Lurking beneath the Danny Ainge NBA Executive of the Year buzz this season is a man whose stamp on a franchise is equally as impressive. Meet Jeff Bower, the most anonymous/best GM in the NBA.

Bower is the architect of the New Orleans Hornets, a team with the best record in the Western Conference and one whom will be well represented come February 17 when his coach (Byron Scott) and players (Chris Paul and David West) take the floor at New Orleans Arena.

Individual accolades or self promotion never enter the equation after speaking with the unpretentious Bower at length, a man who clearly is enjoying the Hornets return to New Orleans and the team’s overall success while keeping a stern eye on the second half of the season.

NBA.com: Chris Paul just earned his first All-Star berth. Talk about what factors played a part in him playing at an MVP level this season?

Jeff Bower: I think it’s a combination of it’s his third year now in the league and he’s such a bright young man that he’s taken advantage of what he’s learned over the first two years; his experiences playing with USA Basketball and being part of that program and being around those players and taking some lessons from that has helped; the struggles that we’ve gone through trying to improve and growing as a team with his teammates. I think all of those things have contributed to his success this year and I think he’s grown from them all and really taken advantage of all the experiences he’s had so far.

NBA.com: How much did the Deron Williams comparisons earlier in the season motivate Paul?

Jeff Bower: He is more driven by the performance of his team and by doing things that affect winning more so than any personal discussions. He came into this year very driven and hungry for the team to make progress and for the team to get themselves into position to compete for a playoff spot. That aspect overrides any other personal comparisons that have been made throughout the league. He’s such a team oriented young man and that is really what drives him.

NBA.com: What is the biggest area of improvement that you’ve noticed in his game this season?

Jeff Bower: He has improved across the board in just about every facet of his game. He has been a terrific late-game performer. He’s been great at establishing the tempo of the game and getting us into a style of play that’s more conducive to our team. He’s increased his scoring both by putting more pressure on the defense off the dribble as well as increasing his effectiveness behind the three point line. Yet while doing all that, his assists have gone up, his steals have been a factor as a force on the defensive side of the ball and he’s made progress in every area.

NBA.com: What is his greatest attribute?

Jeff Bower: I think his competitiveness and his spirit of cooperation for the goal of the group. Those two things go hand in hand and allow all of his individual play to translate into team success.

NBA.com: Talk about the job Byron Scott has done this season.

Jeff Bower: He’s done an outstanding job raising expectations, motivating and driving the players to expect more from themselves individually and blending them all together so that collectively they’re an effective and efficient unit. He’s got guys playing to their strengths and playing with each other and believing in the same thing. That is such a difficult thing to be able to do and he’s been able to do that in a fashion that has our team looking for more and wanting to accomplish more and working to pay the price to be able to do that.

NBA.com: People seemed to forget how good of a coach Byron is, the same guy who led the Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances.

Jeff Bower: Sure, the more success the team has, the more that people will look to find out why and they’ll see that Byron is a huge part of that answer. When you see players look to their coach for leadership, when you see players that are willing to allow their coach to coach them, you know that there is a huge level of respect between them all. In this league when you have a coach that has the experience of Byron, both as a player and a coach, it’s important for your team that you’re able to utilize that. He has reached this group and he’s been able to lead this group through some very big stages of development.

NBA.com: David West just shed the league’s most underrated player label with his selection to the All-Star team.

Jeff Bower: His production has been consistent, it’s been efficient, and it’s been hard earned on a nightly basis. David works the game and scores the ball with plays that are needed for our team. He rebounds the ball in traffic. Maybe his plays don’t end up on the top 10 for SportsCenter, but they contribute to the final outcome of the game. When you can make 12 out of 15 shots against the World Champions, that is quite a night. When he finishes a game with nine or 10 rebounds, the bulk of his rebounding is all in traffic that he had to fight for and take away from other people. His statistics all are impressive but their impact on our team is even greater.

NBA.com: I’m going to run down a list of players and want your take …

Tyson Chandler …

Jeff Bower: He continues to provide rebounding and defense for us and runs the floor for baskets that are created in transition. He gives Chris Paul a big man to get up and down the floor with and conversely, Chris is able to create scoring opportunities for him which are resulting in him being one of the top field goal percentage shooters in the league. He’s got a great nose and great pursuit of the basketball off the rebounds. His willingness to pursue them is what puts him in position to finish the 20 rebound night. It’s a huge weapon to have him running the floor as a center. His game fits all the other players on the floor. David West and Tyson are a real good power forward-center combination because their skills blend together and try to highlight each others strengths.

Peja Stojakovic …

Jeff Bower: Well, Peja is an incredible shooter obviously and has had some performances that you just sit back and watch and wonder if he is going to miss. His ability in the last few games to completely open up the game with three or four threes in the third quarter has been huge. If you go back to earlier in the year when he had I believe 10 threes in one game, his shooting threat is something that teams have to honor and it distorts how defenses want to cover the rest of the floor when they know that if he’s left open, he’s probably going to make the shot. So that fits with our other players and gives them more room to operate as well.

Morris Peterson ...

Jeff Bower: Again, he is a player that is doing his job. He’s given us another three point shooter on the floor. He’s driving the ball and giving us a solid defensive presence. It’s really been helpful to have the middle of the floor opened up by he and Peja on the wings because they’re threats that have to be honored by a team’s defense and that helps Tyson Chandler or David West inside or Chris Paul in the middle of the floor for penetration.

Rasual Butler and Melvin Ely ...

Jeff Bower: Both are coming along and providing us with different types of games off the bench. Ely has been effective for us as a low post scorer and someone we can throw the ball to inside. He’s really fit in nicely with this group and has a skill package that is a little different than our other players on the front line. Rasual is another player who has three point shooting ability, the ability to run the floor and continues to make a difference for us.

Jannero Pargo ...

Jeff Bower: He is an offense kind of shooter that really gives us a lift off the bench when he comes in. He can create some offense for us and score points in a hurry. When he gets on a roll, he can string together three, four shots in the course of a couple of minutes and he’s got the quickness and the defensive presence to get up a little bit and pressure the ball away from the basket and help set our defense up. So he’s a nice energy guard for us who can really change the tempo on night’s that it is needed.

NBA.com: Who was your biggest influence as you rose through the ranks to the position of GM?

Jeff Bower: I worked for Bob Bass here at the Hornets for a long time and learned the game with him. He obviously had an influence on me. The thing about Bob was his respect and love for the game itself. Separate from all the off court trappings and off court packaging, his interest was always the game and how it’s played and the type of players that you need for a team to be successful and the need to constantly study every team in the league. Those are all lessons learned I think.

NBA.com: In terms of front office profiles, it seems like you’re under the radar, especially in terms of recognition of the job you’ve done as the architect of this team the last few seasons?

Jeff Bower: I think the job that the players and the coaching staff and our whole organization has done is what deserves the attention honestly. This is a major challenge for everyone in our whole organization. We came back here to be successful and everybody has given a lot of themselves. We’ve had a lot of involvement and a lot of people have helped shape this team, from our owner and his commitment to getting better, his willingness to put resources together to allow us to add players that we felt were important and capable of getting us improved. I’m happy to be a part of it and play a role in it, but honestly, the team and what the team can accomplish is what the story is all about.

NBA.com: What concerns you as we’re now into the second half of the season. Consistent bench production?

Jeff Bower: We’re looking to improve and that is something that we’ll continue to do. We’re never going to stay the same. We’re either going to get better or get worse. Our whole focus is on getting a little bit better today than we were yesterday and that could be in so many areas, offensively or defensively because we know how much season is left and we know how good these other teams are. We’re happy with the start, but we’re looking to improve and continue to improve in just about every area.

Honestly, our bench has shown that improvement over the last 10 days and the return of Ryan Bowen and Melvin Ely back from injuries has really made a difference and they’ve given us energy, scoring and a frontline presence that has allowed our backcourt of our bench to also take off and play better. So we’ve gotten improvement in this area and we’ll continue to look for more.

NBA.com: Talk about the importance of New Orleans hosting the All-Star Game.

Jeff Bower: The spotlight of the basketball world will be on New Orleans. New Orleans is at its best hosting events, whether it’s the All-Star Game or the BCS Championship or the Final Four. There will be thousands of visitors who come here and get a chance to see New Orleans and how far it’s come and what the challenges are that remain. I think that they will get an understanding of how much success has taken place here and fuel the need for even more to continue. New Orleans will be a great host and we’re excited that the game is coming here.

NBA.com: And the players haven’t been going through the motions in terms of community involvement, they’ve been committed.

Jeff Bower: We ask a lot of our players and try to give them opportunities to get involved in the community in real ways where they can make a real difference as opposed to a photo op situation. Our players have really embraced this and have really gone beyond the norm to play a role and give people a reason to believe in the Hornets or a reason to believe in themselves because they feel that they can help the situation. They feel that they can be ambassadors, not only for the Hornets, but for the city to spread the word that things are coming along, progress is being made and more progress needs to take place.