State of the Hornets: Free-Agent Additions

May 12, 2007

Bob Licht

Jim Eichenhofer

We continue our review of the 2006-07 Hornets by breaking down the handful of players the club added to the roster in free agency last season. After going 38-44 in 2005-06, Hornets general manager Jeff Bower was the driving force behind one of the NBA’s busiest offseasons, beginning with his making a big splash by signing Peja Stojakovic to a five-year contract. Later in the summer, the Hornets landed free-agent guards Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo, and re-signed Rasual Butler. Bower made another key acquisition in December when he signed Devin Brown, who was out of the NBA but quickly moved into the Hornets’ starting lineup at shooting guard.

Hornets TV play-by-play broadcaster Bob Licht and Hornets.com beat writer Jim Eichenhofer discuss the quintet of players.

Hornets.com: Let’s start by addressing the question everyone seems to be wondering, a subject that Hornets.com received constant e-mails about this season, from Hornets fans as well as fantasy-league players who had him on their teams. What is Peja Stojakovic’s status and outlook for 2007-08?

Bob Licht: Provided he has no setbacks during the summer, I’m assuming we’ll see a healthy and motivated sharpshooter arrive to training camp. Peja was extremely disappointed with the way this season played out for him and the team. His back surgery went well. His recovery went according to the way doctors predicted. Had he come back prior to the end of this season it would have been AHEAD of schedule.

Jim Eichenhofer: Peja certainly will enter 2007-08 with something to prove, both health-wise and performance-wise. For many players, back injuries turn into a persistent issue that never seems to go away, but let’s hope that isn’t the case with Peja. The first step is to get healthy. After that, he will focus on trying to regain the form he showed during his MVP-caliber 2003-04 season with Sacramento. His stats declined during the previous two seasons before he joined the Hornets, at least partly due to having to adjust to a changing roster and style of play in Sacramento, and later, a trade to Indiana. He wants to show that he’s still the type of player who made three straight All-Star appearances from 2002 through 2004.

Hornets.com: We only saw 13 games with Peja on the floor this season – and David West was available for only seven of those games. What was your initial impression of what Stojakovic would have been able to do for this team had he been in uniform for most of the season?

Bob Licht: First off, the Hornets would have been a playoff team... probably a sixth or seventh seed at worst. Peja played 13 games and in that “cameo” as the team’s starting shooting guard all he did was:
* Set a new career-high with 42 points against the Bobcats.
* Set a franchise record by scoring the first 20 points in a game against Charlotte.
* Make the game-winning shot against Minnesota on the road.
* Hit a game-tying three-pointer at Portland on the team’s first West Coast trip.
The team went 8-5 with him; I think it’s safe to say they would have finished above .500 had he stayed healthy.

Jim Eichenhofer: Agreed – a playoff berth would have been likely. I’d also add that Peja made a couple crucial perimeter shots late in the opener at Boston, setting the tone for the Hornets’ 4-0 start. He showed an ability to hit timely shots, particularly on the road, during his brief 13-game stint. If you look back at several of the Hornets’ fourth-quarter offensive breakdowns that caused them to squander double-digit leads (at Toronto, vs. Denver in the home finale come to mind), this team was in dire need of someone who could knock down outside shots in key situations. When games get tight in the fourth quarter, the pace often slows, meaning your halfcourt offense must have a reliable shooter. Peja would have been that guy and presumably could’ve helped prevent a few of the Hornets’ most discouraging defeats this season.

Hornets guard Bobby Jackson is at his best when he’s in transition, attacking the rim for layups.

Hornets.com: The Hornets’ second-biggest free-agent pickup last summer was point guard Bobby Jackson. What is your assessment of Jackson’s season based on what you expected him to bring to the club?

Bob Licht: It was not unusual for Jackson to miss 26 games... unfortunately, it’s something he’s had to deal with throughout his NBA career. I didn’t expect him to play all 82, but his absence compounded the losses of Peja, Paul and West early in the season. When he did play he provided exactly what I believed he would. He’s a tough, blue-collar player with a winner’s mindset. He drove to the basket, got to the line, dove for loose balls and ended up one of seven Hornets to average double figures; still, I was disappointed with the way he shot the ball this season. His three-point percentage was down (32 percent) as was his overall shooting (39 percent). But, considering he played most of the season with an injured finger, attempted to come back early from five cracked ribs, and played through a nagging late-season Achilles’ injury, he was a good investment.

Jim Eichenhofer: You’re right – people probably should cut him some slack for the somewhat subpar year he had shooting-wise, due to his finger injury. I remember talking to him when he signed last summer, and he seemed to believe one of the reasons his field-goal percentage dropped in 2005-06 with Memphis was due to the Grizzlies’ offense, which was very halfcourt-oriented under Mike Fratello and led to Jackson not getting many easy buckets. Bobby is not a pure, standstill perimeter shooter. He needs to be slashing to the hoop for layups and floaters. I think he expected to be able to play more of a style that was conducive to his strengths with the Hornets, meaning an up-tempo pace similar to what he’d experienced in Sacramento. Unfortunately, the Hornets didn’t run nearly as much as everyone expected them to, partly due to injuries. Bobby’s outlook for 2007-08 is similar to Peja’s, in that his first objective will be to have a healthy season, and if he can accomplish that, he’ll try to get back to the level of performance he demonstrated earlier in his career with the Kings.

Hornets.com: Injuries were certainly a factor, and Jackson did not shoot the ball well this season in comparison to his career numbers, but all things considered, did it work out better for the Hornets that they signed Jackson instead of Speedy Claxton, who had a very rough year injury-wise and on the court in Atlanta?

Jim Eichenhofer: The one area you could point to where the Hornets lost out in that exchange is that Claxton (age 29) is five years younger than Jackson (34). Still, I think people who criticized that move by saying that Jackson gets injured too much virtually ignored the fact that Claxton also has had his share of ailments during his career. Remember, his NBA career was delayed a year by a major knee injury, and he’s missed at least 15 games in all six of his NBA seasons – except during 2005-06 with the Hornets, when he appeared in 71 games. Speedy was the Hornets’ third-best player that year behind CP3 and David West, but that season was more of an exception than the rule if you closely examine Claxton’s career. I think he can be a very solid backup point guard, but Atlanta signed him to start.

Bob Licht: One of the many great offseason decisions was not giving Claxton a large free agent contract. Atlanta overpaid for the 5-11 point guard hoping that he would stay healthy and provide leadership on the floor and in the locker room for a young and talented Hawks team. He did neither. The Hornets got more production from Jackson this season, and my guess is they will continue to over the term of his contract.

Hornets.com: Jannero Pargo was one of the team’s bigger positive stories of this season and did an admirable job of filling in when Chris Paul was injured (the Hornets went 8-9 during CP3’s 17-game absence). What was your opinion of Pargo’s season? He seemed to be one of the players who consistently brought energy when he entered games.

Bob Licht: Pargo should have received at least one trophy this season… since he was the only Hornet to play in all 82 games! He was extremely streaky, going from double-digit scoring averages for a week to having difficulty getting on track the next. Still, I’m a Pargo fan. He fit in nicely in the locker room (he’s one of Tyson Chandler's best friends), filled in at the point nicely in spurts, showed how dangerous he can be when he has his shooting rhythm, and essentially exceeded expectations this season.

Jim Eichenhofer: I think Pargo’s streakiness could be chalked up somewhat to the fact that his playing time varied so much during the rare segments of the season when the Hornets were relatively healthy. He’s always been a streak shooter, but at times I thought it was expecting a lot of him to produce consistently when he was only on the floor for about 10 minutes. He can light it up in the fourth quarter even when he’s been sitting on the bench all game, which is one of the most valuable things he brings to a team, especially on one of those lifeless offensive nights the Hornets occasionally experienced. Pargo did pretty much what I expected of him this season. I think he’s an easy guy to root for, because of the all-business mentality and intensity he seems to come with when he steps on the court.

Hornets.com: Devin Brown proved to be a lifesaver for the Hornets and played well above the expectations you generally would have for a guy signed two months into the season. He essentially demonstrated that he should have been on someone’s roster from opening night, but with that said, doesn’t he project as a seventh or eighth man? If he re-signs with the Hornets or goes elsewhere, should we expect him to return to the role he’s filled throughout much of his five-year pro career?

Jim Eichenhofer: I would like to see him back next season and doing what he did with San Antonio, where he provided hustle and an offensive spark off the bench for the 2005 championship Spurs. I don’t think he’s consistent enough to be considered a permanent starter, but he was a phenomenal pickup by Jeff Bower. Whether it’s due to his background as a minor-league player or his natural maturity level, Devin has a great perspective on playing in the NBA and has the mentality of a player who has been around for 10 to 12 years. He seems to be one of the most down-to-earth guys in the league.

Bob Licht: Let’s call Devin Brown the Hornets’ Geico man since he’s the best insurance policy Jeff Bower picked up last season. He filled in at shooting guard ... he filled in at point guard ... he started at both positions ... and some could argue he kept the team’s playoff hopes alive while several regulars were down with injuries. I don’t dispute the projection of Brown as a seventh or eighth man on this roster, as there were enough offensive slumps to question his viability as a long-term starter. I love his size, athleticism and disposition. I doubt the Hornets could find a more talented player who fits in with this group of players, at his salary, anywhere. He needs to be retained.

Hornets.com: For the second straight year, Rasual Butler played more minutes than expected due to teammates’ injuries. How much of his inconsistency shooting the ball this season resulted from his fluctuating role between starter and key reserve? For parts of the year, it seemed like his minutes were based a great deal on how Butler was shooting the ball on a given night.

Bob Licht: Rasual is a mystery to me. When he’s in the flow, shooting his smooth long-range jumpers, he’s magnificent. When he’s out of sync, coming up short with his jump shot, he’s undependable. I don’t buy the statement that his ever-changing role affected his consistency. It took him way too long to adjust to coming off the bench again in the second half of the season. The Hornets showed confidence in Sual Bop in the offseason by signing him to a long-term deal not because they thought he was a starter, but because they believed he was the most consistent of the three two-guard/small forwards they had a season earlier (Kirk Snyder and J.R. Smith were the others). I thought he was ready for a breakout season, but I think he took a step back because of his inability to consistently give Byron Scott what he needed from him on the floor.

Jim Eichenhofer: After watching Rasual over the past two seasons, sometimes I wonder if he is actually the streakiest shooter in the entire NBA. It’s hard to believe how he can go from making just about everything he tosses up, to not being able to locate his touch. Consider this: During the span of the season when he played the least, from Feb. 7 through March 13, he shot 28-for-91 (31 percent). He immediately followed that up with a four-game span when he was 21-for-37 (57 percent) from the field and a blistering 16-for-23 from three-point range (70 percent). The fact that Butler’s playing time was dependent primarily on his shooting touch brings up a larger point about the bench – there weren’t enough contributions from guys in other areas of the game besides offense. The Hornets need more consistent rebounding and defense from their second unit than they received in 2006-07.