The Hornets Used a Sign-and-Trade to Add a Veteran Shooter
In July 2006 the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets secured forward Peja Stojaković from Indiana in a sign-and-trade that sent Andrew Betts's rights to the Pacers. Stojaković had been a high-volume outside scorer in Sacramento, while his brief Indiana tenure was interrupted by injuries. New Orleans was building around Chris Paul and needed a veteran who could space the floor. Indiana moved on from a player it had acquired only months earlier and accepted draft rights instead of a comparable active NBA contributor.
A Difficult First Season Gave Way to Real Hornets Production
Stojaković's 2006-07 campaign was cut short by a serious back problem, delaying the value of his new contract. He responded with a far more productive 2007-08 season, appearing in seventy-seven games and averaging 16.4 points. He scored 1,263 regular-season points and made 231 three-pointers while helping New Orleans finish near the top of the Western Conference. He also started all twelve Hornets playoff games that year. Those are direct New Orleans achievements, unlike Stojaković's earlier All-Star seasons with Sacramento.
Andrew Betts Never Appeared for the Pacers
Indiana received the draft rights to Andrew Betts, an English center whose NBA path had never materialized despite being selected years earlier. Betts did not log a regular-season NBA game for the Pacers. That distinction matters because international rights can have bargaining or developmental value even when the prospect never joins an active roster. The Pacers avoided carrying the full Stojaković salary, but this particular incoming player asset did not replace his scoring or create any documented Indiana NBA minutes. No later rights-holder team games should be credited to the Pacers.
Stojaković's Useful Years Establish the Winner
New Orleans incurred real contract risk and lost much of its first season with Stojaković. The long-term result nonetheless included several seasons of veteran perimeter shooting during the best Chris Paul Hornets years. Indiana collected a deferred rights asset without on-court return. Evaluating only the summer transaction, rather than Stojaković's eventual championship season with Dallas after a separate move, gives New Orleans a pronounced advantage. The original Hornets-winning verdict was sound, but the sustained production justifies a high grade while Indiana's receiving-team return was extremely limited.
Final Verdict
Pelicans Win. New Orleans earns A for securing Stojaković, including seventy-seven games, 1,263 points and twelve playoff starts in 2007-08. Indiana gets D+ because Andrew Betts never played a Pacers NBA regular-season game. The initial Hornets injury disappointment does not erase later direct scoring, and his Dallas championship is excluded.