For pure drama on a dozen different levels, the Charlotte Hornets could offer more than even the most gargantuan multiplex movie theater this summer. It’s Any Given Sunday meets Major League mixed with a little The Color of Money and The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, garnished by a Smokey and the Bandit cameo.

Imagine: with the Hornets getting healthy just as the rest of the Eastern Conference heads for the injured list, they are a legitimate threat to be its representative/fodder in the NBA Finals. Which means they could battle for a championship even as the league quietly pressures the current team ownership to sell and end attempts to move the franchise out of Charlotte.

Picture superstar-in-the-making Baron Davis making a game-winning shot over Derek Fisher to prevent a sweep and then announcing that if current ownership doesn’t sell, he’s opting for free agency after next season. Or current owners Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn discovered in disguises listening to Game 1 on their car radio in the Charlotte Coliseum parking lot, rather than risk having their luxury suite stormed. Or coach Paul Silas walking out at halftime after announcing that if Shinnridge are so enamored with telestrator czar Mike Fratello (as has been widely rumored), they can have him coach the second half.

Truth is, the events currently taking place are almost as entertaining. The issue of the Hornets’ future home could be decided by April 3, which is when New Orleans has to pony up nearly 1,200 more premium-seat season-ticket receipts, as well as additional sponsorship contracts and more solid luxury-suite commitments. Big Easy civic leaders took in stride the NBA setting the financial bar higher with a shorter-than-expected time period to fulfill it, but they had no choice -- reacting with skepticism wouldn’t have helped them meet those goals. Rest assured that it’s going to be very easy for the league to scrutinize whatever financial backing New Orleans provides and decide it isn’t good enough.

What I’ve been told, and what all back-channel indicators point toward, is that commissioner David Stern hopes to persuade current owners Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn to sell by leaving them no choice but to return to Charlotte, which they’ve vowed not to do. Take all the league posturing about Charlotte’s civic bunglings to date as simply leverage to make certain the city fathers don’t get stingy with the Hornets’ next ownership should a sale go through.

What has been a major drag all season -- having no homecourt advantage with Clippers-of-old-sized crowds -- should work to their favor in the postseason. No one is more road-toughened, as reflected by their conference-best 20-15 away record, and you have to believe that playoff games will boost attendance despite the lingering animosity toward Shinnridge.

The Hornets are currently seeded seventh, which matches them in the first round with a Pistons team that has beaten them three out of four times this season -- but don’t pay that much mind. Upsetting the Pistons the way they did the Heat last year would be just one more delicious postseason storyline for a Hornets team that could be chock-full of them.

And after what the players and Silas have endured this season, wouldn’t you say it’s deserved?

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.