Hornets’ slide could lead to future greatness

    As the Hornets slump near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, I have a question: Is that such a bad thing?
    Would the Hornets be better served winning 30 games or 20? All you have to do is take a look at what could be the draft class of 2012 and you will arrive at one conclusion: fewer wins means more ping pong balls in the hopper, which means the possibility of getting one or perhaps two of the top picks in a loaded lottery.
    I spent New Year’s Eve afternoon watching the Louisville-Kentucky game. What I saw was the answer to the Hornets’ prayers. His name is Anthony Davis, an athletic 6-10 freshman center/forward who is likely one-and-done for the Wildcats. Davis has a scary upside, and he’s already a shot-blocking machine. Through 16 games, Davis had 74 blocks.
    His teammate, 6-7 forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, is a tremendous athlete who can compete with the bigs underneath yet play tremendous defense on the wing.
    As I watched Kentucky wear down Louisville, I thought of those two going from the Big Blue to Creole blue.
    So, if the Hornets were to pick a year to be bad and hope that Minnesota is bad, too (the Hornets own their first round pick), that time is now.
    In the meantime, I am somewhat amazed at all of the negative banter that continues to persist concerning the future of the franchise in New Orleans.
    In the coming weeks, the Hornets are poised to announce a new owner and a 10-year lease extension with the state of Louisiana. The deal and the owner could be announced at the same time.
    When the new owner takes over, that person(s) will have decisions to make. Does the owner retain team president Hugh Weber? The odds are good that happens, considering NBA commissioner David Stern is a huge Weber fan. And, Weber pulled off a marketing coup, raising the Hornets’ season-ticket base from about 6,000 to 10,000 plus during a lockout.
    Weber also is a big fan of general manager Dell Demps and head coach Monty Williams, who are very likely to stay.
    In the NBA, one great player can make a huge difference. In February 2005, the Hornets traded guard Baron Davis to Golden State for guard Speedy Claxton and forward Dale Davis, who never reported to New Orleans.
    The Hornets tanked in the standings, then drafted Chris Paul with the fourth pick in the draft. The Hornets’ win total went from 18 in 2005 to 38 the following year. The Hornets then won 39 games, and in 2007-08, the year they returned to New Orleans after Katrina, they won 56. So, being bad turned out to be really good.
    Having the first pick in the draft doesn’t guarantee a franchise success. But, Elvin Hayes, Lew Alcindor (later Kareem-Adbul Jabbar), Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose were all first picks.
    As a kid, my mother used to make me drink prune juice. It didn’t taste very good, but I had to take her word for it that, in the long run, it was good for me.
    That could be the correct analogy for the Hornets’ current plight.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].