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So, how has Williams done it all? Insiders say he possesses the perfect blend of basketball acumen, people savvy and work ethic. He arrived in New Orleans saying he wanted to change the culture and, brick by brick, he's gone about laying the foundation for his vision of the future. "He's calm and very organized," Hornets center Emeka Okafor of Williams. "He has a clear objective and everything that we do is based around that objective. There's a lot of structure, a lot more purpose than there used to be. Everything we do has a reason. You're not doing things just for the sake of doing them." Oregonian

New Orleans Hornets, Emeka Okafor, Monty Williams 

John Reid: #Hornets officials said Emeka Okafor was given the day off and there is nothing physically wrong with him. Twitter

New Orleans Hornets, Emeka Okafor 

The players around Paul weren't good enough, so the stories went, not a flattering portrait of his teammates to be sure. Yet the other two members of the Hornets' big three, forward David West and center Emeka Okafor, weren't offended they said Monday at the team's media day gathering. "He was honest, " said West, the senior member of the team who has been with the Hornets since 2003. "I'm not going to lie to myself. The worst thing you can do is lie. And I thought last year, we just had the wrong perspective in terms of what we were from the beginning. It wasn't an honest opinion of who we were, the talent that we had. So we basically set ourselves up for failure from the beginning because we weren't honest with who we were. So I didn't take it personally at all. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor 

Okafor, who is entering his seventh NBA season and has never played in a postseason game, said Paul's assessment didn't sting. "I never really put too much stock into anything, " Okafor said. "I let things take their course. I never take anything personally. I took that situation the same. What was going to happen was going to happen. "C.P. was going to do what he feels necessary. Whatever he felt he had to do, he did. And no offense was taken." New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor 

Williams said that after being traded from Charlotte last year, Okafor had a hard time fitting in with the Hornets, but he is hopeful that will change. “For most guys, when you are traded to a team that was successful, it’s hard to fit in right away,” Williams told SN. “The dynamic of fitting in, it’s not always right there and it’s probably not fair to Emeka to just expect him to come in and fit in right away. Emeka will have to find ways to be efficient. I think we have done some things—added some shooters—who will make things easier on Emeka. Now that he is adjusted, I think he is going to have a very good year.” Sporting News

New Orleans Hornets, Emeka Okafor 

Jeff Schwartz, Emeka’s agent ever since he was the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, and his wife, Natalie, had recently welcomed their first child, Sloane, into the world. The Okafors weren’t going to pass up the chance to see the baby girl and her proud parents, with whom they have a special bond. “They kind of view him as a son,” Okafor said of his parents’ relationship with Schwartz. That’s exactly the kind of family-type atmosphere Schwartz, a New Haven native and 1982 Cheshire High graduate, tries to build with his roster of clients. And what an impressive roster it is. New Haven Register

Emeka Okafor, Jeff Schwartz 

And, of course, the man who coached them all at UConn is also one of Schwartz’s clients. Jim Calhoun got to know Schwartz through Dave Leitao, the former UConn assistant, and hired him as his agent about a decade ago. “He’s not only been a really good agent, but certainly a good friend,” Calhoun said of Schwartz, who has been a guest at several Calhoun family weddings. “He’s stayed away from players who aren’t the right kind of guys and runs a high-class agency.” New Haven Register

Emeka Okafor, Jeff Schwartz 

When Emeka Okafor’s parents, Pius and Celestina, came up to visit him and his sister, Nneka, in New York City earlier this summer, there was one other “family member” that they made a point to see. Jeff Schwartz, Emeka’s agent ever since he was the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, and his wife, Natalie, had recently welcomed their first child, Sloane, into the world. The Okafors weren’t going to pass up the chance to see the baby girl and her proud parents, with whom they have a special bond. “They kind of view him as a son,” Okafor said of his parents’ relationship with Schwartz. Middletown Press

Emeka Okafor, Jeff Schwartz 

If the Hornets do reach the point of shopping Paul, whether that's before the season starts or later, rival executives expect them to insist that any trade rids them of the onerous contracts possessed by big man Emeka Okafor (due $53-plus million over the next four seasons) and possibly James Posey ($13-plus million over the next two seasons) as well. It's likewise believed that the Hornets would open up the bidding to the whole league in search of the most favorable deal, since Paul -- without the no-trade clause that Kobe Bryant possessed in 2007 when he asked the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him -- has no means to ensure that he lands in one of his preferred destinations. ESPN.com

The Orlando Magic might be atop the wish list of disgruntled point guard Chris Paul -- which is expected with center Dwight Howard on their roster -- but they don't sound very confident of landing him anytime soon. They are not convinced that New Orleans will be bullied into trading their franchise player, not with two years remaining on his contract. And they still are not interested in taking the bloated contract of teammate Emeka Okafor to make it happen because it would sentence them to long-term payroll disaster. FanHouse.com

A desperate team with more salary cap flexibility -- like the New York Knicks, for example – would be more accommodating for the Hornets, if they decide there is no choice but to trade Paul. "Much ado about nothing,'' is how Magic coach Stan Van Gundy Saturday described to the Orlando Sentinel report of his team being linked to Paul. "We are only involved in this story because someone said he wants to be traded and someone said he wants to come to Orlando,'' Van Gundy told FanHouse Sunday. "It's a New Orleans and Chris Paul story.'' FanHouse.com

Speculation is the Hornets would want teams to take on the lousy long-term pact of center Emeka Okafor, who has four years and $52M left. Okafor is a center the Knicks can use, but his addition negates their chances of offering Anthony the maximum. New York Post

They also want to unload Emeka Okafor, whose four years and $52 million left on his contract (which NO took on in dealing Tyson Chandler, an expiring contract after this season, to Charlotte last summer) the Hornets will want to unload as part of the price for Paul. Bergen Record

Chad Ford: Teams w/ $$$ are going to play the trade market: Al Jefferson, Tyson Chandler, Emeka Okafor, Rip Hamilton, T.J. Ford, Turkoglu anyone? Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Trade, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler 

Jason Lloyd: Sources say #Cavs talking to #Hornets, chatter seems to be around Okafor and Collison. Twitter

Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, Trade, Emeka Okafor 

Any team in the mix for Paul would have to agree to take back Emeka Okafor, scheduled to make $11.8 million next season and $53.2 million over the next for season. The last three seasons will come under a new collective bargaining agreement, in which owners are seeking to dramatically slash salaries. So the full magnitude of taking on such a contract is unknown at this point – but certainly not pleasant. But one Western Conference executive called the scenario “plausible,” if nothing else because the Magic have shown themselves to have “deep, deep pockets,” the executive said. To soften the blow from losing Paul, New Orleans would likely insist – and the Magic would agree – on the inclusion of Jameer Nelson in any such trade. Nelson was exposed as a liability in the Magic’s conference finals loss to the Celtics, but could bridge the gap to Collison with a cap-friendly contract that pays him $8.1 million in each of the next three seasons. The Magic have internally explored including Vince Carter in various trades they’re considering, sources say, but Carter’s $17.5 million salary next season might require a third team to get involved or force the Magic to explore another deal for him. CBSSports.com

New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Trade, Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor 

Bower has been open to attaching Darren Collison to one of the Hornets’ bad contracts – such as Emeka Okafor – to clear salary, sources say. The first step of moving Paul will come when Bower proposes a trade that requests a team with cap space take Paul and absorb one of those bad contracts. Some officials believe Bower had made that kind of an offer to New Jersey, but Nets officials deny it. Yahoo! Sports

New Orleans Hornets, Trade, Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison