With New Orleans Hornets rookie forward Anthony Davis set to make his debut this upcoming season and the average age of their core players only 24 years old, the team appears to have taken the appropriate steps this summer to achieve long-term sustainability. Several former NBA players, who were in New Orleans this past weekend for the National Basketball Retired Players Association’s conference, said they believe the Hornets could become the next emerging team in the Western Conference because of their young talent.

“The direction the Hornets are in right now is really positive,” former Utah Jazz forward Stephen Howard said. “I think General Manager Dell Demps has done a tremendous job trying to build them into a team that will contend day in and day out.”

When the Hornets open training camp in October, their roster will include eight new players. Davis was the No. 1 draft pick in NBA draft in June after winning a national championship as a freshman with Kentucky in April.

via John Reid of The Times Picayune