2004–05 New Orleans Hornets season

2004–05 New Orleans Hornets season
Head coach	Byron Scott
Owner(s)	George Shinn
Arena	New Orleans Arena
Results
Record	18–64 (.220)
Place	Division: 5th (Southwest) Conference: 15th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Cox Sports Television
Radio	WTIX

The 2004–05 New Orleans Hornets season was the franchise's third season in the National Basketball Association. The Hornets moved from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the tougher Southwest Division of the Western Conference for the season. In their first losing season since the 1991–92 season, the Hornets finished the year with a franchise-worst record of 18 wins and 64 losses. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 1998–99 season, when the franchise was based in Charlotte.

Offseason

During the offseason, the Hornets made many transactions. On June 16, the Hornets claimed Brazilian swingman Alex Garcia on waivers from the San Antonio Spurs. On June 22, the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft took place, and the Hornets lost guard Maurice Carter to the Charlotte Bobcats. Two days later, the NBA Draft took place.

Draft picks

Main article: 2004 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	J.R. Smith	SG	United States
2	44	Tim Pickett		United States	Florida State

In the draft, the Hornets drafted J. R. Smith and Tim Pickett. Smith would play only two seasons with the Hornets, and Pickett would not play in the NBA. On July 19, the Hornets signed Chris Andersen. Andersen would be with the Hornets for four seasons, missing the 2006-07 season due to a suspension for substance abuse. On August 3, the Hornets signed former Sixth Man of the Year Rodney Rogers. Rogers would be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, along with Jamal Mashburn, on February 24 for Glenn Robinson. On September 29, the Hornets signed Tremaine Fowlkes and Britton Johnsen. The following day, the team signed Lorinza "Junior" Harrington and Lee Nailon. On October 28, the Hornets waived Fowlkes, and three days later, they waived Johnsen.

Roster

New Orleans Hornets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F/C 12 Andersen, Chris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Blinn F/C 42 Brown, P. J. 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Louisiana Tech G 5 Claxton, Speedy 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Hofstra G 2 Dickau, Dan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Gonzaga G/F 32 Jacobsen, Casey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Stanford C 15 Lampe, Maciej 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Poland G/F 9 Lynch, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina C 21 Magloire, Jamaal 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Kentucky F 10 Nachbar, Boštjan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Slovenia F 33 Nailon, Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Texas Christian G/F 23 Smith, J. R. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) St. Benedict's Prep (HS) F/C 4 Vroman, Jackson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Iowa State F 30 West, David 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Xavier	Head coach Byron Scott (Arizona State) Assistant coach(es) Jim Cleamons (Ohio State) Kenny Gattison (Old Dominion) Darrell Walker (Arkansas) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Standings

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	–	38–3	21–20	10–6
x-Dallas Mavericks	58	24	.707	1	29–12	29–12	11–5
x-Houston Rockets	51	31	.622	8	26–15	25–16	10–6
x-Memphis Grizzlies	45	37	.549	14	26–15	19–22	7–9
New Orleans Hornets	18	64	.220	41	11–30	7–34	2–14

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	—
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	3
3	y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	10
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	58	24	.707	4
5	x-Houston Rockets	51	31	.622	11
6	x-Sacramento Kings	50	32	.610	12
7	x-Denver Nuggets	49	33	.598	13
8	x-Memphis Grizzlies	45	37	.549	17
9	Minnesota Timberwolves	44	38	.537	18
10	Los Angeles Clippers	37	45	.451	25
11	Los Angeles Lakers	34	48	.415	28
12	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28
13	Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	35
14	Utah Jazz	26	56	.317	36
15	New Orleans Hornets	18	64	.220	44

Player Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Andersen
Darrell Armstrong
Lonny Baxter
P.J. Brown
Speedy Claxton
Baron Davis
Dan Dickau
Corsley Edwards
Matt Freije
Alex Garcia
Junior Harrington
Casey Jacobsen
Maciej Lampe
George Lynch
Jamaal Magloire
Bostjan Nachbar
Lee Nailon
Rodney Rogers
J.R. Smith
Jackson Vroman
David Wesley
David West

Transactions

Trades

December 3, 2004

To New Orleans Hornets Dan Dickau 2005 2nd round draft pick To Dallas Mavericks Darrell Armstrong

December 27, 2004

To New Orleans Hornets Jim Jackson Boštjan Nachbar To Houston Rockets David Wesley

January 21, 2005

To New Orleans Hornets Casey Jacobsen Maciej Lampe Jackson Vroman To Phoenix Suns Jim Jackson 2005 2nd round draft pick

February 24, 2005

To New Orleans Hornets Glenn Robinson To Philadelphia 76ers Jamal Mashburn Rodney Rogers

To New Orleans Hornets Speedy Claxton Dale Davis To Golden State Warriors Baron Davis

Free Agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Chris Andersen	July 19	Denver Nuggets
Rodney Rogers	August 3	New Jersey Nets
Tremaine Fowlkes	September 29	Detroit Pistons
Britton Johnsen	September 29	Orlando Magic
Junior Harrington	September 30	Azovmash Mariupol (Ukraine)
Lee Nailon	September 30	Cleveland Cavaliers
Matt Freije	November 19	Miami Heat
Corsley Edwards	December 4	Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA)
Lonny Baxter	December 12	Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
Corsley Edwards	January 5	New Orleans Hornets
Junior Harrington	January 29	New Orleans Hornets

Subtractions
Player	Date waived	New Team
Tremaine Fowlkes	October 28	Indiana Pacers
Britton Johnsen	October 31	Indiana Pacers
Lonny Baxter	December 27	Panathinaikos B.C. (Greece)
Alex Garcia	December 27	COC Ribeirão Preto (Brazil)
Corsley Edwards	January 3	New Orleans Hornets
Matt Freije	January 21	Nashville Rhythm (ABA)
Junior Harrington	January 21	New Orleans Hornets
Glenn Robinson	March 1	San Antonio Spurs
Dale Davis	March 1	Indiana Pacers

References

• New Orleans Hornets on Basketball Reference