Emeka Okafor didn't need to wait for his first game alongside All-Stars Chris Paul and David West to realize things were going to be different in New Orleans.

His first dinner with Hornets executives at one of Emeril Lagasse's downtown restaurants did the trick.

"I actually had rabbit gumbo," Okafor said Tuesday afternoon, when the Hornets formally introduced him as their new starting center. "I wasn't aware I even like rabbit, so there you go."

Even though Okafor wasn't looking for a new start, he figured change could be good for him at this point in his NBA career. He became a Hornet a week ago, when his first and only other team, the Charlotte Bobcats, traded him for center Tyson Chandler.

"I'm a very loyal person, so whatever situation I'm in, I'm for that cause," Okafor said. "So I wasn't in Charlotte hoping to get out. I was in Charlotte hoping to make it to the playoffs and elevate the organization to higher levels.

"Circumstances changed. I'm a Hornet. I'm happy to be a Hornet. Now that the circumstances have changed, the goals have changed."

- Associated Press