Taking a Breath — Okafor, Losing, and CP3

It’s getting worse.

Maybe it’s one of those “darkest before the dawn” situations, but daylight savings or not, I haven’t seen this little dawn from the Hornets in a long time. No wonder there’s no basketball in the North Pole.

Down is a more accurate word right now. Byron Scott is gone. Emeka Okafor may soone be gone. Chris Paul is gone for now, and the spirit and heart that have defined the roar from the nearby Superdome seem to be dry in the New Orleans Arena.

So before we reach any warm rays here, we’re forced to bask in the twilight.

The Okafor trade certainly isn’t imminent, but it’s edging in that direction.

Sources close to the Sacramento Kings have stated that both sides are simply chatting about the possibility of sending power forward Kenny Thomas to New Orleans in exchange for the Hornets’ new center. Yeah, you read that right.

Here, take this young, talented player at a position of need, and all you have to do is give us a washed up forward who hasn’t averaged more than 5.3 points per game since 2005, and averages only 11 minutes per game over the last three years.

Yeah, the why is pretty surface here.  It’s a salary dump.  A huge one, but a simple salary dump.  $46 million saved in guaranteed salaries over the next four years.  The cost?  One season.

Of course, the Hornets might have already sold this season.  You don’t fire a proven commodity at head coach with hopes that an interim GM and an overrated ex-head man can find a way to win.  But even winning with Bower and Floyd at the helm seems more likely than making the postseason with Hilton Armstrong or Sean Marks thrust into the starting lineup in the absence of Okafor.

On the heels of another blowout loss, what’s the worst that could happen?  Losing Okafor probably won’t end in David West playing with any less fire than he did in Atlanta.  Josh Smith laughed his way through that matchup all night.  West missed four easy layups after offensive rebounds.  And if Peja can get that hot and still have to suffer through the worst defensive play of the young season, how is adding Old Man Kenny going to hurt?

I’m not defending that attitude, but at this point can anyone honestly argue that the Hornets’ brass isn’t following that exact train of thought?  It’s been a week to forget, but remembering that the season is only 11 games young is still important.  I don’t care what sport you play, what decisions you make, what circumstances have hobbled your efforts; quitting just ain’t an option.  Take a page out of that damn Dwayne Wade commercial if you have to, just don’t throw in the towel.  With this luck, West will probably slip on it.

Which brings us to Chris Paul’s ankle.  An injury that didn’t need a prop.  MRI results are in and the sprained left ankle is confirmed.  Of course, plenty of people are reporting on estimated return dates, but GM/coach Bower was pretty frank about being completely incapable of giving a definite timetable.

“We don’t know the answer.  Chris will be very active with his rehab, but we don’t know how fast he’ll heal. So instead of throwing out dates or numbers, like you’ve seen already, we’re going to evaluate it on an ongoing basis every week and see where he’s at.  He’s going to be limited for awhile. We hope for his return as quick as possible.  He’ll be out for awhile.”

Seems like a perfect ending to a calamitous week — complete uncertainty surrounding the only player with the ability to pull the Hornets of a hole.  Hell, even that task sounds pretty dangerous.