This article appears in the inaugural issue of Hornets Magazine, which is available at newsstands in the Ford Center.

October 31, 2006

In mid-September, Tyson Chandler left his spacious home surrounded by open land and horses in north Oklahoma City and found his way to the Hornets’ practice facility at Southern Nazarene University to work out with some of his new teammates. Included among the group of Hornets were rookies Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons and Marcus Vinicius, and second-year big man Brandon Bass.

Why was he working out with all the young guys? Although only 24 years old, Chandler is a five-year NBA veteran and didn’t have to be in OKC until Oct. 2 when training camp started.

He was there as part of his new beginning, complete with a new team, new house, new city, new number, new attitude, new determination, new people to prove right, new people to prove wrong, new baby, new teammates and even a new mohawk haircut deemed his “training cut.”

The Hornets acquired Chandler from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for PJ Brown and J.R. Smith in July.

“I was ecstatic when I heard of my trade to the Hornets,” Chandler says between drills of taking a power step and dunking 10 times in a row and running wind. “It’s a fresh start and I have the opportunity to do something special here. Everything just fell into place at the right time and I am ready.”

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, Chandler has always been expected to be a star. He endured five frustrating seasons in Chicago, culminating in last season’s 5.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 27 minutes per-game averages.

“I do have a chip on my shoulder, in a good way, from my past years,” Chandler says. “I feel like there are a lot of doubters, and that’s always a good thing, because I can prove them wrong. I can wake a lot of people up.”

With the Hornets, Chandler doesn’t have to be that savior that most people had hoped for in Chicago. The Hornets have scorers in David West, Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul. The Hornets have veterans in Bobby Jackson and Marc Jackson. The Hornets have leaders in Desmond Mason and Paul. The Hornets have youth in Armstrong and Simmons. All the Hornets need from Chandler is for him to be Tyson Chandler.

He will have that opportunity to be himself with the Hornets and has chosen to wear jersey number 6 on his uniform (Chandler was number 3 in Chicago) to be “twice the player I was in Chicago.”

Back on the court at SNU, Chandler is going over plays with head coach Byron Scott. One reason Chandler wasn’t as effective as many Bulls fans would have liked was that he often had to score or make offensive moves posted up with his back to the basket. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that his 7-foot-2, 245-pound frame doesn’t exactly overpower behemoth NBA centers like Shaq, Ben Wallace and Yao Ming.

In the Hornets’ system, Chandler will catch the ball at the free-throw line extended on most plays, which means he will be able to use his strengths (speed and length) to take the ball to the basket or face up and shoot the 12-to-14 foot jump shot. He will also be used on pick-and-rolls with reigning Rookie of the Year Paul, who by himself will be able to provide Chandler with two to three easy baskets a game.

“You mean I get to catch the ball here and do what?” Chandler shouts to Scott. “Man, I can do whatever I want when I catch here (free throw line extended). This is going to be so nice!”

His goal is to average a double-double this season, somewhere around 9-11 points and 10-12 rebounds a game.

“I know that I am one of the best rebounders in the game,” Chandler, who averaged 16.1 rebounds per 48 minutes last season, remarks. “I am right there with Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and Ben Wallace.”

As Chandler wraps up a workout of three-plus hours, something he has done each and every day this offseason en route to being in the best shape of his NBA career, an observer asks him what shoe company he is with.

“My Nike deal was up last season and right now I am not talking to any shoe companies,” Chandler shrugged. “Because I am not Tyson Chandler, I have been this other dude people have been talking about. When I become the Tyson Chandler I know this season with the All-Star potential I know I have, then I’ll talk.”

Before leaving the Hornets’ practice facility, Chandler looks over at Coach Scott with a smile and proclaims, “It feels great to be here, a fresh start, and I can’t wait to get the season started.”