Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog

Despite missing all of training camp with a sore right knee, New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams had hopes of guard Eric Gordon being ready to play in a couple of preseason games before the regular season begins.

But Williams said Sunday that Gordon could miss the final three preseason games because he is not in appropriate conditioning due to the missed time caused by his sore knee. Williams also there’s also a chance power forward Jason Smith could miss the remainder of the preseason after injuring his shoulder in a practice last week. Gordon has missed all five preseason games, while Smith has played in only the preseason opener against the Orlando Magic.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Just one day after returning to contact work after missing time with a sore back, New Orleans Hornets forward Jason Smith sustained a left shoulder injury Tuesday during a five-on-five scrimmage drill that required a doctor’s visit for additional evaluation and diagnosis.

Smith fell on his back during the Hornets’ first exhibition game in Mexico City on Oct. 7 and has not played in the last three exhibition games, and sat out all practice contact work until Monday.

Hornets Coach Monty Williams said Tuesday he was unsure about Smith’s availability for Thursday night’s game in Atlanta against the Hawks.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Gordon did not participate in any contact work during the first week of training camp, and Coach Monty Williams said Monday it’s unlikely Gordon will see the floor much this week as well. The Hornets play three exhibition games in four days this week, beginning Tuesday night when New Orleans’ hosts the Charlotte Bobcats in New Orleans Arena.

Gordon has missed practices with a sore right knee, the same knee that was arthroscopically repaired on Feb. 14, an injury that caused Gordon to miss all but nine of the team’s 66 games last season.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams doesn’t like to look back, so first-day comparisons between Tuesday’s initial training camp practice and the one he oversaw last December when the NBA lockout ended were a trifle disconcerting.

Williams greeted a roster on Tuesday that included no one who attended the first day of Hornets’ training camp last season, though several players, including center/forward Jason Smith, forwards Lance Thomas and Al-Farouq Aminu and guards Eric Gordon (who did not practice Tuesday because of a sore right knee) and Greivis Vasquez, were present for portions of the team’s camp a year ago.

Aside from those familiar faces, the rest of the 17-man roster were all first-timers.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon was, as expected, a first-practice spectator Tuesday morning at the Alario Center as the team went through a 2 1/2 hour workout, the first of two scheduled days of two-a-day workouts.

When media was allowed into the gym, as the team was running post-practice wind sprints, Gordon, who is being held out with a sore right knee, was working on an eliptical machines off to the side at one of the baselines.

Gordon missed all but nine games of last season’s lockout-shortened 66-game schedule because of the bothersome right knee, which was eventually treated with arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-February.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets newly acquired center Robin Lopez is hoping for a fresh start in the Big Easy that hopefully won’t include a repeat of injury problems that has limited him in two of the previous three seasons.

Since 2009, Lopez has had a foot fracture, a bulging disk and knee problems. A week after the Hornets acquired Lopez last month in a trade with the Phoenix Suns, he underwent successful surgery to correct a tear of his medial meniscus in his left knee.

Lopez, however, has been doing his rehabilitation work at the Alario Center and is on schedule to be fully recovered before training camp begins this October, according to the Hornets.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed head coach Monty Williams to a new multi-year contract extension. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, it’s a four-year deal that will keep Williams with the team through 2016.

“We are proud to announce that Monty Williams will be the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets for years to come,” said Hornets Owner Tom Benson. “We could not be any happier to have someone of Monty’s quality – both professionally and personally – involved in the resurgence of this franchise.”

“The Hornets have a promising future and an exciting young nucleus,” said Hornets Executive Vice President Mickey Loomis. “It is our opinion that Monty is the perfect coach to develop and lead this group of talent going forward.”

“I would like to thank Mr. Benson, his family, Mickey and Dell for putting their trust in me and showing me their commitment,” said Williams. “The love and support the city and its fans have shown me and my family in the time we have been here has been incredible and I look forward to continuing to work to make the city and the Benson family proud of the Hornets.”

Williams, hired by the Hornets on June 7, 2010 as the ninth coach in franchise history, is entering his third season at the helm with a career record of 67-81 (.453), including his debut season with the club in 2010-11 where he led New Orleans to a 46-36 record and earned the team a playoff appearance. Williams placed seventh in Coach of the Year voting after that season and was named the NBA’s Western Conference Coach of the Month for January 2011. Last season, Williams’ squad improved its win total each month and finished the 2011-12 campaign with a 6-1 stretch at the New Orleans Arena.

A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Williams came to the Hornets after five seasons as the assistant coach under Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers, including serving as the head coach for the Blazers summer league team in the NBA Summer League in both 2007 and 2008. Prior to his time in Portland, Williams spent one season as a coaching intern under Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs in 2004-05, helping the Spurs capture the NBA Championship. He was also the head coach for the Spurs summer league entry team in the 2005 Rocky Mountain Revue.

Williams played in the NBA for 10 seasons before chronic knee problems forced him into retirement in 2003. Selected by the New York Knicks in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1994 NBA Draft out of Notre Dame, Williams played for the Knicks, Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. His best season was with the Spurs in 1996-97, when he averaged 9.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 65 games. For his career, Williams averaged 6.3 points in 456 games. Williams was an honorable mention All-American at Notre Dame after averaging 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds during his senior season.

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