"You think I was sitting over there drinking cocktails? Yeah, I was doing that, too, but I had to jump in the water once a day to refresh myself. It's too hot," joked Stojakovic, a native of Serbia who makes his offseason home in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Getting serious, he explained that his aquatic workouts helped him strengthen his chronically ailing back in ways "I wouldn't be able to do on the ground."

The 32-year-old swingman is pain-free for now, and he believes he can still be a productive NBA player, even if it means coming off the bench.

Stojakovic said whatever role coach Byron Scott has in mind for him, "I'm for it if I can be helpful to this team."

"I'm not looking for any individual achievements," Stojakovic said. "I really believe this team has talent and potential to play good basketball. If we all understand our roles from the very beginning and know what we have to do on the court, I think we can be a successful team."

Scott intends to give 2007 first-round draft choice Julian Wright a chance to start at small forward, while Morris Peterson and rookie Marcus Thornton, a star on LSU's 2009 Southeastern Conference championship team, will compete for playing time at shooting guard.

"Peja and I have already talked about him coming off the bench," Scott said after the Hornets' first practice of training camp in Lafayette. "It's a position he's accepted. His main thing is he wants to win and do whatever he can to make this team better. So right now, Julian is the starting (small forward), and like I told him, it's his position to lose."

The signing of Stojakovic to a five-year, $64 million free-agent contract before the 2006-07 season represented the Hornets' biggest offseason move that year. However, he played only 13 games before having season-ending surgery to remove a disk fragment in his lower back.

He returned effectively the following season, helping the Hornets win a franchise record 56 games while averaging 16.4 points and starting all but five regular season games. His 231 3-pointers were second most in the league, and his .441 shooting percentage from long range ranked fifth in the NBA.

Last season, he regressed, missing 20 games while his scoring average dropped to 13.3 points, well below his career average of 18.2 before that season began.

Stojakovic said he allowed his back to bother him mentally even when he was fit enough to play.

"The main thing is for me to stay healthy because that was the most frustrating thing for me, not being able to focus on basketball when I'm on the court ... thinking how to step, how to land, how I'm going to feel at halftime or how I'm going to feel when I get up from the chair after sitting seven minutes. Those are things that I'd rather not have in my head."

Stojakovic said his improving health during the summer allowed him to get in plenty of traditional workouts on the court, and he did a lot of shooting. He said the only thing he avoided was playing high intensity scrimmages in which there was bound to be some banging near the hoop.

"It's been, what, four-and-and-a-half months since I played any organized basketball," he said. "But I needed that to recover from last season. And I feel right - pain-free - which was important."

Stojakovic is scheduled to earn $14.2 million this season and $15.3 million in 2010-11. Because of his back trouble and slipping production last season, there wasn't much of a trade market for him over the summer as the Hornets sought to retool, adding six new players including center Emeka Okafor, acquired in a trade that sent Tyson Chandler to Charlotte.

Stojakovic said he does not believe he should strive to play the way he did before his back surgery, but added, "I really believe I can still play good basketball and I still love going out there and competing against younger guys."