Chris Paul remains the face of the Hornets -- for

NEW ORLEANS -- Chris Paul remains the face of the Hornets -- for now.Paul is not eligible for a contract extension until after July 9, by which time there could be a lockout preventing contract talks. But if a labor agreement is in place, Demps intends to reach out to Paul and is optimistic that the All-Star point guard's confidence in the franchise has at least been restored enough that he'll be willing to reopen negotiations. New Orleans Hornets Jerseys Before the hiring of head coach Monty Williams 11 months ago and the addition of Demps to the front office shortly after that, Paul publicly expressed interest in being traded if the Hornets failed to demonstrate an immediate commitment to contending for a title.Demps was flooded with trade offers, but he and Williams remained firmly committed to making Paul the centerpiece of the franchise. That vision remains unchanged, even though Paul, in essence, has only one more year remaining on his contract because he can opt out in 2012-13.
"He's made some comments to us that he's happy and he likes the direction that we're going," Demps said, "and we're happy with him and we want to just keep building an