Surprising just about everyone with any sort of familiarity with the NBA, the Oklahoma City Hornets are making a playoff push.  After winning just eighteen games during the entire 2004/2005 season, the team won their nineteenth game of the 2005/2006 season yesterday against the Memphis Grizzlies.  If the team had struggled or shown only slight improvement, the management may have ignored Byron Scotts pleas for reinforcements.  Being on the verge of bringing playoff basketball to the "Sooner State," though, there could be some gusts in the trade winds.

Scott informed the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is comfortable with "eight or nine players" on the roster.  That means a good chunk of the team could be had in return for the big man he desires.  Before speculating, here is the roster (players in bold are those I think he is comfortable with):

Chris Paul -PG

Kirk Snyder - SG

Desmond Mason - SF/SG

David West - PF/SF

P.J. Brown - PF/C

Speedy Claxton - PG/SG

Chris "Birdman" Andersen - PF/C

Rasaul Butler - SF

Bostjan Nachbar - SF

Jackson Vroman - PF/C (specifically mentioned by Scott)

J.R. Smith - SG

Arvydas Macijauskas - SG/PG

Brandon Bass - PF

Maciej Lampe - C/PF (also mentioned by Scott as a disappointment)

Butler is a guess, but he has been playing well as of late and he is the eighth player on the list (the minimum number given by Coach Scott).  Nachbar and Smith were both starters at the beginning of the season.  Nachbar went to the inactive list after a minor injury, but was held out a long time.  So, when he returned and got minimal playing time, it was clear that the injury was likely a cover story for Nachbar shuffling to the doghouse.  Smith, on the other hand, was ceremoniously banished.  After starting all but two games (wrist injury) early in the season, Smith was suddenly finding a seat at the end of the bench and scowling throughout the game.  Scott said he would play again when he started practicing better.  Since that time, Smith has started only one game (when Chris Paul was hurt) and played only garbage minutes otherwise.

Vroman might have been on the comfortable list if he had not been specifically singled out.  He plays quite a bit, but apparently only out of necessity.  Maciej Lampe, who has not suited up for a game yet, may be frustrating Scott for being often injured (he showed promise during the preseason).

Macijauskas has been buried on the bench all season, and has requested a trade.  Bass was a second round pick out of LSU.  He has been in the NBDL at some points of the season.

If the Hornets could turn any of those players in to a serviceable big man, it would be a miracle.  Of the players Scott would not mind losing, only Smith has any trade value.  He was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month multiple times last season after beign drafted out of high school, and was considered to be a building block for the team.  That latter factoid may make him off the market even if he and the coach are butting heads.  Making the playoffs would be nice, but unexpected this season.  Smith is still cheap (making less than a million right now), and could still develop into a perennial all Star, so giving him up would have to be in return for something special.

Two assests, not on the roster, that the Hornets possess are salary cap space and two first round picks (theirs and Milwaukees) in the upcoming draft.  That means the Hornets could take back more than six million dollars in salary than they are sending out.  This could be attractive to a team trying to unload salaries.  The two draft picks likely are not highly sought after with both the Hornets and Bucks being solid enough to be at the back end of the lottery or back half of playoff teams, and the draft pool being considered extremely weak.

After assessing team needs, the most likely trading partner for Oklahoma City is Seattle.  Seattle has cash flow problems and several players who would like a change of scenery, including two serviceable big men. 

Vladimir Radmonovic felt shunned by the Sonics during the off season when they declined locking him up long term.  He wanted starter money, but as a reserve, the Sonics obviously did not want to give that to him.  When he played the market trying to get a gig as a starter elsewhere, he could not get an offer out of fear that, as a restricted free agent, the Sonics would match the offer.  So, Vlad signed a one year tender offer in Seattle with the expectation that he would become a starter to prove his mettle.  His problem is that he is not a very good fit there.  Radmonovic's skill set is an outside shooter with the frame of a power forward, but the Sonics have already built their core around three outside shooters.  With Luke Ridnour, Ray Lewis, and Rashard Lewis manning the perimeter, the Sonics need their big men to play like big men on offense.

On the Hornets, he would fit in better.  The team lacks height and an outside shooting threat.  Radmonovic could move in as the starting small forward, shifting Desmond Mason to the two, and fill both weaknesses.  Accepting a trade to Oklahoma City would be a risk for Radmonovic.  He has the right to reject any trades because he is on a one year tender, and if he accepts a trade, the team who receives him will not be transferred his "Bird rights," meaning that he could not be re-signed for a contract that exceeds the team's salary cap.  He might take that risk with the Hornets, though, since the nine million they will have in cap space this Summer will dwarf what the Sonics would offer, and is likely more than he could hope for in any sign and trade deal his agent could negotiate.  By February, when the Sonics are hopelessly out of the playoff race and resigned to the fact that Radmonovic will leave after the season, they could be willing to make a deal for one of the first round picks...or maybe even a player like Macijauskas.  If not, the Hornets should make a run at him as a free agent.

Vitaly Potapenko is another disgruntled Sonic.  Unhappy with playing time, the more traditional center, suggested a trade.  The Hornets could pick him up and use him in the low post rotation.  If traded he would have to come, but I am unsure if the situation would be any more satisfactory for him.  He would be the team's third center behind P.J. Brown and Chris Andersen.  He would be an upgrade over Vroman for the team, but not much more.

If there is one opinion I value above all others when it comes to international basketball, it is ESPN Insider's Chad Ford.  While many in the media are still xenophobic when it comes to the professional game (case in point, Stephen A. Smith intentionally mispronounces Dirk Nowitzki's name to ignore the German w), Ford has embraced the spread of the sport throughout the world.  He has written columns scouting players in Africa, Europe, Israel, even Turkey.  So, when he wrote a column about the U.S. Basketball team, I was interested.

In a previous post, I made an attempt at creating a team that would win gold.  With the second attempt, I want to incorporate some of the suggestions given by Ford:

I believe strongly that having more than three or four stars on the team is a mistake if they actually want to win an international tournament

[B]asketball is still a team sport. When you put 12 players on the roster and each is used to being the best player on his team, they all tend to want minutes and to be the leader. All 12 can't have that. What's happened in the past is that coaches have tried to play everyone to keep all the players happy, and no chemistry ever developed...

 [T]he international game is a different animal than the NBA. The style of play is different. The rules are different. The refs call the game differently...

 To win in international ball, you need players who can move the ball and stretch the defenses. Bigs need to be mobile enough to guard opposing players on the perimeter. You need a strong point guard who can make sure that the ball is getting distributed evenly to all of the stars.

Using the outline provided, I have come up with this roster...

STARS:

Allen Iverson (6'0" - SG - Philadelphia 76ers)

LeBron James (6'8" - SF - Cleveland Cavaliers)

Amare Stoudamire (6'10" - PF/C - Phoenix Suns)

Those are the main guys, the core, the alpha dogs on this team.  The offense will be run through them, and they will get the bulk of the minutes.  Anyone else playing their positions will do so to give them breathers, provide a role, and defer to the stars remaining on the floor.  If you want to know more about why these guys are my core, see my first post on Team USA.

Based on the three star limitation, I had to cut Kobe Bryant.  I hesitated to put him on the team to begin with because of personality conflicts, and there is certainly no way that he could defer to these guys.  If he's on the team, he has to be the Alpha Dog, and that has not worked toward making the Lakers competitive.  Ford kept Kobe on, mainly because it is inevitable that Jerry Colangelo will have him on the team and Kobe, if he can put his ego aside, is probably the best player in the country.  Well, my objective is to determine what I would do, not Colangelo, and I do not have confidence that Kobe would be willing to be option # 4, perhaps even coming off the bench.

In a criticism of the team Ford did put together, I think he broke this rule.  After criticizing Colangelo for being star struck, Ford put more than half a dozen players I would think need to be the focus of the team and have the ball in their hands a bulk of the time to be effective.  He spun it that several of the players would be willing to take backseats, but if I intend to make that argument, I want some evidence that they have done so in the past.

POINT GUARDS:

Chris Paul (6'0" - Oklahoma City Hornets)

T.J. Ford (6'2" - Milwaukee Bucks)

Ford (Chad) made a huge point about the importance of point guards being able to distribute and keep their teammates happy.  This was a point I made in my original attempt, and as such, I have not changed this position at all.  Ideally, I could make a clone of John Stockton at age thirty.  Assuming the Raeliens do not come through for me, both of these guys are fantastic floor generals who value the assist column on the box score more than the points scored category.  Both are capable of taking their man off the dribble, but do so only when necessary.  Also, both are good free throw shooters meaning that the team can feel confident putting the ball in the hands of their primary ball handlers in close and late situations.

Again, I left Jason Kidd off not because he would not fill this role perfectly, but because I have little confidence that he will be able to play in 2008.  Ford placed him on the team expecting Chris Paul to understudy in the 2006 World Championships and steer the ship in Beijing.  That does not seem realistic to me.  Kidd is not going to play in the less prestigious competition and then back off for the glory of the Olympics.  If he is on my roster, I have to promise both, and with a position this important, I would not be comfortable with one of my two true point guards having a bum knee.  Ford's other point guard was Chauncy Billups.  He's good, but he has more of a tendency to jack up three pointers without making a pass first than I like.

WINGS:

Iverson

James

Dwyane Wade (6'5" - SG - Miami Heat)

J. J. Redick (6'4" - SG - Duke Blue Devils)

Andre Iguodala (6'9" - SF - Philadelphia 76ers)

Joe Johnson (6'8" - SG - Atlanta Hawks)

Iverson and James were easy picks.  Dwyane Wade made the cut this time.  Primarily, it is because he is great and I know his ego is in check.  He has had no problem taking a back seat to Shaq in Miami, is a great passer, capable ball handler, takes pride in playing defense, and is a highlight reel waiting to happen.  He will be the team's sixth man spelling James and Iverson.  I am a little upset at myself for taking Kobe ahead of him on my first team.

Redick and Iguodala remain from my previous team to play the same roles.  Iguodala as a shut down defender using his superior length, strength, and quickness when an opposing perimeter player is wreaking havoc.  Unlike many of the other defensive specialists I could have tabbed (such as Bruce Bowen), Iguodala does not give away as much on the offensive end.  He does not need the ball, but if he has it near the end of the shot clock, there is still hope.  Redick obviously will not play much, but he could be valuable in busting the heavy dose of zone the team will see, and could be valuable if the team needs threes to cut down a deficit...not to mention, his free throw shot should be hanging in The Lourve.

Chad Ford convinced me to put Joe Johnson on the team.  Last time, I did not even have him as an alternate consideration.  I was looking at him from the wrong angle.  He is the consumate teammate, filling whatever needs to be done.  If Lithuania is posting up Chris Paul, Johnson can run the point.  If the team needs three pointers against a zone, he is capable of knocking down a triple.  As the guy, as he has been with the Hawks, he is probably a bit of a disappointment.  He thrives as third or fourth option, which is why he was much better with the Suns.  In a circumstance like the International team where he is called on to specialize, he is a great choice.

BIGS:

Stoudamire

Elton Brand (6'8" - PF - Los Angeles Clippers)

Dwight Howard (6'11" - PF - Orlando Magic)

Ben Wallace (6'9" - C - Detroit Pistons)

When Ford put his team together, he worked under the assumption that neither Kevin Garnett nor Tim Duncan would not play.  The research I have done recently has convinced me that is a safe assumption.  It is a shame, especially with the dearth of big men of U.S. decent.  Not all is lost, though, as these four can all rebound and block shots.  (They will block even more if Coach K can impress on them the relaxed international rules that allow many things that would be considered goal tending in the NBA.)  Brand is the most unassuming star player in the NBA.  He would have no problem playing the junkyard dog in the post while Stoudamire gets the bulk of entrance passes.  Howard will rotate with the three and Wallace will be counted on to scare the opposing team's bigs from mixing it up down low.

I am on record as being in support of Cuba playing in the World Baseball Classic.  Even after Fidel Castro called out the United States for being afraid of Cuba, I stand by that position.  But seriously, Castro loses all credibility as leader of a nation when he takes his leadership cues from a Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker.

Last week, in what turned out to be a successful strategy, Joey Porter basically questioned the manhood of the Indianapolis Colts because they played smart football instead of trying to overpower their opponents.  It was obviously successful because the Colts played the dumbest game of the year, relinquishing their advantage.

Now, Castro is calling the United States chicken because the treasury department has blocked the Cuban national team from playing in the World Baseball Classic.  First of all, the claim rings hollow.  If the U.S. was afraid of losing, it would have found a way to block the Dominican Republic from playing.  Second, if he really wanted Cuba to play in the tournament, he could just step down as dictator.  That would give the Bush administration the political cover they needed to drop the sanctions that the Treasury Department cited in keeping the team out.  Seriously, does he still think he is an effective leader?  He falls down at rallies, a la Gerald Ford, and emulates semi-retarded football players, again a la Gerald Ford.  That guy was not an effective leader.  Of course, like it did for Porter, the strategy may work.  His taunts went at macho egomaniacs who did not take kindly to personal emasculation.  If that does not describe the President, I cannot think of someone who more resembles that characterization.

The news today is that Alex Rodriguez was included on the Dominican Republic's provisional roster even though he might not play.  The real news is that he might not be needed by the team.  The D.R. boasts a line up that consists of:

1B - Albert Pujols

2B - Alfonso Soriano

3B - Adrian Beltre & Aramis Ramirez

SS - Miguel Tejada

OF - Manny Ramirez

OF - Vladimir Guerrero

OF - Sammy Sosa

DH - David Ortiz

Forget that their only big name pitcher is Pedro Martinez and that A-Rod may sit out the tournament (who sits if he doesn't?)...that is a stacked line-up.  The U.S. team may be deeper, but comes nowhere close in terms of star power.

The New Orleans Hornets earned their eighteenth win of the 2004/2005 season in Atlanta on April 5, 2005.  It took the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets about three months and forty games less to reach that total in the 2005/2006 season.  With a convincing 107-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, the Hornets are now 18-19 on the season.  A stark contrast to the five victories they boasted in their first thirty-seven games last season.  Keep in mind, it is not as if the win boost has come from an inferior schedule, either.  Of the team's wins are bestings of Phoenix, San Antonio, Minnesota, L.A. Clippers, Denver, Miami, and Philadelphia.  Of those teams, Denver was the only team not leading their division at the time the Hornets stung them.

So why has the team improved so much?

1.  Chris Paul

This may be the most important, and most overrated attribution to the Hornets success.  Last year, when I lived in a non-NBA city, I cited Chris Paul as the most likely superstar in the 2005 draft.  My wishes were for him to land in Utah (my favorite team), or in Charlotte (where I thought he would be a great fit for building that franchise, and he would pair with my favorite player for the previous year's draft, Emeka Okafor).  When Utah idiotically passed him up, I cursed that New Orleans would waste his talent.

Of course, I was wrong, but I was going with conventional wisdom.  Universally, the Hornets were chosen to be the worst team in the league.  An ESPN analysis of the team pre-season said they would be hard pressed to match the eighteen wins they had in the prior season.  On paper, they had a point.  To whom was this diminutive point guard going to pass the ball?

If the experts couldn't figure it out, at least Paul could.  To date, Paul is eighth in the NBA and first among rookies at 7.2 assists per game.  He also is second on the Hornets in scoring at 16.1 per game which also makes him tops among rookies.  On defense, he is third in the league in steals with 2.22 per game, again the top rookie.  His stats pale in comparison to the leadership qualities he brings to the floor.  He brings a steadiness and calm (seventh in the league in assist/turnover ratio) to the team that is beyond his years.  The team performs much better when he is on the floor.

2.  Byron Scott

Byron Scott got a bad rap in New Jersey.  Despite coaching the Nets to two straight NBA Finals, he was the scapegoat for their poor performances against the Lakers.  When he had a falling out with Jason Kidd, the finger pointing became even more pronounced.  "Scott's assistants did all the real coaching."  "If he didn't have Kidd, he'd be Tim Floyd."  He was exiled and replaced by Lawrence Frank who righted the ship in New Jersey.  When Scott landed in New Orleans and immediately disenfranchised his star player, Baron Davis, the whispers in Jersey elevated to shouts in the Big Easy.

What people forgot was that the Nets were terrible when Scott took over.  They were bad enough the season before he started that the team got the first overall pick and Kenyon Martin.  Stephon Marbury was the same kind of "me-first" point guard that Baron Davis was for the Hornets and that did not suit the "Showtime" philosophy that Scott ran when he was a Laker point guard.  As Marbury was swapped for Kidd, and now Davis for Paul, the system Scott preferred worked.

3.  Allen Bristow

Bristow is no longer the General Manager of the Hornets.  Perhaps he really did want to spend more time with his family, but it is more likely that his moves while heading up basketball operations looked incredibly weak on paper.

His only real free agent signing for the 2004/2005 season was Lee Nailon, and he attempted to get Morris Peterson, who luckily for him had the offer matched by Toronto.   He traded David Wesley for Jim Jackson (who would not play for the team) and Bostjan Nachbar.  He got Glenn Robinson for Rodney Rogers and their biggest expiring contract.   And for the team's biggest star, Baron Davis, he received a career back-up in Speedy Claxton and an expiring contract.  When the Hornets participated in the largest deal in history, they ended up with Rasaul Butler and Kirk Snyder.  When he traded to get Desmond Mason and a first round pick by giving away Jamaal Magloire, the team's starting center, the media crucified him for pandering to the new market in Oklahoma.

Perhaps none of those deals were horrible, but none of them were awe inspiring.  When all was said and done, the team was blander and less star studded when the deals were completed than it was before.  Maybe they were strokes of genius, though.

Claxton has been among the league's best sixth men this year.  Snyder has been solid in place of a disappointing J.R. Smith.  Mason has shored up the team's perimeter defense and brought the "show" to Scott's version of "showtime" basketball.  The most important move, though, was jettisoning Baron Davis, even if it was for pennies on the dollar.  First, it cured the team's clubhouse of cancer.  Second, it showed the team had confidence in Byron Scott by quelling the mutiny Davis started when his personal trainer was denied access to the team facilities.

4.  David West

The trade of Jamaal Magloire made P.J. Brown the teams starting center, and opened the way for an undersized line-up.  David West, as an undersized power forward, has taken full advantage of this.  Prior to this season, West averaged just 4.6 points per game.  This year, he looks like a poor man's Karl Malone, averaging 16.7 points and nearly eight rebounds a game.  He is certainly a prime candidate for "Most Improved Player."

5.  Oklahoma City

When David Stern announced that the Hornets would be moving temporarily to the capital city in Oklahoma, many people thought it was a joke.  ESPN's Bill Simmons ravaged the choice, suggesting Las Vegas instead:

"Excuse me, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets? Why hasn't more been made out of this? We have an NBA team playing in Oklahoma City right now! What's the record for "Most combined hours a visiting NBA team spent stuck in their hotel room playing video games because there was absolutely nothing else for them to do?" And why wasn't Vegas involved as a temporary home? Why does the commish keep fighting this? The NBA players want Vegas, the fans want Vegas, Vegas wants Vegas, the groupies want Vegas ... who's against Vegas? Seriously, is there one person? They couldn't have given Vegas a clandestine test run with the 2006 Hornets? Really?"

See, I don't get why "something to do" (meaning for tourists) is so important in determining a location for a pro franchise.  Put a team in Vegas, and people are still going to the casinos instead of to a Hornets game, and putting the team in New Orleans proved people are still going to the French Quarter instead of a Hornets game.  In Oklahoma City, it is the thing to do.  Seriously.  You can go watch NBA basketball, or you can go watch minor league hockey.  Of course people are going to roll out for a major professional team.

My initial worry when the Hornets came to town is that the fans would come to see the stars on other teams rather than support the franchise.  The team's marketing ("Come see Shaq") did not quell those fears.  Attending opening night against the Sacramento Kings, though, proved to me that Oklahomans would embrace the Hornets as their own.  The crowd was loud and proud of their team.  The biggest test was the Dallas game later that month, considering their proximity to Oklahoma, and maybe a quarter of the crowd cheered Nowitzki.  Not bad.

Crowd support has been a huge factor in the team's relative success.  The Hornets are 11-6 when playing in Oklahoma.  Last year, they were 11-30 at the New Orleans Arena.  Let's be honest.  Even before Hurricane Katrina crushed the Big Easy, the fan base was not very strong.  This is a city who is famous for hiding their faces beneath paper bags when their team is not performing.  Even in the first season in New Orelans, when the team was new and playoff-caliber, the average attendence was 14,332 ranking them ahead of only Atlanta.  Including a "home" game in Baton Rouge attended by about 7,000, and a game on the University of Oklahoma campus that had a week to sell tickets, the average attendence this year is 17,721.  Currently 11th in the NBA.