So the New Orleans Hornets finally got rid of Tyson Chandler.The Hornets actually made an offseason move Tuesday, trading the oft-injured center to the Charlotte Bobcats for center Emeka Okafor.Not exactly a blockbuster move, but at least the Bees finally did something. They’ve sat back and watched teams like the Lakers and Rockets pick up top free agents like Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza.A lot of fans are wondering if this move actually improved the Hornets. A verdict won’t really be reached until the season is a few months old.But for now, the Hornets actually made themselves better by virtue of the trade.But not by much.Okafor averaged 13.2 points per game last season and has a 14.0-points per game career average. It may not seem like much for a big man, but it would be better than the average of any Hornet post player not named David West last season.Okafor has also shown some athleticism for his size, which could possibly jump start the Crescent City Connection, i.e. frequent alley-oops from Chris Paul to Okafor, and could help raise Okafor’s point total. And Okafor has shown some durability the past two seasons, playing a full 82 games in 2007-08 and 2008-09 after dealing with injuries early in his career.Okafor isn’t exactly known for his offense anyway. He’s had the reputation of a shot blocker ever since he was a star on Connecticut’s national championship team in 2004.He averaged 1.7 blocks per game last season in Charlotte in a full season, showing he can consistently block shots over the course of a long season. Let’s put that into perspective — Tyson Chandler averaged 1.24 per game, but that was only in 45 games.And if Okafor can even draw a little bit of attention in the post on the offensive end, it’ll open up West for what he does best — mid-range jump shots.So ultimately, the Hornets got better by acquiring Okafor.But this certainly won’t put them among the Western Conference’s elite. Okafor won’t give them enough to deal with the likes of Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan out West.—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]