[The Hornets will also have the option to play in Oklahoma City next season. Hornets owner George Shinn visited New Orleans last week and said he couldn't predict when the Hornets could return.] It's not just about if the arena is in playing condition, ... Will there be any fans? I don't know how many fans will come back, or how quickly they'll come back. I'm convinced New Orleans will rebuild. I can see maybe even being stronger. But how long it's going to take, I'm not going to touch that. This option was just a cushion, just to make sure if it got to this point. |
Because of what they went through here [with the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995], they made it clear to the NBA when they called that they're not trying to steal the team. They just wanted us to have a safe place to land, maybe play here for a year or two and maybe that might help [them] get a [professional] team in the future. |
But we've got to remember the economics have to be there to support it, |
Fortunately, Oklahoma City is an ideal home for this season and we greatly appreciate the good will shown by Mayor Cornett and the local business community. |
From a business standpoint, it's always benefited me. The more I give, the more I get back. |
From the state of ... this great state. |
I believe it's going to come back. I feel its going to come back bigger and stronger. We're here (Oklahoma City) for this year. New Orleans has a lot do to get back and when they come back, we're coming back. I want the people there to have hope. In a lot of ways that's all some of them have, and I'm not going to take that away from them. |
I can't read tea leaves, |
I don't think there's a better city in the country to have an All-Star Game because of all the hotel rooms they have and all the restaurants. Is everything going to be open? I don't know the answer to that. The league, they're not guaranteeing they're going to have the All-Star Game. |
I feel like the guy that's got two women that's fighting over him. It would be nice if it was two women instead of two states. |
I had doubts at first. Quite frankly, I was scared. I didn't know we'd have the success we've had and I've been very pleased. It's good for New Orleans, it's good for us. |
I haven't heard from Louisville, ... Lots of cities have made contact through the league. I know we're taking a look and listening to a few. But we're trying to get something close to Louisiana. |
I just want the best to happen to this city. Everybody politically or business-wise, whatever, wants us to come back, so that's good. But the bottom line is, it's got to make sense. What would be bad is ... if we come back and three years later have to leave. That doesn't help anybody. |
I see what Tom Benson is going through, ... I don't want to be the bad guy, OK? I'd rather the NBA be the bad guy. I ask David (Stern) every day, 'What should I do? What should I say?' I can't read the tea leaves, but the day of the announcement, I knew we had hit a home run. |
I think New Orleans is going to come back. I don't think it can be this year, but I think next year if they keep heading in a positive direction, they've got a good chance of coming back. All indications I see, they're going to come back stronger. |