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The New Orleans Hornets finished last season 21-45 in the franchise’s first campaign since 2006 without All-Star point guard Chris Paul. With Paul serving as the team’s floor general for six seasons, the Hornets were a perennial threat to reach the playoffs. Now, New Orleans will enter the 2012-13 campaign as one of the youngest teams in the league, still reeling from the loss of Paul and in the midst of a lengthy rebuilding project.

There are three roads to improvement for NBA teams looking to reverse their respective fortunes on the court. The annual draft, trade market and free agency are those paths.

Over the past year, the Hornets believe they have made the right moves in each of those three paths by acquiring high scoring guard Eric Gordon in the Paul trade, selecting former University of Kentucky standout Anthony Davis with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and signing 2012 Most Improved Player award winner Ryan Anderson to a four-year, $34 million deal in free agency this past summer.

Anderson has developed into one of the league’s premier shooting big men, but has struggled with his shot mightily during the preseason slate as he tries to carve out his niche with a new franchise. The veteran readily admits the transition has been somewhat of a struggle during the early going.

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