Before Boston had the good sense/fortune before last season to trade for 12-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, who had lifted Minnesota into the playoffs eight times and was chosen NBA MVP in 2004, the Celtics hadn't won an NBA title since 1986.

Today, without an injured Garnett but perhaps partially because of his presence and passion, Boston is one victory from playing in the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive year.

Blockbuster deals, they were, to push the Nuggets and Celtics over the top.

The Hornets , viewed from this angle, don't need to bust a block to get significantly better next season. They don't need an NBA Finals or regular-season MVP to be added to the mix.

They just require a couple of complementary pieces with which the franchise is familiar.

As soon as allowable, the Hornets should be wooing Jannero Pargo and Brandon Bass, trying to get them back on the roster and telling them they'll be centerpieces of a second unit -- and sometimes, important pieces of the starting lineup -- that will give New Orleans the depth, flexibility and athleticism to fight back against the bullies of the Western Conference.

Pargo is done with his reported one-year, $3.5 million deal to play in Russia. The guess here is he wants to return to the NBA to play against the best players in the world, and no better playing situation for him exists than in New Orleans, where he had the green light and blossomed into an important bench contributor.

Bass, too, is a free agent, eligible to sign with any team. The Hornets desperately need a post player like him -- young, athletic, willing to dunk on any player in the vicinity, capable of producing a double-double without much more than a play or two called for him. If his previous two-year stint with the Hornets , who drafted him in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, wasn't so distasteful that he is permanently scarred -- and Coach Byron Scott readily admits mistakes were made with his handling and development of the former LSU star -- then maybe the prospect of playing with Chris Paul will appeal enough to Bass to return.

That, and the right dollar amount, of course.

The dollar amount shouldn't be the problem.

The Hornets have enough unrestricted free agents of their own (Sean Marks, Devin Brown, Melvin Ely and Ryan Bowen) that they should be able to piece together competitive contract offers to Pargo and Bass. And team president Hugh Weber said the franchise will be willing to pay the looming NBA luxury tax -- a dollar-for-dollar penalty a team must pay the league if it is over the salary cap, which Weber said won't be imposed until after next season -- if it means fielding a championship-caliber team.

Well, Pargo and Bass will get the Hornets a lot closer to that goal than they are presently.

The underestimation of their departures goes beyond the franchise. Yours truly also thought New Orleans would be just fine without Pargo, who has proven to be the only reserve reliable enough to give Paul a decent breather during a game, and Bass, who was struggling to pick up the offensive system.

That flawed thinking blared its own inaccuracy this season.

That's not to say the Hornets would've beaten Denver in the first round with Pargo and Bass; the Nuggets look good enough to advance to the NBA Finals, even look good enough to win the title. But the guess here is the dimensions added by Pargo and Bass would've guaranteed the Hornets wouldn't have been a No. 7 seed, and that they'd have been a lot more competitive against Denver or anyone else.

Those dimensions would've been pluses then, and they'll be pluses now. And the reacquiring of Pargo and Bass wouldn't require breaking apart the Hornets' core or getting rid of anyone crucial -- if, that is, the franchise is as willing to pay as it says it is.

Busting blocks wouldn't be necessary for the Hornets to upgrade significantly. Just getting back to complementary pieces that they let get away.

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John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.