They started accepting season-ticket orders in New Orleans this week. It's a bit presumptuous. The move of the Charlotte Hornets is far from a done deal. Even if everything else falls into place, it can be blocked by a simple majority of NBA owners in April, and there are plenty of reasons to believe they would rather have the Hornets in Charlotte than New Orleans.

By any conventional measurement, Charlotte is a better place to be. It ranks 27th as a television market. New Orleans is 43rd. Charlotte's median household income is $51,000 compared to New Orleans' $38,800. Both of those gaps are huge.

The NBA has failed in New Orleans before. You didn't really think the nickname "Jazz" was created in Utah, did you? The Jazz moved out of New Orleans in 1979.

The NFL's Saints are already in New Orleans, and the NBA has a recent history of preferring markets where its franchise is the only game in town.

All of these issues raise doubts over whether New Orleans will be able to support an NBA team over the long haul. Charlotte has already proven that under the right circumstances, it can lead the league in attendance.

There are other reasons.

George Shinn and Ray Woolridge, the owners of the Hornets, are not popular among their fellow owners. Shinn, in fact, has been an embarrassment to the league. Both men are blamed for alienating fans from what was a boom situation only five years ago.

Commissioner David Stern is probably looking for a way to get Shinn and Woolridge out of the league and keep Charlotte in it.

This is a tale of more than two cities. More is at stake here.

After going 16 years without a franchise transfer (the Kings moved from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985), the NBA allowed the Grizzlies to move from Vancouver to Memphis last year. Another carpetbagging move, at a time when the league's attendance and TV ratings are struggling, would do nothing to boost the league's public image.

This will all be watched closely in Orlando where the Magic are up sale.

One of the major elements in raising the money to draw the Hornets to New Orleans will be shifting some money from the New Orleans-area hotel-motel tax. It was the refusal of Orange County to tap into a similar tourist-based revenue stream that doomed Magic ownership's efforts in Orlando.

Meanwhile, the fans of New Orleans are being asked to step forward with their cash. The Hornets want commitments on at least 54 luxury suites (which run from $75,000 a year to $140,000) and 2,450 club seats (from $3,870 to $5,375) by March 15. If they don't get them, they can back out.

But that's not likely, since Shinn and Woolridge have burned their bridges back to Charlotte.

TOP 10

1. L.A. Lakers; 2. Sacramento; 3. Minnesota; 4. Dallas; 5. San Antonio; 6. Milwaukee; 7. New Jersey; 8. Portland; 9. Boston; 10. Toronto.