The Hornets held their final official press conference of the 2007-08 season at the New Orleans Arena on Wednesday afternoon. Guests at the podium included Hornets owner George Shinn, team president Hugh Weber, general manager Jeff Bower and head coach Byron Scott.

A transcript of the highlights from the 35-minute press conference:

George Shinn opening statement:
We lost Game 7 the other night to the Spurs, but we’re very happy, because we had a magnificent season. We accomplished more than we’ve ever accomplished. We won 56 games, a first for us. We won our first division title. Chris Paul was voted first-team All-NBA, which was a (Hornets) first. He was runner-up for MVP, also a first. David West and Chris Paul made the All-Star team.

Obviously we cannot forget having the All-Star Game and the impact that made on our community. We thank David Stern and the entire league for doing that. We’d like to publicly request that he get it back here as quickly as possible. [grins] Also, we had the Coach of the Year here in Byron Scott. We had so many firsts here.

As I walk around in the community, it’s been so uplifting to hear people talking about the joy that this team has brought to the community, and how it has uplifted them during some down times. They are so appreciative. It’s just been incredible.

This team has played in three cities, and this has been the most incredible fan frenzy that we’ve ever had. It’s been unbelievable. Not only to us as a team and organization, but also to the entire community. We feel totally blessed by what’s happened.

I remember going back to a year ago, when a lot of you (media members) were saying, ‘Is this guy going to make it (in New Orleans)? What’s going to happen?’ You had a lot of doubts. But I hope this year erased a lot of those doubts and concerns that people had.

We didn’t come back here to fail. We came back to succeed. That was our goal then. Some of you doubted it, but I hope you don’t now. We’ve got a lot to do this summer. Our primary goal is to get Chris Paul signed. We feel very confident about getting that done. Our goal is to keep this team together and intact.

Question: What specifically needs to be done for the Hornets to see improvement next season? Do you just need individual players to improve, or will there need to be some tweaks to the roster?
Scott: I think it’s a combination of both. I think David West said it best by saying that each individual needs to improve. That’s absolutely true. We’re a very young basketball team. I think Game 7 was probably the only game that we showed our youth a little bit. Jeff (Bower) and I will sit down and start talking about what we need to do with our roster, but there are not a lot of things we need to do. We’ve got a core of guys who are going to continue to grow together and get better. But we’ve probably got to add another piece or two, and we have a draft pick. We haven’t even sat down yet to start looking at the list of free agents.

But if we sit still, which a lot of teams do every now and then, you could slip from (the No. 2 seed) to 8 real quick. So you’ve got to try to get better as a group. We put a lot of onus on our players to get better individually.

Jeff Bower has done an unbelievable job. When they did the Executive of the Year voting, he was third, so he needs to be recognized for that, because of the job he did of putting this team together.

Q: Is there a specific position that you’ll be targeting at the draft?
Scott: We’ll talk about that (soon). One of the things that I enjoy about Jeff Bower is that he and I share the same vision on players. A lot of times when we’re talking about specific players that could make us better, we’re pretty much right on target. We have to go through a list of guys. When you have the 27th pick, it’s not like you get your choice of what position to get to make you better. At that pick, you probably have to take the best available player.

Q: Can you talk about the incentives you are looking to get from the state in negotiations?
Shinn: Well, no. [laughs] We’re working hard to try to get something worked out. We’ve had conversations with the governor and his key people. Our goal is to stay. We do not want to leave. We want to make this work.

We want the state to understand that we’re in the smallest market in the NBA. What most people don’t understand is that when the salary cap is figured, it’s based on the average gross income of teams. Not our income. Our revenue streams are not near where the average (NBA) team is. If we could get to just the average number of what teams are making, then we could build this team with no problems at all. But if not, it could financially cause a lot of problems.

We’re trying to explain all of this to the state. We feel like we’re a tremendous asset to this community, and also to the state. This season has proven that. Everyone’s happy and wants to stay. Weber: The good news in these conversations (with the state) is that we have aligned interests and we’re all on the same page. If you turn back the clock to a year ago, there were some questions about whether we could be successful here, or whether this community would rally around a team that plays with a round ball, as opposed to an oblong ball. I think this year went miles in showing that this community loves this team.

One of the things we’ve talked about – and this is one of the reasons that all of our employees are here today for this press conference – is that this is a partnership. It’s a partnership between our employees, this team, this community and elected leadership. We wanted this to go from a team that happened to be playing basketball in this city, to (New Orleans’) team. The legislative leadership sees this. We’re working on a deal to keep the Hornets here for a long time.

Q: Is there any timetable on when a deal will be reached?
Weber: We’re very aggressive, as are they. But it’s a very complicated process, to work together on this type of thing. I can’t give you any definite dates.

Q: Jeff, George said that the priority is to re-sign Chris Paul to a maximum contract. How much do you think you’ll have to maneuver to get under the salary cap to do that?
Bower: Well, we’ve seen this coming for a while. We’ve tried to put ourselves in a position to be able to take whatever steps to keep together a core that was growing and improving. The big thing we’ve looked at with deals we’ve gone into, was not only what effect it would have immediately, but also how it would play out two or three years down the road. In this situation we know what’s coming and we’re positioned to be able to do everything we need to do to keep our core together.

Q: Byron, how do you see this team’s future and your future with the team?
Scott: Obviously I feel the future of this franchise is headed in the right direction. If you look at the core of the team, Peja is our elder statesmen. He’s 30. Tyson is 25, Chris just turned 23, and David West (is 27). I think the best compliment after the San Antonio came from Gregg Popovich. He said in the hallway, ‘Your time is coming. It’s going to come a lot sooner than you think.’ Because of the young guys we have and their development. We’re very excited about the future of this team. We made some gigantic steps this season.

Like I told the players after the game, you don’t go from 39 wins to winning the championship. It just doesn’t happen. You have to go through some heartache. Chicago did, Boston did, Detroit did. We’re not different. We’re going to lose some of these battles before we can get to the mountaintop. But we have the players to do it. It’s about those players growing, maturing and getting better, and adding another piece or two.

Q: Do you see any similarities between this team and the New Jersey teams that made the NBA Finals with you as head coach?
Scott: I think this team has a little bit more staying power because it is younger. That core, with Jason Kidd, was a little older. This is different because we had to work a little harder, obviously. It didn’t happen overnight. Having some of the disappointments we’ve had – not making the playoffs last year was a big disappointment, because of all the injuries – made the guys stronger.

Q: Do you think you are coming around as a team at the right time? Sacramento had a great team in the early 2000s, but had it at the wrong time due to competition from the Lakers. Phoenix had a great team but couldn’t beat San Antonio.
Scott: I don’t know. I think we are on the right track. San Antonio is getting older every year, obviously. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are getting a little bit older. You’ve got to worry about some of the other up-and-coming teams. Portland, with Greg Oden hopefully healthy and able to play this year, will be up-and-coming. But I don’t think there is any team in the Western Conference that we can’t beat on a consistent basis, if we stay healthy and continue to get better as a team.

Q: Would you provide us with an update on how ticket sales are going for next season?
Shinn: In the NBA, (sales) are measured by renewals of season tickets. In the NBA, 80 to 85 percent is considered good. We’re at 90 percent, which is extraordinary. We’ve been selling new season tickets faster than anyone in the NBA at the present time. We’ve sold just about every ticket in the lower bowl.

Weber: There are about 850 (season tickets) left in the lower bowl, so scarcity will be an issue for those people who want to have good seats next year.

This time last year, we were talking about getting employees moved to New Orleans (from Oklahoma) and getting their children in schools. This year we’ve already got 4,000 new season tickets sold, in place and ready to cheer. It’s an entirely different place than where we were 12 months ago. That changes the attendance numbers for every game next year, because when you have a base of 5,000 season ticket holders – which we had this year – that means you have to find 12,000 other people to come on a game-by-game basis (to achieve a sellout).

That’s why season tickets are so critically important. We’re not at our goals yet. Our staff is incentivized and focused. We’re going to get there, by will. It’s (also) critical to take care of our current season ticket holders.

We’re very proud of the current (ESPN) franchise rankings. We finished third (among all professional sports teams), behind the Spurs and Indianapolis Colts. That was rated on how you take care of your fans, and the value you bring for the entertainment dollar.

This year was just the beginning. We’ve talked about building a legacy of competing for a championship every year, where this is not an aberration that comes and goes.

Q: George, now that you and Saints owner Tom Benson have improved your relationship, do you think that will impact the success of both teams?
Shinn: I think so. I’ve heard a lot of fans tell me they thought it was great that I made the move to do that. It was great for the community. In my conversations with him, I tell him I will do anything I can to help. If you need advice from us on anything, such as marketing – which we’re pretty good at – I’d be happy to help and won’t charge anything… although I might ask for a couple (Saints) tickets here and there. [grins]

We’re going to buy season tickets for Saints games, so I will be attending them. And if Jeff (Bower) and Byron (Scott) want to go, I’ll have them buy them from me. [laughs]

Q: George, you talked about how re-signing Chris Paul is your top priority. But how concerned are you about other teams trying to come after your head coach?
Shinn: I wouldn’t blame them, (because) Byron has done an outstanding job for us. I’ve made it very clear that when I first brought him on, my goal was for him to retire here. I’m tired of flip-flopping and firing coaches. I want someone who I like, and I like him. I’m going to be as fair as I can be in any deal we reach with him, but my goal is for Byron to stay with us. I’m going to do everything within reason to make that work.

I think it’s important to continue the mental attitude that (the players have). He’s worked hard to develop the players here. Why would he want to leave? I don’t want him to leave. I want him to stay, and I hope he wants to stay as much as I do.

Q: Jeff, how does your draft strategy change this year, with the team picking at 27th instead of earlier in the first round?
Bower: We are picking later, but the sense of urgency remains the same, whether we were picking at 4, or 14 or 27, in this case. We want to select the player who can best help us at that time. We want to get value for that pick. At 27, that may come in the form of a player, or some other form. We look at it as another opportunity to add something to our team that can help us. We don’t look at it as a throwaway draft position whatsoever.