The 2009 NBA Draft has given Hornet fans hope.

People, this was not a pretty picture a few months ago. Aside from Chris Paul, David West and Emeka Okafor (who is more or less a rebounding and defensive specialist), the Hornet roster just didn’t look appealing, full of holes and aging players. With no flexibility, contending seemed to be far away. Chris Paul’s eventual defection wasn’t hard to imagine.

Enter draftees Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton. Thornton’s 23-point second quarter at Cleveland (21 of those points came in a six-and-a-half-minute stretch!) had to shock even the most devoted LSU fanatics who saw him during a stellar senior year with the Tigers. Thirty-seven points against one of the better defensive teams in the league, and he did it from all over the court.

Collison, I thought, would be more of a sure bet to make it as a role player, but I never saw this scoring surge coming. He’s averaging almost 22 points and nine assists over the past month, elite numbers by any stretch.

When Paul comes back and joins these rapidly improving rookies, the Hornets will boast one of the NBA’s most lethal backcourts.

And all of a sudden, the team will have options this offseason. With contracts coming off the books, and a young, potential All-Star caliber point guard, a previously handcuffed Hornets team can be a mover and shaker.

For instance: if the Hornets offered Collison along with the expiring contract of Peja Stojakovic, it isn’t hard to imagine them finding a plus player at the small forward position.

For example: if the Caron Butler/Dirk Nowitski pairing in Dallas doesn’t net huge dividends, would the Mavericks be willing to deal away Butler to get their hands on Collison? How does a Okafor, West, Butler, Thornton, Paul lineup strike you for 2010-11? I love playing armchair GM.

Want to dream even more? Would a Collison/David West combo net the Hornets Chris Bosh in a sign and trade deal?

Wouldn’t a Bosh/Paul combo have the Bugs in the thick of the Western conference playoffs? Bosh has carried Toronto into the playoffs twice already with brutal supporting casts – simply adding a second playmaker in Hedo Turkoglu has Toronto jousting with a strong Atlanta team for home court advantage in a first round series.

Jeff Bower has options. If you have a top tier player — a true top tier, MVP level player — like a Chris Paul, it doesn’t take much to put a winner around him.

In August, this Hornets roster looked destined to recreate the Kevin Garnett Timberwolves, behind a great player good enough to keep his team above water, but never good enough to win big, never bad enough to cash in on high draft picks.

Now? There’s significant reason to hope.

That’s the great thing about sports. One night can make all the difference.

For the Hornets, it may have been a draft night that’s thus far delivered more than anyone could have wished. for.