Hornets owner George Shinn said Monday that the team will not cut corners as they aim to win a championship.

He used the acquisition of Emeka Okafor from the Bobcats as an example that the club isn't afraid to take on more salary.

New Orleans will save some money this year after landing Okafor for Tyson Chandler, but Okafor's contract runs much longer than that of Chandler.

"I think the moves we've made are very good," Shinn told the Times-Picayune on Monday. "I loved Tyson Chandler and his wife. But we have to make business decisions. And I just felt when the opportunity came for us to make the trade with Charlotte, that it made sense for us.

"I think in some way, it helped them. I think it helps us. We've got a guy who can score, a guy who can rebound and run, and he's never had the privilege of playing with a superstar like Chris Paul who'll make him better. The goal is to get better. I hope people will quit (grumbling) that we're cheap. The goal is to use good judgment in the business. Obviously, we'd like to be below the luxury tax. But we made the comment before if we can get below it and get better, that would be great. But if you can't, you don't shoot yourself in the foot and make yourself worse to get under the luxury cap.

"We've been committed all along to get better and we won't change that. We'll do everything we can to become a better basketball team because we want to get better every year."