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Maybe not getting Brandon Bass is a good thing for the Hornets future.

Bass will likely command a salary in the $5 million a year range. If the Hornets had signed Bass and not traded Tyson Chandler, their payroll would balloon to over $80 million next season. Of course, there's no way this will happen. At this point, the Hornets will likely have to give Tyson Chandler away just to dump his salary.

Last night, the NBA sent a memo to all clubs regarding the salary cap and luxury tax for the 2009-2010 season. The "tax" for that year will plummet to $65 million. The Hornets are simply in "tax jail". For this season they tie about $31 million dollars in money tied up on spot up shooters.

Peja Stojakovic alone is owed $29 million over the next seasons.

Even if the Hornets had Bass, what are they this season? They are a team that will hardpressed to make the playoffs.

Time to get younger and cheaper. In the NBA, today, there a lot of teams who are thinking exactly the same thing.

Well, well, well. This comes as quite a surprise. The Hornets don't shed salary but add it. And , acquire one of the best young centers in the NBA.

Emeka Okafor is everything the Hornets need: he is durable shot blocker, a solid low post scorer, and last year the second best offensive rebounder in the NBA. The reason this deal happened is Charlotte's economics. Owner Bob Johnson has lost millions and is unloading the last three years of Okafor's contract. The Hornets will be on the hook for those three years at a total of $40.5 million.

The Hornets actually will save salary this season. Chandler is due to earn $11.850 million. Okafor will earn $10.538 million.

The biggest winners in this deal are Okafor, and Chris Paul: Okafor will be the new back end of the Crescent City Connection. His point totals are likely to go as he is set up by the best point guard in the league. And, Paul is a winner, too. He gets one of the 10 best centers in the league, in his prime.

In five weeks, the Hornets will have added Okafor, and drafted Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton.

A Hornets starting five could be: Paul, Rasual Butler, Okafor, David West, and Julian Wright. Of the bench would be Peja, and the two rookie guards, and veteran James Posey.

Is this a lineup good enough to win in the West? It may be.

Ed Daniels

On the surface, the signing of Ike Diogu to a contract may not be a headline maker. But, Diogu is something much needed on the Hornets bench: that is someone to spell all star forward David West.

Diogu has been kicked around the NBA. The Hornets will be his 5th team since he was drafted 9th overall by Golden State in 2005. Diogu's career numbers including 6.1 points a game don't seem like much. But, here's a number to remember: a career high 32 points in an April game against the Denver Nuggets. No one on the Hornets bench was capable of that type of number last season.

If the Hornets start Julian Wright, here's what the bench looks like: Peja, Ike Diogu, James Posey, and a pair of rookie guards , Darren Collison and LSU's Marcus Thornton.

Last year, the Hornets had plenty of dead weight on their bench. Now, you could argue that they go 10 deep.

That's called improvement.