NBA AM: “Are You In” New Orleans?
Are You In?: There is a saying in New Orleans… "If you love New Orleans, it will love you back." – That’s what the NBA and the New Orleans Hornets are counting on. Since the day the NBA took control of the Hornets from former owner George Shinn there has been one singular goal within the team; prove to the fan base they have not packed their bags and that the team and the league genuinely wants the Hornets to stay in New Orleans.
Yesterday the Hornets, the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana launched a new season ticket campaign which asks the question ‘Are You In?’
Using the support of local celebrities and regional supporters; the team, owned completely by the NBA, is trying to drum up season ticket sales to get the club back to the 10,000 season ticket level the team once had.
Word is the Hornets are about halfway there, and the "I’m In" campaign hopes to bring the team the rest of the way.
Sources close to the situation said that the possibility of a work stoppage in the NBA really has not be an impediment to sales, the biggest objection voiced in sales is "will the team be here?", the Hornets hope their campaign which includes a blitz of media in the New Orleans area will help answer that question.
The media blitz which includes a montage video of New Orleans’ most recognized places and faces, saying they are in. The video includes Hornets’ All-Star Chris Paul pledging that he is "in".
The NBA and the Hornets are pushing all their chips onto the table hoping that the city and its fans will respond at the box office.
The Hornets met their attendance benchmarks to lock the team into its arena lease for at least another year, but the current lease continues to give the team exits at fixed intervals if the team does not meet attendance goals. The team and the league are hopeful that a strong sales push supported by local leaders can bridge the gap and end the debate on whether the Hornets will genuinely remain in New Orleans long-term.
The NBA’s appointed governor of the Hornets, Jac Sperling, told gathered media that the plan from the beginning is to find a local buyer that wants to keep the team in New Orleans and finding out how many people are truly "In" will go a long way towards that end goal.
They say if you love New Orleans it will love you back… the Hornets are trying to show their love by embracing a city with a rich tradition and culture, the question is, is it too little too late or will the Big Easy respond like they did with the NFL’s Saints just a few seasons ago.
Hard To Complain When You Win?: Nuggets’ guard Raymond Felton said he didn’t hear about his inclusion in the Carmelo Anthony trade that brought him to Denver until the All-Star Break in February. Almost a month later Felton and the Denver Nuggets are rolling, clocking in an 8-2 record, which the Nuggets locker room will quickly point out, could have been 10-0 had they not lost a six-point game last Saturday to the Clippers and a one-point nail biter in Portland.
Felton, who is coming off the bench for the Nuggets, says he’s adjusting to his role as a sixth man and is flattered about the talk of the Nuggets wanting to keep him long term, but the reality of the situation is as much fun as Raymond is having winning games in Denver, the fact that he is not starting is always around, even after big games and big wins.
"I’m just doing whatever it takes, man I’m not going to say anything is easy," Felton said to HOOPSWORLD. "At the same time we are winning games, we are 8-2 since the trade… I ain’t got anything to complain about."
"I just come in and bring some energy, try to push the ball. Try to get guys involved. I just do what I do even if I am not starting. I come with the same approach."
Felton admits that he has no idea what the future will hold for him with the Nuggets, but the roll the team is on makes it easier to deal with a role that’s less than desirable for a player accustomed to starting games.
"This has been fun, it’s been interesting and I am enjoying it," said Felton. "It’s definitely a high I don’t want to come off of. It’s about longevity; it’s about trying to get better."
To a man every player in Denver’s locker room explains the instant success and cohesiveness the team has shown to the incoming players being "better fits" with the guys who were already in Denver. There is no question that Felton brings an energy and spark from the Nuggets bench and several of the Nuggets wins since the trade at the deadline are easily credited to Felton.
Whether he’ll be happy as the sixth man going forward remains to seen, but for now everyone in Nueggets’ powder blue is pretty happy with where the teams stands in the big picture in the Western Conference.
Suing Over A Tweet?: New media has becoming increasingly hard to classify or quantify… are things like Tweets on Twitter journalism? Some media outlets think so and report the musing on Twitter as stories and news.
{AUTHOR_BOX} It seems NBA official Bill Spooner thinks so too. According to reports, Spooner is suing AP writer Jon Krawczynski, over a Tweet in which he alleges that Spooner told Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis during a January 24th game versus the Rockets that "he’d get it back".
Krawczynski’s tweet, said "Ref Bill Spooner told Rambis he’d "get it back" after a bad call. Then he made an even worse call on Rockets. That’s NBA officiating folks."
Spooner says he was investigated by the league and has asked both Krawczynski and the Associated Press to retract the Tweet, which both parties appear to have declined.
Spooners’ lawsuit claims that the Tweet was deliberately defamatory and is seeking $75,000 in damages, that the Tweet to be unpublished and that the Associated Press issue a retraction of the statement.
"We believe all of the facts we reported from the game in question were accurate," AP Associate General Counsel Dave Tomlin said in a statement.
So it seems this will get resolved in court.
NBA Chats: There will be three NBA Chats today starting with Luke Byrnes who will host his weekly Hoops Chat at 1pm EST. Luke covers the Western Conference and College Basketball for HOOPSWORLD, so get your questions in early. Senior NBA Writer Eric Pincus will hold his weekly NBA chat today at 4pm. Eric covers the NBA as a whole, but is based in L.A. with the Lakers and Clippers. Stephen Litel will dig out from the snow in Minnesota to hold his weekly NBA Chat at 8pm EST. You can always find the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.
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