ESPN: Hornets Skyrocket Up Future Rankings

[Saints Fan in A]

11. New Orleans Hornets | Future Power Rating: 659

PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
254 (20th) 127 (11th) 162 (5th) 28 (24th) 88 (3rd)

What a difference a season makes. The Hornets are by far the most improved team in the rankings, elevating from 27th to 11th after two major changes put them in much better position to compete. The first was the sale of the team to Tom Benson, which stopped the NBA from looking over GM Dell Demps' shoulder and allowed him to make some shrewd moves -- such as signing Gustavo Ayon for peanuts and then parlaying him into Ryan Anderson over the summer, or the little-discussed heist of Greivis Vasquez from Memphis.

That lifted the Hornets' management score more than any other team's, but the real cause of the rise in New Orleans' ranking came when they won the lottery and selected center Anthony Davis. We may not be crazy about the rest of the roster, but Davis alone pushed our ranking of the Hornets' roster into the middle of the pack. Throw in Anderson and Eric Gordon, and the makings of a good team are there.

The Hornets' market isn't doing them any favors, but the rest of their positions remain strong. New Orleans will be well under the cap in 2013 after a shrewd deal that sent out the cap-clogging deals of Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor, which will allow them to pursue more help for their fledgling cast. And the Hornets are looking good for the draft too, as they'll likely tack on another losing season before the rebuilding begins in earnest in 2013.

(Previous rank: 27)

[Eman5805]

Didn't we sign Ayon and trade for Vasquez while still under the NBA's ownership?

[RaisingTheBar]

Nice article (I'm assuming it came from). Thanks for posting.

[RUFshreve]

Didn't we sign Ayon and trade for Vasquez while still under the NBA's ownership?

Yes, we did. I don't know why they said that. The rest is a good read, but that part confused me.

[MSU-Sousaphone]

I'm sure the market will look a lot better to these guys come next offseason. I'm more excited for the team, now, than I ever have been. Put something worth watching on the court and the Gulf South will come out. And after the rebranding.......oh yeah.....

[Eman5805]

People underestimate us cuz they assume the only people in the south that would care about basketball lives IN New Orleans. Rule of perception I suppose. But it's not their concern.

We'll take care of our bidness same as anyone else.

[All Metro]

I disagree with the comment of us being good for the draft and having a losing season. I doubt we will get a top 10 pick.

[Kibner]

I disagree with the comment of us being good for the draft and having a losing season. I doubt we will get a top 10 pick.

Let's have the 12th worst record and luck into another top 3 pick!

[luckyman]

Hornets market not doing them any favors? 10,000 season tickets sold while the franchise was in a woeful state was just one more swift kick in the nads I guess.

[RaisingTheBar]

Hornets market not doing them any favors? 10,000 season tickets sold while the franchise was in a woeful state was just one more swift kick in the nads I guess.

Anyone know what the # of season tickets holders is now?

If we are around 13k, every night we would be at the least above 70% capacity.

[HornetsFan1]

On the home page, it says "Future Contenders?" or something next to this article. I don't have insider, so if anyone does, are we in there?

[ml wave]

Anyone know what the # of season tickets holders is now?

If we are around 13k, every night we would be at the least above 70% capacity.

I'm sure we had a lot of one-time buyers due to the heavy push to keep the team...doubt we're anywhere near 13k.

[HalfBreed]

I'm expecting us to knock out the Clippers in the first round of playoffs

[Kibner]

I'm sure we had a lot of one-time buyers due to the heavy push to keep the team...doubt we're anywhere near 13k.

If I remember my talk with 42 correctly, the franchise would be doing well to maintain 10,000k season tickets this year. There was an expected dropoff and landing the #1 pick will only help so much. I think we would only need to worry if they start to drop to the 8,000 and lower range. Half capacity as season ticket holders sounds pretty good to me. Ensures that we get a lot of new blood coming in and out. :shrug:

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

[TBlaze]

Although the season tickets may see a drop, I think the number of actual tickets bought for individual games and walkups will increase once the people start to see just how exciting of a team this will be to watch.

Almost like the 07 season when half the town didn't even know about the CCC going on until around February. We won't have the talent and chemistry, but the youth and excitement levels will be up there with the best.