Over the next few weeks, Hornets.com will look back at the 2006-07 season through interviews with Hornets coach Byron Scott, general manager Jeff Bower and the team’s TV and radio broadcasters. In the first of a series of articles, we examine the development of center Tyson Chandler, one of the NBA’s most improved players this season.

April 23, 2007

Since right around the time the NBA debuted in the 1940s, there has been an adage that point guard and center are the two positions that are most difficult for pro basketball teams to fill, due to a scarcity of talent at each spot.

During the 2005 NBA Draft, the Hornets obtained their long-term answer in the first of those two roles. When Chris Paul lasted until the fourth overall pick, the Hornets were delighted to add the Wake Forest star, who immediately proved his NBA-readiness by capturing the league’s Rookie of the Year trophy in 2005-06.

After 7-foot-1 pivotman Tyson Chandler averaged 11.7 points and 13.2 rebounds from Jan. 1 until suffering a season-ending toe injury in April, the Hornets now believe they’re set at point guard and center for years to come. Paul is just 22 years old, while Chandler is 24.

“That was something I learned from (former Lakers general manager) Jerry West,” Hornets head coach Byron Scott says. “If you have a center and point guard, you already have the makings of a great team and have a chance to be really successful. Now, you’ve got to add the pieces around them that fit, but if you look at our Lakers team (that won three NBA titles in the 1980s), we had (Hall of Famers) Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.”

Certainly, no one is ready to compare Paul-Chandler to Magic-Kareem, but in a Western Conference that includes superpowers such as Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio, perhaps the Hornets’ best hope for the future may come from the fact that those pair of key positions are now spoken for.

Tyson Chandler expanded his offensive repertoire as the season progressed, including occasionally attempting a hook shot with either hand.

During a 39-43 season when the Hornets never could sustain momentum or establish a consistent rotation amid a slew of injuries, Chandler’s transformation from a player who was the subject of fan ridicule in Chicago – to a double-double machine with the Hornets – was the most encouraging development of 2006-07.

The California native came to the Hornets with a reputation as an outstanding rebounder and shot-blocker, but he was also regarded as a limited offensive player whose overall contributions were reduced significantly by persistent foul trouble. Early in 2006-07, the six-year pro seemed to confirm his career-long rep as a non-factor offensively, averaging a meager 5.9 points per game in November and December. He was one of the most passive players with the ball in his hands in the NBA, often passing to a teammate even when Chandler was within point-blank range of the basket.

As a result of Chandler’s lack of aggressiveness, Scott began fining the 235-pounder small amounts of cash whenever the player grabbed a rebound but immediately passed the ball back out to the perimeter. Scott’s coaxing, along with a gradual but noticeable increase in Chandler’s confidence, resulted in an eye-opening second half to the season. The Dominguez (Calif.) High product peaked in February, grabbing an incredible 16.1 rebounds per game, along with 13.2 points, both season-highs for a month by Chandler.

“I was so thrilled with the way Tyson played this year,” Scott assessed. “I told him that the goals I have for him next year might shock him. My goal this year for him was just a double-double, but I think now I have to change my goals. I told him I hope he changes his goals (as well) as far as what he wants to achieve.

“I think he should shoot for being the leading rebounder in this league, and to do that he’ll have to average about 13 rebounds. Every aspect of the game has to increase. If you look at his numbers from January until he got hurt, he was playing at a very high level. He was having an unbelievable season.”

As the Hornets enter the 2007 offseason, Scott believes his squad is set for years to come behind the trio of Chandler, Paul and power forward David West, 26, all of whom are under contract. West turned in the best stretch of his four-year NBA career in April, averaging 30.8 points over the season’s final five games.

“We have a very good nucleus of guys coming back next season,” Scott said. “We don’t have to make major moves now; it’s about adding little pieces to the puzzle.

“We have a 21-year-old point guard (Paul) who is a star and will be an All-Star – that’s his goal and what he should be shooting for. We’ve got a (26-year-old) power forward, and I told (West) the same thing – that his goal should be to be an All-Star next year. With as well as he played the last 10 games, which I thought was fantastic, I think (it’s realistic). He was unbelievable.

“We’ve also got a 24-year-old center. So we’ve got the pieces we need going into next year to be a playoff-type team. I’m very excited about next year. We just have to add a piece or two.”