Hornets point guard Chris Paul is making progress since having surgery to remove a partially torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee on Feb. 4.

"Progress is being made," general manager Jeff Bower said.

"To what extent, it has to just continue. The initial outlook was four to six weeks because nobody knows the rate of progress from stage to stage. We don't have a crystal ball. We just have to take it day by day."

Paul hasn't played since Jan. 30 and is averaging 20.4 points, 11.2 assists and 2.3 steals this season.

Hornets rookie Marcus Thornton set a franchise record with 23 points in the second quarter of the team's loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Thornton made his first five shots and 10-of-13 in the quarter as New Orleans scored 40 points.

Peja Stojakovic previously held the mark by scoring 22 in the first quarter against Charlotte on Nov. 14, 2007.

Thornton, a second-round pick out of LSU, finished with a career-high 37 points.

NBA commissioner David Stern says that New Orleans wants to host another All-Star Game in the near future.

Whether or not the Hornets are able to host another All-Star weekend might be contingent on the team signing a new lease extension with Louisiana before their current deal expires in 2014.

Franchise officials want the game to return in 2014, but Stern hasn't declared the city as a frontrunner yet.

"We have a lot of teams making investments in their buildings and they would like to have us," Stern said.

Hornets point guard Chris Paul says that his left knee injury could help the team in the long run.

"Me being out, this may be a blessing in disguise," said Paul. "Some people may say, 'What in the world does that mean?' But I think it gives other guys a lot of confidence right now. Hopefully when I come back ... we can make a push at this playoff run."

Paul had surgery to repair a meniscus tear last Thursday.

New Orleans is 3-4 in their seven games without their All-Star point guard.

"I definitely didn't want this to happen, but if it happened, this is a good time because we do get ... a few more days to try to get back," said Paul of the All-Star break.

"I'm just happy that the surgery went well. Rehab is going great and now I can at least travel with the team and go see games."

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed free agent guard Jason Hart to a 10-day contract.

?Jason is a solid veteran basketball player that will add depth to our backcourt,? said Hornets General Manager and Head Coach Jeff Bower.

Hart (6-3, 180) has career averages of 4.8 points, 2.3 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 steals over 337 games with eight different NBA teams (Milwaukee, San Antonio, Charlotte, Sacramento, L.A. Clippers, Utah, Denver, Minnesota).

The Syracuse alum was recently traded from the Timberwolves to the Suns on December 29, 2009 for Alando Tucker, a second-round pick in 2010 and cash before being waived by the Suns.

Jeff Bower said the Hornets are not considering signing a free-agent point guard to a 10-day contract, despite having Darren Collison as the only point guard on the roster.

Reserve Bobby Brown was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers to reduce the payroll to get under the $69.9 luxury-tax threshold.

"We will have to redefine how we play in certain areas and play to the strengths of our players that we have out on the floor," Bower said. "We have some different things we have worked on, and we will continue to move forward."

Hornets point guard Chris Paul will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team has announced.

Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery on Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in Paul's left knee.

"We are anticipating a very successful process," Hornets coach and general manager Jeff Bower said Wednesday.

"We look forward to his return to action at some point later on. The time frame will be determined after the surgery. I won't speculate on that."

Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.

Billups will be making his fifth All-Star appearance.

Paul is dealing with a knee injury.

Hornets coach/general manager Jeff Bower has denied reports that there is a definite timetable for the return of point guard Chris Paul.

Paul is currently out indefinitely with a left knee injury.

An MRI on Monday revealed more damage that just a bruise, but Bower denied reports that his All-Star had a meniscus tear and would miss at least a month.

Sources close to the team could ESPN.com on Sunday that Paul tore cartilage and will be forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery.

"We're in fact-finding stages right now, gathering as much information as possible for decisions to be made to take the next steps," Bower said.

"It is likely there will be a surgical solution for it. We don't have a timetable [for Paul's return] right now, nor do we know a surgical procedure right now."

Hornets point guard Chris Paul will undergo arthroscopic surgery for a cartilage tear in his left knee on Monday and could miss one to two months, sources close to Paul told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday night.

Paul injured the knee in the final moments of regulation in a loss to the Bulls on Friday. Paul was injured after he fell into a photographer on the baseline after trying to catch an errant inbounds pass from Hornets forward David West. Paul came up limping after the play, which led to the Bulls tying the game with .2 seconds left.