer.

Gone is Tyson Chandler who was traded for Emeka Okafor. The Hornets were probably wearing ski masks when they made that trade because they stole Okafor from the Bobcats. 27-year old Emeka Okafor played in all 82 games for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 13.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He lives in the paint and the Hornets will have no problem with that as he is a good rebounder and defensive player. 24-year old Hilton Armstrong will back up Okafor this season. He played in 70 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has a very limited upside and the Hornets would be in trouble if Okafor got injured and had to miss some time. 34-year old Sean Marks is the #3 center for the Hornets. He played in 60 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 14.0 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: B+

The Hornets are three deep with decent players at power forward going into this season. 29-year old David West is the starter and he will likely be the #2 option on offense behind Chris Paul. West plays the game hard on both ends of the court. He played in 76 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 39.2 minutes, 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Darius Songaila will be West’s new caddy and he is a solid player. The 31-year old Songaila played in 77 games for the Wizards last season and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He also like West plays very hard at both ends of the court. 26-year old Ike Diogu has a lot of talent but he really hasn’t gotten the minutes to prove it to this point in his career. He played in 29 games for the Blazers & Kings last season and he averaged 7.4 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. If West or Songaila went down then Diogu would get a chance to show what he can really do and it will be impressive.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B+

22-year old Julian Wright has apparently beaten out 32-year old Peja Stojakovic for the starting job at small forward to begin the season. Wright played in 54 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 14.3 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Wright has a huge upside as he is a very athletic player. Peja Stojakovic will still get a lot of playing time this season splitting his time between small forward and shooting guard. Stojakovic played in 61 games last season for the Hornets and he averaged 34.2 minutes, 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. 32-year old James Posey is also back this season and he brings instant offense off the bench. He played in 75 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B

For now it appears as though Morris Peterson will be the starting shooting guard by default. The Hornets traded Rasual Butler to the Clippers recently in a move that didn’t make any sense opening up a hole in the starting lineup. The 32-year old Peterson played in 43 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 12.0 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. His best asset is his long range shooting as he nailed 38.8% from that distance last season. 30-year old Devin Brown is back for the Hornets and he will provide some offense off the bench. He played in 63 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. 22-year old rookie Marcus Thornton was the 13th pick in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft and he could get some P.T. here. Peja Stojakovic and James Posey will also likely get some playing time here for the Hornets.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: D+

24-year old Chris Paul in the best point guard in the NBA right now, period! Paul has played in 78 games for the Hornets this season and he has averaged 38.5 minutes, 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 11.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Paul does everything well as he runs the Hornets on offense and he’s a outstanding defensive player also. He gets his share of points but he makes every player on offense better with his passing which is outstanding. Look for him to get a lot of MVP votes this season which means the Hornets will be a pretty darn good team again this year. 22-year old Darren Collison was the 21st pick in the first round for the Hornets out of UCLA. Collison could be Paul’s backup this season or it could be Bobby Brown who came over in a trade with the T-Wolves. Brown played in 68 games with the Kings and T-Wolves last season as a rookie and he averaged 13.7 minutes, 5.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. It doesn’t really matter who backs up Paul this season as that player will only get about 10 minutes a night.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: A+