Tuesday night when play resumes after the All-Star break the New Orleans Hornets will face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder but; things will be different…
The two teams have agreed in principle to trade center Tyson Chandler to the Thunder for journey-man 1st Overall pick Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox.
The Thunder also possess numerous draft picks to sweeten trade packages — including five first-round picks in the next two drafts — but Presti was able to land an accomplished center to complement his promising young trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green without surrendering any major draft considerations.
The Hornets were widely projected as a dark-horse title contender entering the season but hit the All-Star break as the No. 6 team in the West at 30-20 after a variety of injuries and struggles to cope with raised expectations. Chandler has been bothered all season by foot troubles and is averaging just 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, compared to 11.8 points and 11.7 rebounds last season.