Samedi

by Kerem Ozkan

Hello, New Orleans! I am unspeakably proud to join NOLA Defender to cover the New Orleans Hornets for the upcoming season. As a longtime basketball writer and fan, I feel privileged to be a part of what will surely be an amazing transitional season.

A year after Chris Paul skipped town, the Hornets are once again giving New Orleans a reason to pay attention to pro sports on days that aren't Sunday. It starts at the top, where we have stable ownership in Tom Benson, a very solid General Manager in Dell Demps, and a young, brilliant, still underrated coach in Monty Williams. I've also heard that we drafted some kid with one brow who might be decent.

ESPN recently ranked the Hornets 11th in their future power rankings, just below the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics. I'll address our prospects at length in a future post, but suffice to say here: We have the youngest team in the league, we’re loaded with potential, and possess all the financial flexibility we could want. Will we make the playoffs this year? It’s a long shot. Will we be a contender next year? Doubtful. But the sky is the limit for this franchise’s future, and there certainly aren’t 10 other teams in the league I can say that much for.

Internet-savvy hoops fans have a wealth of options these days, so we’d like to say a little about our approach from the outset. NOLA Defender will cover all the hard news a fan wants to know — game recaps, personnel transactions, and so forth. When appropriate, we will provide readers with the context needed to understand these happenings. With that said, we hope to also go beyond the box score, and capture a little bit of what rooting for this team actually feels like this year, from a critical and curious fan’s perspective. So, sure: I'm in.

The Hornets’ media day is Monday, and I will have the opportunity to meet the players and coaches. We’ll keep you posted with everything you might want to know, and look for more Hornets coverage as the season approaches.