The Hornets have signed guard Jared Jordan and center Courtney Sims to training camp contracts, according to NBA.com.

Sims (6-11, 245) played three games for the Indiana Pacers last season before being signed by the NBDL?s Iowa Energy. The center averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Energy and shot 64.4% from the field.

Jordan (6-2, 190) saw action in six preseason games last year for the New York Knicks prior to playing in 11 games for Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania), where he averaged 1.0 points and 0.8 assists in 8.2 minutes per game.

The Hornets have fourteen players with guaranteed contracts, but GM Jeff Bower is looking to sign two or three more players to non-guaranteed deals before training camp begins, according to Times-Picayune.

"We're excited about the newcomers and what they will add to help our team," Bower said. "We are looking forward to building on the progress made and using the experiences we have collectively gathered now and putting them to good use."

New Orleans coach Byron Scott is looking for second-year forward Julian Wright to improve this season, according to Times-Picayune.

Wright averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 57 games last season.

"He understands what I want from him," Scott said. "He understands the type of pressure that I am putting on him. It's all up to him. I'm not going to give him minutes -- he'll have to earn them."

The Hornets brought in free agents Devin Brown and Sean Marks this summer, who could challenge Wright for minutes.

"This kind of reminds me of how my career has gone since high school -- the first year has always been promising before all the expectations come," Wright said. "I'm going to try to deliver what's expected. I'm trying to build off last year."

Hornets' owner George Shinn is not a gambler, but he monitors the Las Vegas odds that determine his team's chances of winning a championship.

After recently seeing 6-to-1 odds, Shinn is more eager for the season to start than he has been in a long time.

"Before we signed (free agent) James Posey, we had 12-to-1 odds to win the championship, which isn't bad," Shinn said. "After we signed him, it went to 6 to 1. I will take any day to be one of the top six."

The New Orleans Hornets are looking forward to going home after receiving reports that their training center survived both Hurricane Gustav and a reported tornado on Tuesday, according to Associated Press.

"We're happy the reports are all favorable on the practice site and look forward to resuming operations," said GM Jeff Bower. "We're happy to be moving forward with our role in the whole area."

Hurricane Gustav's presence on the Louisiana coast reminded many of Hurricane Katrina, but thankfully, the damage wasn't nearly as catastrophic.

"I think everybody had thoughts, and the thing that was helpful this time was the amount of time we all had to be prepared for whatever would come," Bower said. "We're thankful damages to the area are less than they could have been, and we hope everyone can get back on their feet easier than last time."

The Hornets didn't put any contingency plans in place as Hurricane Gustav approached New Orleans but appear to have gotten lucky as the storm hasn't been as bad as expected, according to The Times-Picayune.

They do not begin training camp until October, but the team shut down its operations so employees could make their evacuation plans on Friday night.

In 2005, the Hornets were forced to temporarily relocate to Oklahoma City after flooding resulting from Hurricane Katrina caused damages at the New Orleans Arena.