The New Orleans Hornets have agreed in principle to a trade that will send center Tyson Chandler to the Charlotte Bobcats for Emeka Okafor, signaling an unexpected shift in thinking that suggests New Orleans does plan to try to keep up with the contenders and spenders in the Western Conference.

   NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that the deal was nearly consummated Friday and that talks had advanced to the point that the swap is on course to be submitted to the league office for approval Tuesday, barring any unforeseen snags.

   Just days after star guard Chris Paul wondered aloud about the team’s relative inactivity this offseason at the NBA’s annual summer league in Las Vegas — “I’m not sure if we’re going to make any moves,” Paul told ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande — New Orleans stunned numerous league observers by moving ahead with a deal that will bring them limited savings next season and force them to take on three extra years of eight-figure salary commitments to Okafor.

   The Hornets initially dealt Chandler to Oklahoma City days before the league’s annual trading deadline in February for the then-expiring contracts of Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith, only for the Thunder to rescind the trade 24 hours later because of concerns about Chandler’s long-standing toe problems.

    The widespread belief around the league at the time and then during New Orleans’ subsequent discussions with Phoenix about swapping Chandler for the expiring contract of Ben Wallace — which Phoenix has since bought out — held that New Orleans was only interested in shedding Chandler’s contract in exchange for an expiring deal to create payroll relief.

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