Jersey watch

So far, I have done a fairly lousy job of anticipating the numbers to be worn by this year's new Hornets, a situation made more difficult by the fact that ex-Bulls center Tyson Chandler had worn number 3, a number already claimed by Chris Paul; Chandler, vowing at a press conference to be "twice as good" as he was in Chicago during his tenure as a Hornet, will wear number 6 instead. Conveniently, 6 has been vacated by Arvydas Macijauskas, long gone for Europe.

Interestingly, Hilton Armstrong, drafted 12th, will wear number 12; Cedric Simmons, drafted 15th, will wear — number 22. Aw, shucks.

Still to be determined: Bobby Jackson and Marcus Vinicius, who haven't formally signed the papers yet. Jackson wore #24 in Memphis, which will clash with Desmond Mason. And Peja? He was #16 for the Kings, #16 for the Pacers, and he'll be #16 for the Hornets.

(Retired numbers: 7, for Pete Maravich of LSU — he never played for the Hornets, but he remains a towering figure in Louisiana sports history, and he did play for the Jazz when they were in New Orleans — and 13, for Bobby Phills, a Hornets guard killed in an auto accident halfway through the 1999-2000 season.)

Posted at 6:07 AM to Net Proceeds