The2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season was the seventh season of the franchise in theNational Basketball Association.

The regular season was marred by injuries, with onlyRasual Butler playing in all games. The remaining four starters missed a combined 68 games, of whom centerTyson Chandler missed 37 games. Even when not on the injured list, Chandler's season was sub-par. Perhaps partly as a result of this, on February 18 Chandler was traded to theOklahoma City Thunder for forwardsJoe Smith andChris Wilcox. Despite the less than stellar season, this was generally perceived as a payroll-shedding move. However, within a day, the trade was rescinded due to concerns regarding Chandlersturf toe, which according to Chandler and the Hornet organization was not the reason for his stints on the injury list.

Battling these issues for much of the season, the Hornets finished the season with a record of 49–33, 7 games off the franchise best record of the previous season. This meant that the Hornets only finished 4th in theSouthwest Division and 7th in theWestern Conference. In the2009 NBA Playoffs, the Hornets lost 1–4 in the first round to the second seededDenver Nuggets. All four losses were severe, with the worst being a 58–point drubbing at home in Game 4, losing 63–121, which tied for the most lopsided loss in NBA Playoff history.^[1] Naturally lamented by fans and media alike, the embarrassing performance can at least be partly explained by the health situation of the players, with arguably the top 5 Hornets ailing to varying injuries.^[2]

• June 26: The2008 NBA draft will take place in New York City.
• July 1: Thefree agency period will start.

On July 9 the Hornets announced they had signed their All Star point guardChris Paul to a contract extension.^[3] Hornets ownerGeorge Shinn saying ''Chris is the face of our franchise and a leader both on and off the court...Getting him signed to an extension was our number one priority...'' On July 23 it was announced the Hornets had acquired free agent forwardJames Posey.^[4] Posey, a member of the2008Boston Celtics team that won thechampionship said ''I am excited to be a Hornet, it was a coveted destination for me...''

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	27	Darrell Arthur(traded toMemphis viaPortland)	(PF)	United States	Kansas

December 10, 2008: TheNew Orleans Hornets tradedMike James to theWashington Wizards forAntonio Daniels.

February 17, 2009: The Hornets tradedTyson Chandler to theOklahoma City Thunder forJoe Smith,Chris Wilcox and rights toDeVon Hardin. The trade was nullified when Chandler failed his physical because of a previous turf toe injury.^[5]

For the second year in a row the Hornets were represented with two players at theNBA All Star Game asChris Paul was voted in by the fans as a starter, andDavid West was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches.

• Chris Paul,All-NBA Second Team

• 2008–09 NBA season

• New Orleans Hornets seasons
• 2008–09 NBA season by team

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