A few weeks ago, I was “buzzing” about the future of the New Orleans Hornets. The Bees had one of the best drafts of any team in the National Basketball Association with the selections of Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers and Darius Miller. Somehow, New Orleans general manager Dell Demps finagled forward Ryan Anderson from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Gustavo Ayon. For once, Demps made a few sensible moves, unlike trading promising youngsters Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton for players who won’t be a part of the Hornets 2012-13 roster. But that trend didn’t last long. On July 14, Demps and the rest of the Hornets’ front office made a decision that will haunt their nightmares for years to come, matching the Phoenix Suns’ four-year, $58 million offer to shooting guard Eric Gordon. That’s when my optimism took a nosedive into the depths of pessimism. To the casual basketball fan, retaining Gordon was a no-brainer. In his first four NBA seasons, the former Indiana University star hasn’t averaged less than 16.1 points. Gordon was a solid contributor on the 2010 FIBA World Championship gold medal team and just recently missed the cut to represent Team USA at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. However, Gordon’s ability on the hardwood is not the reason the Hornets will regret signing him to a maximum contract – it’s because he’s an idiot. At the beginning of the free agent period, Gordon had nothing good to say about New Orleans. He took a tour around the country to see what kind of money the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and Suns would throw his way. After a visit to Phoenix, Gordon said, “Phoenix is just where my heart is now.” So the Hornets just paid the maximum amount for a player whose heart is in Arizona and plan on building their franchise around him? Sounds promising. An interview at the USA Basketball tryouts didn’t make Gordon seem any brighter. He could barely stand still and used the word “uh” more times than Tim Tebow said excited in his introductory press conference for the New York Jets. Since signing his colossal contract, Gordon has been the Hornets summer league squad’s biggest cheerleader, sending out messages of encouragement via Twitter such as, “Hornets sure are playing hard. They look nervous also! But that’s all about of it.” That tweet just tells me Gordon is still trying to get a grasp of the English language. I’m not convinced Gordon is a master of reverse psychology and was making comments about Phoenix feeling like home just to throw a curveball. He can tweet all he wants, but his future actions on the basketball court will mean much more. How much do I trust that Gordon will still be here in year four of his gigantic deal and to become the object of New Orleanians’ affection? About as much as I trust Kim Kardashian to make a smart decision in a hotel room with Ray J and a video camera. Does Demps think that a player who already voiced he didn’t want to be in New Orleans will have a complete change of heart and give his all to a Western Conference bottom feeder? I thought Demps would have learned his lesson after last season’s debacle with Chris Paul. He wasn’t able to convince Paul to stay and was forced to trade him to the Los Angeles Clippers for Gordon, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu, or – as I like to call him – the worst excuse for a basketball player in the NBA. Don’t forget Gordon played in just nine games in a Hornets uniform last season due to a knee injury. Many fans called him out for sitting on the bench when he could have been contributing. It baffles me that after watching him in only nine games last season, Demps decided he was worth $58 million. NBA dynasties aren’t built overnight, and they certainly aren’t built by overpaying a player coming off a serious knee injury. Giving Gordon $14 million a year is just fiscally irresponsible. The Hornets were terrible last season, finishing dead last in the Western Conference with a 21-45 record. Let’s say Gordon is healthy and plays 82 games in the upcoming season. New Orleans might win 10 more games. There are far more glaring issues the Hornets’ front office has ignored. Besides adding Gordon and Anderson and the draft picks, what other moves make this squad significantly better over last year? Chris Kaman signed with the Dallas Mavericks, Carl Landry won’t be resigned and Jarrett Jack was recently traded to the Golden State Warriors. The signing might excite most of the Hornets bandwagoners, but it’s a desperate, unnecessary move.
Micah Bedard is a 21-year-old history major from Houma. Follow him on Twitter @DardDog.
 
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