Hornets Media Day
Have one Guinness.Maybe another one...
Stew and kiss the blarney stone. Put it back in the pocket and thank God for another day. Without having the first round pick, last year was difficult season to go through but it was fortunate to see the talents of a cornerstone get a taste for the league. We are committed to developing that future with Damian Lillard at the helm, running the show. At the same time, we've struggled to put together a winning team, trying to build an insta-core and it never materializing these last few years.
That banner in the rafters just gets dust the more you see in the record books 20-30 win seasons. The ghosts of Gugs and ZBo past and those cheers are more silent than ever. Each year the critics words get to be more bold and heavier in criticism. Each year, the Central gets another bit stronger but that perspective will bury you if you let the concern mount itself. That's why it's good to have another Guinness.
Let that liquid courage ride...
The Concert
The line outside the New Orleans Arena seems forever even if it's only a mile or two down the strip. Flashbulbs and clicks from camera phones going off as fans are excited to attend this media day/concert session. A sea of turquoise, gold, purple, and white shirts and jerseys quickly filled the seats inside the arena as team attendants and ushers quickly guided people safely to their seats. There definitely was a "buzz" from the crowd as the spotlights quickly zoomed across the platform and stage usually reserved for the various logos and hardwood for the New Orleans Hornets. Nick Malone peaked through the curtains as the players gathered right behind him dressed in their various suits like it was draft night. Members of the media found their seats and quickly got in position to snap pictures and jot down any tidbits and insight for upcoming articles in the various publications locally and nationally.Nick Malone: I will fade away and classify myself as obsolete....If this fails to deliver the most optimal results. You guys ready?
The lights quickly dimmed....A rush of stage hands ran onto the stage to assemble a giant electronic Hornet popping out from the ceiling of the Arena and millions of Hornet drones flying around as well as a few fans snapped some pictures of the drones in action.
Damian Lillard rushed onto the stage with a mic in his hand....
*Performing his hot new single, here's Dame Dolla with "They Sleep!"*
Nick Malone: Thanks everyone for joining us today. As you see here, everyone's excited to wear the teal and gold and for the season to begin. Dame Lillard burst onto the scene last year and we're hoping for more great things to come here in his Sophomore season. We approached the off season with the most salary cap in the league to spend after some cost cutting moves helped us get to this point even without our first round pick. We bought in with Washington looking to sell out and were able to select Shane Larkin. Larkin's gonna be able to get a great view from the bench to learn how this game is played and log some crucial minutes for us on our second unit but there were definitely more moves to come.
We had a lot of attention into RFA and a lot of talented players wanted to sign and play with a player with the talents of Damian Lillard. But alas, was not to be as the incumbent teams decided to bring back all the talent we signed. All is well and we wish the players that went back to their situations all the best luck in the world. So with only 4 players under contract we contacted our good friends in New York and struck up a deal to acquire stretch forward, Ryan Anderson, who'll serve as the primary power forward for this club this year ahead. Since overcoming a broken leg, Ryan's dealt with a lot of adversity but with this opportunity we're poised to see him thrive and succeed out on the wing and stretch the defense.
UFA was another adventure. We were able to sign versatile swing man Thaddeus Young along with crafty veterans Dwyane Wade and Marcin Gortat who will all play critical roles if our team is succeed in the next year ahead. We feel that playing next to Wade will do wonders for Lillard to take advantage of all the ins and outs of what this game has to offer. We're just glad we no longer have to play against Wade and his excellent defensive prowess. We were also able to sign some good veterans to some cap friendly deals that'll add to our bench unit for this season ahead and we're hopeful for a lot of teams to be sleeping on our success.
