Hornets’ next stop: normalcy

Like millions of Americans, Julian Wright was home, eyes glued to the television, watching the catastrophic events unfold in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, as the full force of Hurricane Katrina bombarded the city.

Two years later, New Orleans still is struggling to recover. But Wright no longer is just a another concerned American watching from afar.

The 6-foot-8-inch Hornets rookie forward is moving to New Orleans and intends to participate in the city's recovery.

"I'm looking forward to being part of that community," Wright said Friday afternoon after scoring 14 points in New Orleans' 94-86 loss to Phoenix in the NBA Summer League at Cox Pavilion. "I remember what it was like when the hurricane hit.

"I was thinking about a lot of things and how America came together and helped the people there."

Wright, who was selected as the 13th pick in last month's NBA Draft out of Kansas, and the rest of the Hornets will do their part to lift the city's spirits, much the way the NFL's Saints did upon their return to New Orleans last fall. Save for a few games in New Orleans and a couple in Baton Rouge, La., the Hornets have spent all of their post-Katrina life in Oklahoma City.

The Hornets nearly made the playoffs last year, despite the uncertainty of when they would permanently return to New Orleans and a rash of injuries to key personnel, particularly guard Chris Paul and forward Peja Stojakovic. New Orleans was in the hunt up to the final days, finishing 39-43.

The team is scheduled to play all of its 2007-08 home games at the New Orleans Arena, and with the NBA staging its 2008 All-Star Game there, pro basketball figures to have an immediate impact on the city.

"People are excited to have the Hornets home for good," general manager Jeff Bower said. "We saw that leading up to and at the draft."

Said Hornets coach Byron Scott: "I think everyone's excited about coming back, but I don't think it'll be normal the first couple of months. It'll be a slight adjustment.

"Once the players get entrenched in the city and get to see how much the people are glad to have them back, things will feel like normal again."

Hilton Armstrong is looking forward to a normal life. The 6-11 forward/center spent his rookie season with the Hornets last year feeling like he always was the visitor.

"Even when we went to New Orleans to play, it felt like an away game," Armstrong said. "We were in Oklahoma, but we were playing for New Orleans. It was definitely different."

The second-year pro, drafted 12th in 2006 out of Connecticut, has worked on his offensive game this week in Las Vegas and had 24 points Friday against the Suns. He said he made the best of the situation a year ago.

But he's eager to put down roots.

"We want to be part of the fabric of the community in New Orleans," said Armstrong, who averaged 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season. "All the guys are excited to be going back."

Scott said the toughest part of being away the last two years was the unknown. There's no manual to guide a team when it is forced to relocate because of a natural disaster. Instead, the rules are just made up as one goes along.

"There was so much uncertainty," Scott said. "People would ask, 'Are you going to be here?' 'Is New Orleans going to be ready?' You try to block it out and focus on basketball, but it's always in the back of your mind.

"It was especially tough for our young guys. But the one thing Hurricane Katrina did was it brought us closer together. It made us a more cohesive team and organization. I thought the guys handled it well."

Bower said the reality was the team eventually was going back to New Orleans. The only question was "when would it be ready for us to return?"

"It would have been easy to make excuses, but everyone went to work, and we were going to make this work and be successful," he said.

If one thing was normal through the Hornets' post-Katrina ordeal, it was the fact they would spent a week every July in Las Vegas. This year, the visit hasn't been successful; the Hornets are 0-4 with one game left -- Sunday against Houston in the Thomas & Mack Center.

"We do know where we were going to be every summer," Scott said. "There's a sense of normalcy to that."

And perhaps something to build on in the months ahead for an organization that has lived anything but a normal NBA existence.