2008-09 Season in Review: David West
By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com

June 15, 2009

Hornets.com continues its look back at the 2008-09 season with player-by-player analysis of the team:


What we expected: West had steadily improved throughout his NBA career, as evidenced by him upping his scoring and rebounding averages in each of his initial five professional seasons. In 2007-08, he moved into the elite class of NBA power forwards, when he averaged 20.6 points and 8.9 rebounds and made the All-Star team for the first time. Entering 2008-09, he was expected to continue to be one of the Hornets’ primary scoring options and build on the progress he’d consistently made since being drafted by New Orleans in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft.

What happened: The 6-foot-9, 240-pounder again increased his scoring average, this time to 21.0 points per game. He also proved that his All-Star berth in 2008 – when the game was hosted by New Orleans – was no fluke, receiving the honor for a second straight year. West was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Chris Paul for the second consecutive season, after West had led the club in point production in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. Interestingly, even though West and Paul both improved statistically offensively, the Hornets won seven fewer games in the regular season, an indication that the supporting cast’s effectiveness dipped noticeably this season. Rebounding-wise, West’s average dropped for the first time as a pro, at 8.5 boards a game. Like with CP3, the team’s depth problems resulted in West playing too many minutes for Byron Scott’s taste. Although everyone focused on Paul not getting worn down, West actually averaged more minutes than the point guard. His 39.2 mpg was fourth-most in the NBA.

Best game: In what was the most impressive victory of the season for the Hornets, West poured in a season-high 40 points at the Lakers on Jan. 6. New Orleans posted a 116-105 triumph on the home floor of the defending conference champions, with West going 14-for-23 from the floor. He also pulled down 11 rebounds. West was virtually unstoppable in the fourth quarter, tallying 15 points in the final 9:52 of the game.

The future: West signed a contract extension in 2006 that runs through at least the 2010-11 season. He has a player option in 2011-12. Although his name has been mentioned in trade rumors generated in other cities, West has been a critical component of the Hornets’ core, in their rise from 18 wins in 2004-05 to a playoff qualifier for two straight seasons. “We had a great season two years ago,” Scott said when asked about whether the team might make major changes to its core group. “We had a good season (in 2008-09), despite all the injuries and all the headaches we went through. For us to kind of panic and blow it up would be crazy. We have a good, stable bunch of guys. Our foundation is strong. We just have to build upon it.”