2006/07 New Orleans Hornets Payroll: $31.4 million2006/07 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $52 millionRoughly: $20.6 million under cap The Good: The season couldn't have been better for the Hornets and their Rookie-of-the-Year point guard, Chris Paul. They improved by a whopping 20 games compared to last season and Paul proved to be a real gem. His averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game were simply astounding for a rookie point guard. Paul is now the cornerstone of this team and will be around for at least the next three years for very cheap.Many people realized the potential of Chris Paul before this season, but who could have predicted the meteoric rise of forward David West? Not only did West obliterate his career highs in almost every statistic, he also proved to be a clutch shooter, hitting many game winners for his team. You could make a case that West was the co-MVP of the Hornets. He led the team in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (7.4) while shooting 51% from the field. Better yet, West will be paid just $2 million next year. If he can prove that this season wasn't a fluke, he could be in for a huge pay raise.The contracts of Moochie Norris, Aaron Williams, and George Lynch all come off the books this summer, saving the team more than $10 million in cap space. While the Hornets are already well under the cap, saving money on unproductive players never hurts.The Bad: PJ Brown and Desmond Mason account for most of the Hornet's payroll next season. Both will make about $8 million dollars and enter the final year of their contracts. Both are overpaid. Brown at least contributes 7.3 rebounds per game, but he doesn't do much else. He is really just a placeholder until the team can draft or sign a young prospect. Mason, on the other hand, was expected to be one of the building blocks of this franchise. Instead, he only disappointed. The former dunk champion shot less than 40% from the field and his scoring average dropped 7 points compared to his last season with the Bucks. The Hornets hope that Mason can bounce back and perform at a much higher level next year.Chris Anderson and J.R. Smith have disappointed for different reasons. The Birdman was a spark for New Orleans last season, but this year, a positive test for drugs ended it all. Anderson's contract has ended and it is unknown if the team would welcome him back. Smith showed some promise as a scorer in his rookie season. However, poor play and a bad attitude got him in the coach's doghouse. Smith's development definitely took a step back this year.The Future: A playoff run fell short for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (or as I like to call them, the NOOCH). However, would this team have benefited from a playoff berth? Not really. The Hornets need their draft picks to be as high as possible. The Jamaal Magloire trade netted them another first round pick so the team will likely have the 12th and 15th selections overall. This is good news for a team that needs depth. They could even package those two picks to move up if there is a particular player that they like. The Hornets will be looking for size to bolster a weak front line.After next season, the NOOCH has just $2.5 million in guaranteed contracts. That is simply incredible. Of course, Chris Paul's two-year team option will be activated, and they will add rookies and free agents this summer, but the point is that this team will be loaded with cap space. With a growing collection of young talent, a major free agent signing or two could catapult this team into the playoffs very soon. With Paul leading the show, they probably won't have to settle for the 8th seed.Bonus Points? for cleaning out all long-term contracts. The Hornets have given themselves the flexibility to do whatever they want in the coming years. The first steps of rebuilding are finished. It is now time to add more pieces to the foundation.Grade: Ahttp://nbadraft.net/2006stateofthecapneworleans001.asp
