NEW ORLEANS HORNETS FAN ZONE

Hornets Basketball News, Schedule, Pictures and Players

NBA.comSean Marks has signed with the Hornets.

In an effort to help strengthen their front-court depth, the Hornets signed free agent forward/center Sean Marks on Thursday.

Terms of his contract were not released.

The Hornets are hoping the signing of Marks, a 6-foot-10, 250-pounder who is a nine-year NBA veteran, helps shore up a front court that lacked depth last season.

New Orleans Hornets star point guard Chris Paul returned home Thursday morning, showing off his new gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to a small group of media, who took turns holding the medal and draping it around their necks.

New Orleans Hornets star point guard Chris Paul returned home Thursday morning, showing off his new gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to a small group of media, who took turns holding the medal and draping it around their necks.

The NBA has announced more preseason games overseas this year. Riding the wave of enthusiasm from the Beijing Olympics, the league announced the return of the China Games in October with two games featuring the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors in Beijing and Guangzhou.

As reported by Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune in early August, the Hornets are playing two games at international venues in Berlin and Barcelona.

AP Photo / J. Scott ApplewhiteThe 'other' Bush took time to chat with Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees while in town.

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at noon in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' offseason moves or the latest Saints preseason game? Want to vent your frustrations over the Zephyrs' losing? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneDevin Brown has re-signed with the Hornets.

The Hornets brought back a somewhat familiar face on Friday when the club signed swingman Devin Brown, who played with the team during its last exile season in Oklahoma City.

Brown's addition adds depth at any number of positions, as the six-year NBA veteran pointed out.

Basketball truly is a world sport these days.

According to the Prague Post, former University of Illinois center Shaun Pruitt, who worked out with the New Orleans Hornets during the NBA's Las Vegas summer league, signed to play the 2008-09 basketball season with Prostějov of the Mattoni league in the Czech Republic.

Courtesy: New Orleans Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets dropped their new logos on the general public this afternoon, unveiling the branding the team will incorporate throughout its image makeover for the 2008-09 season.

More to the point, the stuff, as it so seldom does in these cases, came out pretty cool. As fans in the NBA we should thank our lucky stars for that fact ... we could have ended up with something that looks more like THIS.

Shudder.

MICHAEL DEMOCKER/THE TIMES-PICAYUNEHornets players Morris Peterson and Julian Wright show off the new Hornets uniforms at Tipitinas on Wednesday.

Hugo seems to be sporting a snarl, teal has been replaced by "Creole blue" and pinstripes, which the team debuted in the NBA two decades ago, have returned to the new-look Hornets uniforms unveiled to a large gathering of season ticket holders and sponsors Wednesday afternoon.

Hornets players Julian Wright and Morris Peterson are hitting the runway on Wednesday to show off some new duds.

Here are the New Orleans Hornets mini-plan ticket packages

Staff / Times-PicayuneFans of the Hornets in Okalhoma City aren't being done any favors right now.

Fans in Oklahoma City have the NBA team they wanted. Fans in New Orleans have their Hornets back. So everyone is happy, right?

Not exactly.

It turns out that the rabid fans who bought season-tickets to Hornets games during their time in Oklahoma, the same 12,000 or so fans that allowed the area to lure the Seattle SuperSonics into relocating in the first place, will not be given a shot at renewing their seats with the new franchise.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESSHornets guard Chris Paul is getting more and more playing time with Team USA.

BEIJING - Chris Paul's role for the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team grows with each game.

Jason Kidd is the starter at point guard. But Paul is clearly the guard who plays the most minutes and more often than not finishes the game.

Paul averages 22.2 minutes a game, second only to LeBron James. He leads the team in assists (23) and is tied for the lead in steals (12). He averages 7.4 points a game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and has made all eight of his free throws.

AP Photo / Eric GayChris Paul is earning playing time in Beijing.

If the U.S. men's basketball team has learned anything about international basketball over the past decade, it's that a strong effort is needed every time out. A poor game can result in a loss.

Fortunately for them, a strong effort still often results in a one-sided affair, and the Olympics thus far have seen plenty of those ... the latest being a 106-57 domination of Germany to close out group play (with the United States a perfect 5-0).

A quick glance at the boxscore reveals Dwight Howard to be the hero in this one (22 points, 10 rebounds), but Chris Paul's line is quite revealing as well.

AP Photo / Eric GayChris Paul is making noise on the international stage.

Can Chris Paul be stopped? His meteoric rise to the level of New Orleans superstar ... then NBA All-Star ... then MVP runner-up ... may well indicate that he'll never be slowed down by any conventional means.

So unconventional means will have to do.

For a time (far too long, it turned out), it seemed that would be the case, as the U.S. team inexplicably delayed an invitation to the New Orleans Hornets megastar for several months (before finally bringing him aboard in June). Then, upon joining the team, it appeared he would be relegated to the bench sitting behind Dallas' Jason Kidd ... a player Paul undressed in the NBA Playoffs a few short months ago.

Eliot Kamenitz / Times-PicayuneJannero Pargo may be off to a different land.

We've seen New Orleans Hornets backup point guard Jannero Pargo linked from everyone from the Utah Jazz to the San Antonio Spurs, so perhaps it is only appropriate he is now reportedly looking at an even more bizarre choice: Russia.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Pargo has reached an agreement in principle with the Moscow Dynamo on a one-year deal worth approximately $4 million.

We've heard this story before (first with Utah, then with San Antonio), but this one is looking more and more official as the hours pass.

AP Photo / David J. PhillipSo will Michael Phelps get 8 golds or won't he?

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at noon in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' offseason moves or the latest Saints preseason game? Want to vent your frustrations over the Zephyrs' losing? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.

For the first time since the New Orleans Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, the team has sold more than 10,000 season tickets and is close to selling out the entire lower-bowl area of the New Orleans Arena.

Lauren Wilbert / NOLA.comHugo is up for the Hall of Fame.

Okay, this isn't exactly going to fall into the world of important news items. It isn't even going to qualify under the heading of "moderately relevant". But when has that stopped me before?

I have discovered, thanks to my keen powers of observation (in other words, Google), that popular New Orleans Hornets mascot Hugo is being nominated for the Mascot Hall of Fame ... and fans can even vote for his induction.

Is this not the coolest thing ever?

Two games at international venues in Berlin and Barcelona and two in the New Orleans Arena highlight the Hornets' preseason schedule released Tuesday.

Michael DeMocker / Times-PicayuneRyan Bowen (left) is reportedly back for another season.

The New Orleans Hornets have reportedly reached an agreement with reserve forward Ryan Bowen to bring him back for the 2008-09 season.

According to a report by John Bohnenkamp of the Burlington, Iowa Hawk Eye, Bowen re-upped with the Hornets on a one-year deal Friday.

Susan Poag / Times-PicayuneWatch out for these big hitters.

The release of the New Orleans Hornets regular season schedule figures to inspire extra intrigue this season.

After all, the team is coming off the best season in its history. And interest in the team is higher than it has ever been.

With that in mind, here are 10 games I'm circling on my calendar (with a special homer-game bonus).

Chris Granger / Times-PicayuneThe Saints should be topic No. 1 this weekend.

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at noon in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' offseason moves or the latest Saints preseason game? Want to vent your frustrations over the Zephyrs' losing? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.

Hornets forward Rasual Butler can avoid prosecution for felony weapons charges in Dade County if he successfully completes four pre-trial conditions arranged by his attorneys and the district attorney's office in Miami.

MICHAEL DEMOCKER/THE TIMES-PICAYUNEChris Paul, left, and LeBron James will battle in the Hornets home opener against Cleveland on Nov. 1 at the New Orleans Arena

The Hornets won't be taking any holidays off this season playing games on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter Sunday, the spoils of being a contending team.

But New Orleans basketball fans receive an early season gift from the NBA schedule makers: a home-opener on a Saturday night against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by two more games in New Orleans Arena in the next 11 days against the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade (Nov. 8) and the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 12) led by defending NBA MVP Kobe Bryant.

The Hornets are holding auditions for the Stingers Junior Dance Team on Saturday, Aug. 9 at the New Orleans Arena.

It appears the Hornets might be ready to live with Mike James as a backup point guard this season allowing Janerro Pargo to sign with another NBA team, possibly the San Antonio Spurs.

We've seen the Utah rumors and heard the big talk from his agent, but in the end, many observers expected New Orleans Hornets backup point guard Jannero Pargo to return to New Orleans. After all, if he hadn't signed elsewhere by now, surely he would see a return to the Crescent City as a more appealing option, wouldn't he?

Well, the boys in San Antonio, who seemingly love to pull the rug out from under the Hornets' feet, apparently have something to say about that.

According to a report by Jeff McDonald on Mysanantonio.com, Pargo's agent, Mark Bartelstein, is acknowledging ongoing talks between his client and the Spurs. And while he doesn't want to confirm anything just yet, some sources are going so far as to say a deal has been (or least will be shortly) struck.

SHANGHAI, China -- Kobe Bryant provided the offense in the U.S. Olympic basketball team's first defensive struggle.

Kobe Bryant harassed longtime nemesis Sarunas Jasikevicius into a miserable night and helped the U.S. Olympic basketball team roll to a 120-84 exhibition victory over Lithuania at Macau on Friday night.

Staff / Times-PicayuneRobert Meachem is looking for a big second year.

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at noon in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' latest moves or the upcoming Saints season? Want to vent your frustrations over the Zephyrs' losing? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.

Ted Jackson / Times-PicayuneChris Paul and New Orleans might just be a perfect fit.

As a 2007-08 MVP finalist, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul received his fair share of press nowadays. Indeed, the mainstream media, so often negligent of so-called "small market" guys, seems to be making a real exception with Paul.

The latest publication to go gaga for Paul may be one the unlikeliest as well, as Rolling Stone recently did a short feature on Paul as he trains with Team USA for the '08 Olympics.

But if that isn't interesting enough, what he had to say about both himself and the city could strike a real chord with fans (it did with me).

It had been a while, Hornets forward Julian Wright said, since he was counted on to carry the fortunes of a basketball team.

Wright spent much of last season on the periphery of Coach Byron Scott's game rotation until making his presence felt down the stretch during New Orleans' run to the Southwest Division championship and into the postseason.

So when he arrived in Las Vegas for this year's summer-league games, Wright and center Hilton Armstrong were the "veterans" of a young group looking to open some eyes with their play.

Chuck Cook / Times-PicayuneDeuce McAllister's great debut is sure to be a topic of interest.

With so much going on in the New Orleans sports community, it's easy to lose sight of things.

That's where NOLA.com comes in. David Gladow offers a weekend preview of sorts every Friday at noon in the form of a live chat with the New Orleans community.

Want to talk about the Hornets' latest moves or the upcoming Saints season? Want to vent your frustrations over the Zephyrs' losing? This is your time to sound off. Send in your questions and comments, and Dave will touch on your hot topics every week.