The hard part begins now for New Orleans Hornets

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on April 30, 2009 at 10:55 AM, updated July 30, 2009 at 4:38 PM

Difficult as it was to watch the New Orleans Hornets cave in five games to Denver, that's only the beginning. The real hard part starts now.

New Orleans Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, right, has some work to do in the upcoming offseason.

The Hornets have to make changes to get better, and have to do it under some of the tightest financial constraints imaginable. They absolutely can't fool themselves into standing pat and believing good health for an entire season will solve their problems because even with New Orleans at full strength, Denver would've won the first-round series.

Maybe, the Nuggets wouldn't have won 4-1. But they would've won, and the series still probably wouldn't have gone seven games because across the board, Denver clearly was the superior team.

And if the Hornets remain as they are, Denver will be better next year, too. And so will the Lakers. And so will the Trail Blazers. And so will the Rockets. And so will the Jazz. And, perhaps, so will the Mavericks.

So New Orleans is going to have to get creative, and it's going to have to get a little lucky because there isn't a bumper crop of free agents from which to choose, or a ton of money of which to spend (the team already is projected to be over the salary cap and will have to pay a luxury tax if salary isn't trimmed), or a current roster of attractive parts that can be moved.

Fans who have pleaded for the Hornets to trade Peja Stojakovic either don't realize there's no market for Stojakovic, or simply want to hear their own voice. Stojakovic is a one-dimensional player who, lately, hasn't satisfactorily performed his one specialty, shooting. He has two years remaining on his contract, reportedly for $14.2 million and $15.336 million; no team is going to take on that deal for that player.

While I still believe Tyson Chandler is a critical piece for the Hornets, the fact is that now, the team probably can't get rid of him. He's been classified as damaged goods - the Thunder vetoed his trade to Oklahoma City because of what the organization deemed a troublesome toe, and a bad ankle helped limit him to 45 regular-season games - and he has two years left on his deal.

And there aren't any takers for Morris Peterson, Antonio Daniels and Hilton Armstrong.

Move David West, the two-time All-Star? That mindset flared during the season and reignited during the playoffs. To it, let's inject this bit of rationality - there are 30 NBA teams, which means there are 30 starting power forwards.

How many of them averaged 21 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 88 percent from the line? Of that select group, how many play for organizations that are trying to get rid of them, without them being head cases or malcontents? Exactly.

That leaves only one other desirable part for a trade partner and, well, let's not be so idiotic even to mention that name. He stays, and guarantees that the Hornets at least are a playoff team.

Think changing the head coach will be the solution, especially after the Denver series, which included an NBA-record 58-point home loss? Here are a couple of reasons why that probably won't happen.

First, Byron Scott signed a two-year extension after 2007-08 and no owner, in this economic climate, is inclined to pay a coach to not work. Second, the guy won Coach of the Year after last season; he didn't suddenly forget how to do the job. Third - though fans obviously are accustomed to better results from New Orleans' NBA team, judging by the outrage - the Hornets advanced to the playoffs for the second consecutive season and won a franchise-record 56 regular-season games last year.

Usually, that doesn't amount to a fire-able offense.

Sure, there's been plenty of time to lament the departures of J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen and Brandon Bass with the Hornets owning a bench that could be the worst in the NBA. But Bass represents the only true mistake of that trio.

Smith was way too immature when he was a Hornet, which might explain why he was traded to the Bulls (as part of the deal that landed Chandler) and never played a game for Chicago. And Andersen was a critical piece of the Hornets' puzzle in Oklahoma City until a drug suspension got him kicked out of the league for two seasons. Hopefully, he'll remain sober the rest of his career but considering what already had happened, the Hornets were right to opt not to depend on him again.

Now, if you want to bash, pound away over the drafting of Armstrong and Cedric Simmons in 2006, because the Hornets basically drafted the same player twice and neither panned out. They were picked at Nos. 12 and 15; Paul Millsap and Leon Powe were taken at Nos. 47 and 49.

And question what's going on with Julian Wright, but save some of the grilling for Wright. He's frighteningly inconsistent and has become the NBA equivalent of a backup quarterback - fans pine for his appearance until he plays and then, if they watch closely, they're reminded why he's on the bench.

All of that contributes to the bottom line that the Hornets simply don't have the luxury of missing this offseason, with anything they do. The fact they probably won't be able to do much only intensifies the fact they have to be right on every move.