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NBA EUROPE LIVE TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 27, 2008

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon and welcome to the conference call announcing NBA Europe Live 2008 presented by EA Sports. Today we're joined by Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic of the New Orleans Hornets.
The Hornets will be taking on the Washington Wizards in Berlin and Barcelona during Europe Live 2008 this fall. We will begin with opening statements from both Chris and Peja, and then we will open the call for questions from the media. We would like to start with Chris for a brief opening statement.
CHRIS PAUL: On behalf of myself and my teammates and the Hornets organization, we're extremely excited to be a part of the NBA Europe Live '08. We watched it a lot this past preseason, and as a team we felt like we would really enjoy getting the opportunity to go overseas and bond and enjoy that experience.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Chris. Peja, opening statements from you?
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: I just want to say hello to all of my European fellows over there, and same thing like Chris said, very excited to go back to Europe for the first time with an NBA team, and just looking forward to playing a couple of games, see some friendly faces and enjoy ourselves.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Peja. We will open the call to the first question.

Q. Hi, question for Chris: Chris, has your team's success this season surprised you? I think it's taken a lot of people by surprise the fact that you're No. 1 seed at the moment. Or did you guys come in thinking you could make an impact?
CHRIS PAUL: We definitely felt like we could make this sort of impact. Last year we missed the playoffs by two games; my rookie year by one game. The biggest issue with those two seasons was health, so this year we were fortunate enough to have everyone somewhat healthy, and we're really playing well together, and that's why we've been so successful.

Q. Peja, there is a lot of talk about possibly having European franchises in the near future. I think the commissioner said maybe within 10 years there will be a European division. Is that something you would welcome as a European? And is it a practical proposition? Do you think it would work? And do you think you will still be around to play in it?
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: You say in 10 years?

Q. Yeah.
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: Maybe a spectator, but I think it's a great idea. How practical, I think that's the main issue. But as far as teams in Europe, I think they are capable of being NBA franchise and being part of the NBA league. So something like that, I would welcome very much, and it would be a great chance for people around Europe to see the NBA a lot more closer.

Q. Along those lines are you looking forward to coming back to Europe in October? You don't get many chances to play back in Europe, so does this mean more to you than the other guys?
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: It does. I don't have to travel back and forth, I can just join the team in Europe and see them in Germany and Spain. I haven't played in Europe since I stopped playing for the national team in 2003, so it's a great opportunity for me to see some of my close friends around Europe that I played against, when I played in Europe, and just enjoy myself. A lot more exciting to show my teammates around and just enjoy ourselves.

Q. Chris, a question about the West: Everyone knows how competitive it is and you can see, what, six, seven games separating nine teams out there. Can you talk about the pressure of playing night-in and night-out when it's that tight in the conference and whether that would be good for you going to the playoffs, or whether you'll be exhausted from the regular season when you get to the playoffs.
CHRIS PAUL: I think it makes it exciting. Every night when we step out on the floor, we know how big of a game it is. You can't get caught up in looking at the standings, because unless we go undefeated, it will probably change three or four times before the last game. All we can do is just try to, you know, approach every game like it's our last. And if we do lose a game or two we can't lose our focus.

Q. Hi, this is a question for either or both players: Can you talk a little bit about how competitive the Western Conference race has been so far with only a few weeks to go in the season.
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: Chris, you want to answer that?
CHRIS PAUL: It's crazy to tell you the truth. Peja will tell you after every game we pretty much check to see how the other games went throughout the league, and the craziest thing is that the Western Conference is so close but it makes it interesting when, you know, Golden State has to play against the Lakers or Dallas has to play against Utah because at the end of the day one team has to lose.
So I've never seen anything like it, but it's like the playoffs have already started.

Q. Question for both of you: You have been playing extremely well and now you're holding the No. 1 spot, but there are people who say you don't have enough experience for the playoffs. What do you say to them?
CHRIS PAUL: The only way you can gain a chance is to get there. In our starting five I'm the least experienced player that we have. That's the situation we're in, and I feel good about our situation because Peja has been in every situation, Tyson has been in the playoffs, David West has been in the playoffs, so has Morris Peterson. I'm the only one on our team in the starting five that hasn't.

Q. I'm just wondering, I don't know if the question has been asked before, but what are your thoughts on the expansion into Europe, but specifically if you were asked to play for a team in a European city how would you feel about that? Is that something that you would like?
CHRIS PAUL: Peja?
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: I did answer that question previously, but I would welcome that idea, because I played in Europe and I really recognize some of those teams in Europe. They have facilities and they have financial support to have NBA franchise, so it would be a great idea.

Q. Peja, just asking about international basketball because the GB national team has been going for a couple of years now, ahead of 2012 when the Olympics are going to be in London, and from scratch we have a pretty good team; a couple of guys we want to get involved. Can you talk about the effect an international team can have on a country and what impact you see the Olympics having on basketball in Great Britain.
PEJA STOJAKOVIC: Coming from a small country, I know how huge of an impact a national team can have on a country, just helping the younger kids looking forward to the games and having a dream playing for their country. I do know great Britain has an up and coming good national team, and Luol Deng has committed to play, and I also do know a couple of owners, they own the teams in London and they're trying to help develop basketball in England.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you all. We appreciate the media joining the call. Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic thank you for your time.

End of FastScripts

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