"Here's what took place Wednesday in your world of sports.

While 81 Saints were up in Jackson, Miss., sweating profusely as they lined up for training-camp physicals, one member of the Hornets was dining in air-conditioned comfort as he sat down to a bowl of gumbo at Emeril's Delmonico.

In case you haven't paid attention, here's the story.

With their first, and only, pick of the 2008 NBA draft, the Hornets selected James Posey of the Boston Celtics.

At least, that's what you can say.

Instead of using the 27th selection in the first round last month, the Hornets decided to exchange it for $3 million (courtesy of the Portland Trail Blazers) and turn part of it into a ready-now free agent, a 10-year veteran who has been part of two championship teams, the 2006 Miami Heat and the 2008 Celtics.

At his Hornets coming-out party, you looked up at 6-foot-8, 217-pound James Posey, filling a shapely piece of threads, and you realized this was no schoolboy-to-NBA first-rounder, nor was he one of those "wait-and-see projects."

Posey is one of those under-the-radar role players who, say the scouts, "can fit in anywhere."

Before he played a significant off-the-bench role, defensively and offensively, in the Celtics' championship conquest of the Lakers, the Coach Byron Scott and General Manager Jeff Bower had seen enough of Posey to feel he was "a valuable piece to the puzzle" worth a four-year, $25 million contract.

"I close my eyes," Scott said, "and I see James guarding Kobe (Bryant) and Manu (Ginobili) and LeBron James, or anyone else you tell him to. I close my eyes, and I see him hitting shots from the outside, opening the court.""