Editing New Orleans Pelicans (section)

===2002–2005: the relocation and early years in New Orleans===
While the [[Charlotte Hornets]] put a competitive team on the court throughout the 1990s, the team's attendance began falling dramatically. Many attributed this lapse in popularity to the team's owner, [[George Shinn]], who was slowly becoming despised by the people of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/charhorn/charhornets.html |title=Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002) |publisher=SportsECyclopedia.com |date=February 28, 2015 |access-date=February 28, 2015 |archive-date=November 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102215321/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/charhorn/charhornets.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1997, a Charlotte woman claimed that Shinn had raped her, and the resulting trial severely tarnished his reputation in the city. The consensus was that while Charlotte was a basketball city, fans took out their anger at Shinn on the team. Shinn had also become discontented with the [[Charlotte Coliseum]], which had been considered state-of-the-art when it opened but had since been considered obsolete due to a limited number of luxury boxes. On March 26, 2001, both the Hornets and the [[Vancouver Grizzlies]] applied for relocation to [[Memphis, Tennessee]],<ref>{{cite web|title=CNNSI.com – NBA Basketball – Hornets to apply for relocation to Memphis – Monday March 26, 2001 05:47 PM |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2001/03/26/hornets_memphis_ap/ |publisher=SportsIllustrated.CNN.com |date=March 26, 2001 |access-date=December 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020208045826/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2001/03/26/hornets_memphis_ap/ |archive-date=February 8, 2002}}</ref> which was ultimately [[Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis|won by the Grizzlies]]. Shinn then issued an ultimatum that unless the city built a new arena at no cost to him, the Hornets would leave town. The city initially refused, leading Shinn to consider moving the team to either [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], or [[St. Louis]]. Of the cities in the running, only St. Louis had an NBA-ready arena, the [[Enterprise Center|Savvis Center]], already in place and was a larger media market than Charlotte at the time; also, it was the only one of the four to have previously hosted an NBA franchise—the [[St. Louis Hawks]], who moved to [[Atlanta]] in 1968.

Investigations into the [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball]] program uncovered information regarding a non-binding agreement made around this time period to move the Hornets to Louisville. At the time, Louisville officials were in the early stages of building a new arena. A group of businessmen and politicians from Louisville signed a non-binding agreement with the Hornets to move the team to Louisville, as long as they built a new arena downtown. Louisville officials were in the early planning process of building what would be the [[KFC Yum! Center]]. Louisville officials were eager to bring the NBA team to Louisville, whose last professional basketball team was the ABAs [[Kentucky Colonels]]. However, Louisville Basketball's newly hired head coach [[Rick Pitino]] and athletic director [[Tom Jurich]] were publicly opposed to the idea of bringing a professional sports team to Louisville, which led to the deal falling through.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-14 |title=Report: Hornets had agreement to move to Louisville, but Rick Pitino blocked the plan |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/report-hornets-had-agreement-to-move-to-louisville-but-rick-pitino-blocked-the-plan/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=CBSSports.com}}</ref> [[David Stern]] recalled thinking "If Rick Pitino doesn't want us there, why would we go?".<ref>{{Cite news |title=College Basketball Made Louisville, Then Broke It |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-13/college-basketball-made-louisville-then-broke-it |access-date=2025-01-16 |work=Bloomberg.com |date=2017-12-13}}</ref>

Finally, a new arena in [[Charlotte center city|Uptown]], which would eventually become the [[Spectrum Center (arena)|Spectrum Center]], was included in a non-binding referendum for a larger arts-related package, and Shinn withdrew his application to move the team. Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage. However, just days before the referendum, Mayor [[Pat McCrory]] vetoed a [[living wage]] ordinance. The veto prompted many of the city's African American ministers to oppose the referendum; they felt it was immoral for the city to build a new arena when city employees were not paid enough to make a living.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boykin |first1=Sam |title=Other stories of note this year included "World Class City, Third World Paycheck" |url=https://clclt.com/charlotte/other-stories-of-note-this-year-included-world-class-city-third-world-paycheck/Content?oid=2347517&showFullText=true |website=Creative Loafing Charlotte |access-date=November 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129222543/https://clclt.com/charlotte/other-stories-of-note-this-year-included-world-class-city-third-world-paycheck/Content?oid=2347517&showFullText=true |archive-date=November 29, 2019 |date=December 29, 2001}}</ref> After the referendum failed, city leaders devised a plan to build a new arena in a way that did not require voter support, but made it known that they would not even consider building it unless Shinn sold the team. While even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, league officials felt such a demand would anger other owners as it could set a precedent.<ref>{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=1334984&type=news |title=ESPN.com – Council willing to amend 'new owner' statement |publisher=ESPN.Go.com |date=February 16, 2002 |access-date=January 9, 2014 |archive-date=March 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330074205/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1334984&type=news |url-status=live}}</ref> The city council refused to remove the statement, leading the Hornets to request a move to New Orleans—a move which would eventually return the NBA to that city for the first time since the [[Utah Jazz|Jazz]] moved to [[Salt Lake City]] in 1979. Before the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA approved the move. As part of a deal, the NBA promised that Charlotte would get a new team, which took the court two years later as the [[Charlotte Hornets#2004–2014: Charlotte Bobcats|Charlotte Bobcats]].

In a 2008 interview with ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'', Shinn, who has not returned to Charlotte since the Hornets moved, admitted that the "bad judgment I made in my life" played a role in the Hornets' departure. He also said that if he had it to do all over again, he would not have withdrawn from the public after the sexual assault trial. Shinn emphasized how he was making amends by committing to New Orleans saying, "I've made enough mistakes in my life. I'm not going to make one here. This city needs us here. We're going to make this (New Orleans) thing work."<ref>{{cite news|last = Green|first =Ron Jr|url =http://www.charlotteobserver.com/502/story/294986.html |title = Shinn: I messed up in Charlotte|date = November 1, 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909140222/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/502/story/294986.html |archive-date=September 9, 2012 |work = The Charlotte Observer}}</ref>

The Hornets opened [[2002–03 New Orleans Hornets season|their inaugural season]] in New Orleans on October 30, 2002, against New Orleans' original NBA franchise, the [[Utah Jazz]]. In the first regular season NBA game played in New Orleans in over 17 years,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014103.html |title=ESPN.com: Eye for victory |publisher=ESPN.Go.com |access-date=January 9, 2014 |archive-date=November 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127175835/http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014103.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the Hornets defeated the Jazz 100–75, and posthumously retired #7 of [[Pete Maravich|"Pistol" Pete Maravich]] during halftime. The Hornets finished the season with a 47–35 record but were defeated by the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] in the First Round of the [[2003 NBA playoffs|2003 playoffs]]. Following the season, the team unexpectedly fired head coach [[Paul Silas]] and replaced him with [[Tim Floyd]]. The Hornets began the [[2003–04 NBA season|2003–04 season]] strong with a 17–7 start but sputtered at the end and finished 41–41. They lost to the [[Miami Heat]] in the First Round of the [[2004 NBA playoffs|2004 playoffs]]. After the season, Floyd was fired and the team hired [[Byron Scott]] as its new head coach.

During the first two seasons in New Orleans, the Hornets competed in the NBA's [[Eastern Conference (NBA)|Eastern Conference]]. The [[2004–05 NBA season|2004–05 season]] saw the team move to the [[Western Conference (NBA)|Western Conference]]'s [[Southwest Division (NBA)|Southwest Division]] to even the number of teams in each conference after the Charlotte Bobcats started play in their inaugural season of that same year. In a season marred by injuries to the team's three all-stars, the team finished the year with a franchise-worst record of 18–64.