New Orleans Hornets had orchestrated a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers

News broke last night that the New Orleans Hornets had orchestrated a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, picking up the seldom used Jerryd Bayless for a conditional first-round pick.

For more on the trade itself, head over and see NBA Examiner Jarrod Gillis.

The move is yet another trade in a long line of trades that Hornets' general manager Dell Demps has made since taking over the job this summer.

Looking at what was given up to obtain Bayless' services, it looks like Portland was able to stockpile another draft pick, save money and open up a roster spot in one fell swoop.

New Orleans, on the other hand, scoops up a fine replacement for blossoming point guard Darren Collison, who found himself an Indiana Pacer after being traded in a four-team deal that netted the Hornets Trevor Ariza.

According to CBSSports.com, in the Bayless trade:

Portland is set to receive is top-7 protected in 2011 and top-8 protected in 2012, 2013 and 2014. After that, it would turn into two second-round picks in 2015 and 2016. The Blazers also receive a trade exception worth nearly $2.3 million. Because the Blazers are currently luxury tax payers, the move saves the team roughly $4.6 million.

There is quite a good possibility that (if Chris Paul stays put) that the Trail Blazers end up with the two second-round picks in 2015 and 2016.

Despite a roster that many believed had peaked two seasons ago, the Hornets have a young and competitive group of players and All-Stars at key positions.

Staying healthy is obviously the key, but there is reason to be optimistic about the state of the New Orleans organization.

With All-Star guard Paul making his dissatisfaction known over the summer, Demps has turned a once dull off-season into something that people (CP3 included) can get excited about.

While there is reason for optimism, it is somewhat disconcerting that this is the third trade and fourth guard-related move that Demps has made since trading away the blossoming Collison to Indiana.

Shortly after the Collison deal, the Hornets signed D-League standout Mustafa Shakur, a move that was lauded at the time given Shakur's status as a potential breakout player (he has since been waived).

Next Demps traded rookie Craig Brackins, a 2010 first-round pick, in a deal that brought over combo-guard Willie Green.

“Willie is a combo-guard with versatility who can give us minutes at the back-up point guard spot and the shooting guard position,” said Demps after the deal went down.

Green has never averaged higher than 2.5 apg in any of his seven NBA seasons and holds a career average of just 1.7 apg.

Following the deal for Green, Demps made another curious move, trading a second-round pick to San Antonio for Curtis Jerrells, that further indicated that the team was not exactly thrilled with its backup point guard options.

Less than a week after the trade with the Spurs went down, Demps pulled the trigger on the Bayless trade.

With the addition of Bayless to the roster one can only hope, for Demps' sake, that the fourth time is a charm when finding a backup at the point.