After a recent workout, Hornets coach Paul Silas kept his team on the floor until all 14 players made free throws in succession. Ten minutes went by. Then 20. Then 25. By the time guard Baron Davis clanked one off the back of the rim, the drill had taken on the look of a Snickers commercial. You know: "Not going anywhere for a while?"

Silas calls it the ultimate team-building drill. And it's hard to argue with his results. Amid the nasty bickering associated with the Hornets' proposed move to New Orleans, the players are still getting along. That's so even at center, where Silas is managing a transition from Elden Campbell to second-year man Jamaal Magloire while trying to drive through a weak East to the Finals.

"They can't guard you, Big Monsta," Magloire chirps frequently from the Hornets bench. Magloire was the 19th pick in last year's draft, and he's advancing faster than expected. When Campbell missed five games earlier this month because of a pulled hamstring and the death of his father, Magloire averaged 8.2 boards and 16.4 points on 67% shooting. That left Silas to consider -- albeit temporarily -- starting him full-time.

Both centers are soft-spoken, enigmatic types, separated by 10 years in age (Campbell is 33, Magloire 23) but not much else. Campbell stops walk-throughs in practice to ask questions, a trait Magloire now mimics. They exchange tips as they pass each other at the scorer's table, and spend time after practice going over opponents' tendencies.

A cynic might say Campbell, whose intensity has been questioned throughout his 12-year career, doesn't care enough to protest lost minutes. Not fair. If, as has been speculated, the Hornets move him this off-season, give Elden credit for playing well -- and unselfishly -- in transition.

This article appears in the April 29 issue of ESPN The Magazine.