The Hornets have signed 25-year old shooting guard Marco Belinelli to a 1-year, $3.4 million dollar deal.  He played in 80 games (69 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 24.5 minutes, 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Belinelli shot 41.4% from the floor and that is the reason the Hornets brought him back for the 2011-12 season.  He has now played in 221 games (93 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 19.0 minutes, 8.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

29-year old center Emeka Okafor is a darn solid NBA center.  He played in 72 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 10.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  Okafor has now played in 484 games (480 starts) in his career so far in the NBA and he is averaging 32.8 minutes, 12.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  He is a pure power player as most of his offense revolves around putbacks and dunks.  Okafor also is a good rebounder and defensive player.

As of right now, 31-year old David Andersen would be the starting power forward for the Hornets if the season started today.  Andersen played in 40 games (0 starts) for the Raptors & Hornets last year and he averaged 9.3 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 103 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.3 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  27-year old Patrick Ewing Jr. would be Andersen’s backup.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year for the Hornets and he averaged 2.7 minutes, 0.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

26-year old small forward Trevor Ariza plays hard on both ends of the basketball court, but, he needs to start taking better shots.  Ariza only hit 39.8% from the floor last year and that needs to improve.  Ariza played in 75 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 34.7 minutes, 11.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  He has now played in 458 games (198 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  23-year old Quincy Pondexter will backup Ariza in 2011-12.  Pondexter played in 66 games (6 starts) for the Hornets last year as a rookie and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

26-year old point guard Chris Paul remains one of the best at his position in the NBA.  Paul played in 80 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 36.0 minutes, 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game.  He has now played in 425 games (all starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.  28-year old Jarrett Jack will be Paul’s backup once again in 2011-12.  He played in 83 games (15 starts) for the Hornets & Raptors last year and he averaged 20.7 minutes, 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Jack has now played in 487 games (210 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he has averaged 27.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.  The Hornets are in great shape at point guard for the 2011-12 season.

26-year old center Aaron Gray has opted out of his contract with the Hornets so that he can become a free agent.  Gray played in 41 games (6 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 13.0 minutes, 3.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  He played in 65 games (6 starts) in his two years with the Hornets and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  This just further depletes the frontcourt of the Hornets.

30-year old power forward David West has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Hornets.  He has now become a free agent.  West played in 70 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 35.0 minutes, 18.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  West has now played in 530 games (438 starts) in his 8 years with the Hornets and he has averaged 32.4 minutes, 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  West is #3 in games played in Hornets’ history.  He is also #2 in rebounds (3,853), #10 in assists (1,042), #8 in steals (396), #3 in blocked shots (435) and #2 in points scored (8,690) in Hornets’ history.  This is going to be a big loss for the Hornets if West leaves.

The Hornets only have the 45th overall pick in this Thursday’s NBA Draft.  The Hornets will likely take the best available SG or PF with their pick.  PFs Markieff Morris (Kansas) and Nikola Mirotic (Serbia) might be available.  That would be a hard choice for the Hornets but I think they would go with Morris.  The Hornets really aren’t likely to get the kind of help they need this Thursday.  Free agency and the trade market will be the only likely way the Hornets will improve the roster for 2011-12.

UPDATE:  (6/27/2011) – The Hornets picked center Josh Harrellson in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft and then they sold him to the Knicks for a wad of cold hard cash.

The Hornets have a lot of free agents heading into this off-season, eight to be exact.  What happens with these guys will likely tell the direction the Hornets are heading into.  PF David West has a early termination option in his contract and he might want to test free agency.  It’s a weak market in free agency at power forward and he is going to be one of the best ones available.  The Hornets need to either bring him back or they need to sign a similar player, which won’t be easy.  PF/SF Carl Landry is also a free agent and he will come cheaper than West would.  The Hornets would have to still pay Landry a lot of cash if they choose to let West walk and sign him.  SG Marco Belinelli is a restricted free agent and I think the Hornets might bring him back but only if the price is right.  PF/C Jason Smith is also a restricted free agent and he won’t likely command a huge salary, so he might be back with the Hornets in 2011-12.  Center Aaron Gray has a player option for 2011-12 and I expect him to pick it up.  SG Willie Green’s future is likely tied to that of Marco Belinelli.  I don’t think they will both be back with the Hornets next year.  PG Marcus Banks and forward D.J. Mbenga will both likely be leaving town.

Muggsy Bogues played 10 years for the Hornets when they were in Charlotte, and the 5’3″, 136 pound point guard made his mark.  Bogues played in 632 games (501 starts) in his 10 years with the Hornets and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Bogues is the Hornets’ all-time leader in assists with 5,557 of them.  He is also #2 in games played (632), #1 in steals (1,067) and he’s #8 in points scored (5,531) in Hornets’ history.  Bogues might have been the smallest player in the NBA when he played, but he showed that hard work can overcome a lack of size.