For good measure, Bass signed Cavaliers shooting guard Bobby Phills to a seven-year, $33 million contract seven weeks later, completing the reconstruction of the Hornets' starting backcourt.

The 26-year-old Wesley, after a season in which he set career highs in every major category, will find himself under a great deal of scrutiny—and not just because he's a former CBA point guard who parlayed one good NBA season into a huge free-agent deal. (Sound familiar, Chris Childs?) Wesley is replacing fan favorite Muggsy Bogues, a member of the original 1988-89 Hornets, who will be relegated to backup duty. Bogues suffered through problems with his left knee in each of the past two seasons, and after surgery in August 1995 failed to correct the problem, the 5'3" Wake Forest product told an acupuncturist last season to, in not so many words, "Go do that voodoo that you do so well." The treatments worked—Bogues's knee was much stronger down the stretch last season—but Bass chose to go with new blood at the point for the up-tempo offense that coach Dave Cowens prefers.

"We wanted to run last year," says Cowens. "You always want to get the ball up the floor quickly, but last year we were hamstrung. We had injuries, and we had a point-guard-by-committee mentality."

As Cowens sees it, the more possessions the Hornets have, the fewer chances less-talented teams will have to hang with them. "Last year we were the best three-point-shooting team in the league, we were fourth in field goal percentage, and we were second in free throws," he says. "Yet our margin in points made and points allowed was only about plus two. If you're doing all that, it should be more.

"We want to be able to get more easy shots and win games by a broader margin. If you spread it out to a four- or five-point margin, you don't have to play people as many minutes."

Excessive minutes were a problem last year, as power forward Anthony Mason and small forward Glen Rice each averaged more than 42 minutes per game. But while Cowens wants to give them more breathers, he doesn't want to cut their time too far—both had a tremendous year. Rice ranked third in the league in scoring and was the NBA's most accurate three-point shooter. Mason reached a career high in scoring average, led the team in rebounding and was second on the club in assists.

In the middle, Vlade Divac had a fine year after coming over from the Lakers in a July 1996 trade for Hornets draft pick Kobe Bryant. The 7'1" center becomes a free agent after this season, and in light of the $11 million a year Vancouver is giving the much less refined Bryant Reeves, Divac stands to make a killing if he has another productive season.

Charlotte struggled in two areas last year, rebounding and perimeter defense, and over the summer the Hornets brought in aid on both fronts. To address the rebounding troubles, Cowens hired assistant coach Paul Silas, who cracked double digits in rebounding average eight times during his 16-year playing career. The return to Charlotte of 6'9" journeyman forward J.R. Reid—the Hornets' No. 1 pick in the '89 draft, Reid played in France last year—will help on the glass as well. On the perimeter, Phills is one of the best defensive 2-guards in the league, and the six-foot Wesley is an improvement over the diminutive Bogues.

In two years on the job Bass has assembled a group of players long on work ethic and versatility—check out Mason's and Divac's passing skills—and short on big-name appeal. Hornets fans longing for a superstar need only remember that in the days of Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson the team never won more than 50 games. Charlotte won 54 last year in Cowens's first season.

"There's a big-market mentality in the league," says the coach. "We're not on TV much. I don't care. Let them not talk about us. We filled our roster with guys who aren't MTV guys. Phills and Wesley came up the hard way. They're solid people."

And this is a solid team.

—Mark Bechtel