2003/04: In their second season under new Coach Tim Floyd the Hornets got off to a string start despite missing Jamal Mashburn for the first 44 games, as they won 9 of their first 12 games. The Hornets continued to play good ball for most of the first half as they held a 20-12 record at the end of December. However as the New Year began the Hornets began to struggle as they posted a losing record in January and only managed to play .500 ball in February. The Hornets struggles would take a turn for the worse in March as Mashburn who played in just 19 games was reinjured while the Hornets won just 5 of 16 games. The Hornets would rebound in April winning 4 of 7 as they made the playoffs, while finishing in 3rd place with a 41-41 record. In the playoffs the Hornets would face the Miami Heat, where they would find themselves in an early hole losing the first 2 games on the road. However as the series shifted to New Orleans the Hornets would rebound winning both led by the strong play of Baron Davis. After losing Game 5 in Miami the Hornets again won at home to send the series to a 7th game. However the trend continued with the home team winning every game as the Heat advanced to the 2nd round with an 85-77 win. Following the season the Hornets would make another change at the top as Tim Floyd was fired after just one season as coach being replaced by Byron Scott, as the Hornets were relocated to the Southwest Division in the Western Conference as the NBA realigned.
2004/05: As the Hornets moved to the Southwest Division in the Western Conference they had a Coach Byron Scott at the helm, but were already hurting as Jamal Mashburn was out for the whole season, and possibly leaning toward retirement. To say the Hornets got off to a slow start would be an understatement as they lost their first 8 games on the way to a horrendous 1-19 start topped with a loss to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. The losing would continue well into January as they were 3-29 on January 8th. The Hornets would not be as bad the rest of the way as they retooled their roster trading Baron Davis to the Golden State Warriors for Speedy Claxton, while giving young players like Rookie J.R. Smith loads of playing time, as they ended the season in last place with a 18-64 record.