The Hornets want to play Chris Paul fewer minutes. But they also want to play more like they do with Paul even when he's not in the game.
They are better able to do both after getting UCLA point guard Darren Collison and LSU guard Marcus Thornton in the draft. They used their only pick, No. 21 in the first round, to select Collison, and sent two future second-round picks (2010 and '12) to Miami for Thornton, whom the Heat had selected at No. 43. Coach Byron Scott was careful not to compare Collison too much with Paul but said Collison's basketball I.Q., toughness, and ability and determination to push the basketball will allow the Hornets to play Paul's style when the two-time All-Star is on the bench.
Scott said he hopes Collison will earn 12-17 minutes per game as a rookie in hopes of reducing Paul's minutes from 38-plus to the low to mid-30s.
The scoring ability of Thornton, last season's Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, as a shooting guard should also be a complement to Collison's ability.
"We got a point guard with some experience, a guy that's a proven winner, obviously playing at UCLA and going to the Final Four three of four years," Scott said. "(He's) a guy we know can come in here and back up Chris. The competition is going to be great for him. He gets a chance to learn from the best point guard in the league.
"He's a guy who can push the ball (and) trying to make this an up-tempo team as much as possible was one of the things we wanted to do. We know he can push the tempo. He's a very good leader on the basketball court."
Thornton was on New Orleans' short list of players to consider selecting at No. 21. When Thornton was still available at the start of the second round, Hornets general manager Jeff Bower started calling teams in hopes of getting Thornton and finally found a partner in Miami.
"We think he's a young man who's a good basketball player with the ability to score the ball and a physical element to his game we felt would be a help for us," Bower said. "His overall playing instincts were something that made us pleased that we were able to add him."
