Hornets' looking for more than 'just playoffs' in 2009-10

NEW ORLEANS -- For as long as George Shinn can remember, he has hired a basketball coach and then left the Hornets alone for day-to-day operations.

After all, he says he was told to make the hire and back away, let the man who knows the game do the coaching.

And for 20 or so years, that’s gone against every business principle Shinn has every known.

“Well, normally in business, when you hire somebody, you give them as much rope as you can,” Shinn said. “But you still hold them accountable – they’ve still got to produce and do a good job. We totally cut that off in the past.”

But following a disastrous first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Shinn decided enough was enough.

As the Hornets kick off their season tonight at San Antonio, Shinn is hoping changes he has made will make a difference. At the very least, he doesn’t want his franchise to get embarrassed again.

“We were disappointed in the season this past year,” Shinn said. “We made the playoffs. A lot of people said how many games we won and that was great. No. It wasn’t great. I was disappointed. I wanted to win more and I wanted to go deep into the playoffs.

“We decided we were going to keep everybody accountable.”

It all starts with the rookies, two of the six new faces on the Hornets roster. Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton will be expected to at least help the team this season.

That hasn’t happened in the past, what with Head Coach Byron Scott having a short leash on the youngest of players.

“You look at some of the players we didn’t keep and that we let go, you know who they are,” Shinn said. “We can talk about Brandon Bass, Chris Anderson, any of those guys. Look at what they’ve done for somebody else that they could have done for us. We just let it flip by and that’s not going to happen again.”

So, while nationally the perception was that the Hornets wouldn’t pay a luxury tax and wouldn’t compete for players, internally Shinn wasn’t going to have it any other way.

The team traded stalwart and fan favorite Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor and a more expensive long-term contract. They signed guard Bobby Brown and traded for Darius Songaila. They picked up forward Ike Diogu.

“Just because I don’t have the money that Mark Cuban or some of these other guys have, that we try to operate in a frugal way – not cheap, just smart,” Shinn said. “Our goal is to win a championship and to continue to grow this franchise and to make it a tremendous asset, not only just for New Orleans, but for the entire state of Louisiana. That’s our goal.”

For Scott, nothing changes for him, he said.

He is still the same coach who led the team to a franchise record for wins two seasons ago, winning the clubs first-ever Southwest Division championship.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that can hold me more accountable than me,” Scott said. “I understand what I have to do this year with this team. I understand if we stay healthy, we’re going to be good.

“But I also understand I’ve got to get these guys to play the way they’re capable of playing every single night, not just every three games out of every six games.

“You don’t have to say it. I understand it.”

While most of the other teams in the Western Conference have revamped their rosters, Shinn likes what he sees on his home floor.

For the Hornets, it’s about more than just making the playoffs this season.

“I’ve been doing this over 20 years and this is the best team yet and this is our chance to win a championship,” Shinn said. “That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not thinking about just getting to the playoffs. We’re thinking totally about championship.

“That’s what it’s all about.”