Diogu is a 25-year-old bigman who has yet to reach his potential. Since being drafted by the Golden State Warriors, he’s played with the Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Sacramento Kings. His best basketball actually came with the Kings at the end of last season. In 10 games, he averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 14.2 minutes.

At 6-foot-9, Diogu has a good post-up game and a soft touch around the rim. While he’s not a good defensive player at this point in his career, he has the bulk needed to improve.

The Hornets have been busy in the last week in the bigman department. They recently traded center Tyson Chandler to the Charlotte Bobcats for center Emeka Okafor. Okafor will step in and start at center for the Hornets right away. Diogu will likely serve as a backup to Okafor and starting power forward David West.

Ike Diogu signs with the New Orleans Hornets (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Hornets Add Free Agent Ike Diogu

After a disappointing postseason showing against the Denver Nuggets, Scott’s job status came into question. However, the team has now stated that his job is safe.

During the 2007-08 season, Scott won the NBA Coach of the Year award. In the playoffs, he led the Hornets to the second round before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

A lot of the Hornets’ problems in this past season can be attributed to injury. Starting center Tyson Chandler was rarely healthy. Starting small forward Peja Stojakovic also missed time due to injury.

Under Scott’s guidance, starting point guard Chris Paul has become a superstar. He led the NBA in assists and steals while also entering the MVP conversation.

With only one year left on his contract, Scott will likely have to produce playoff success next year to continue as the Hornets’ head coach.

Hornets fans are looking for a bounce back next season (Image: Flickr)

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Byron Scott to Return to Hornets Next Year

Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets (Image: Newscom)

Earlier in this week, the Hornets were hopeful that Chandler would be able to play in a matter of days. However, after his sore right ankle didn’t show signs of improvement, the Hornets opted to have his ankle immobilized by a walking boot.

On the season, Chandler is averaging 8.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. His point per game stat is lower than its been since the 2005-06 season and his rebounding is lower than any point since 2003-04.

Without their starting center, the Hornets lost on Friday night against the New York Knicks. Following the loss, the Hornets sank to seventh in the Western Conference with a record of 44-27.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tyson Chandler Sidelined up to Two Weeks

Smart, right?

So what do you do when your alternate, Tyson Chandler, gets hurt? Select another alternate I suppose.

USA Basketball officials refused to say that Chandler was completely out of the mix, but coach Mike Krzyzewski said a new backup plan will take shape over the next couple of days.

As Team USA gears up for Beijing in Las Vegas, there are notable obstacles for the team in its attempts to improve on third-place finishes in international competitions, writes Chris Sheridan.

“We just found out about it a couple days ago, so what we’re going to do is look at the pool of [alternates] and let a couple people know that if something happens, you are probably going to be the guy — but we haven’t decided yet who those guys are going to be.”

The alternates for Team USA are Chandler, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, Kevin Durant, Chauncey Billups and Joe Johnson. ~ ESPN.com

I think that if you’re looking for a guy to replace what Chandler could have given you, I’d go with Shawn Marion. Out of the pool of alternates, he’s probably the most well-rounded and developed player. He can give you some solid minutes off the bench, a lift in rebound production and aggressive defense. The only problem that I have with Marion is that is shot is funny.

But hey, if it goes in the net — who cares?

Photo provided by Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Forget Plan B, How About Plan C?