ESPN's Chad Ford Grades NBA Offseason Moves

[BigSlam]

14. Charlotte Bobcats

Key additions: Tyrus Thomas (re-signed), Kwame Brown (FA), Shaun Livingston (FA), Erick Dampier (trade), Michael Jordan (owner)

Key subtractions: Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, Robert Johnson

In our Future Power Rankings , John Hollinger and I ranked the Bobcats dead last. Put the emphasis on "dead." We felt that the Bobcats had almost twice as dismal a future as the 29th-ranked Timberwolves. Why? Summers like these.

Bob Johnson sold the team to Michael Jordan. That's fine. But Jordan doesn't have the cash to maintain a high-payroll team, which put the Bobcats in cap-slashing mode all summer. The team let their starting point guard (Felton) bolt to the Knicks and traded away Chandler for Dampier's non-guaranteed contract. The Bobcats saved a lot of money, but are they getting any better? They replaced Felton and Chandler with Shaun Livingston and Kwame Brown.

The Bobcats hope Larry Brown can get young players like Thomas and D.J. Augustin to live up to their potential while motivating veterans like Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw to continue to perform. I'm pretty skeptical.

Grade: D

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/ ... ast-100914

[SWedd523]

lol

DJ+Livingston > Felton
Tyson didn't play so: anything > him


Tyrus gets a year to learn under LB
Jack gets an entire year on our roster with added benefit of being familiar with the rest of the guys
Development of Hendo, Brown, and DJ
Another year of LB rounding out Crash's skill set (added the corner three last year, look for his range to continue improving)


I'd say we're fine. But whatev'

[BigSlam]

This part stuck out to me:

They replaced Felton and Chandler with Shaun Livingston and Kwame Brown

If you look at it that way - if Livingston can live up to his play over the final month or two of last season he'll be as good as Felton was. If Kwame can provide the P&R defense, boxing out, rebounding and energy off the bench that TC provided and manage to play 51 games or more then:

TC @ $12.6 mil + Felts @ $7.5 mil = $21 mill while Kwame @ $850k + Livingston @ $3.5 mil = $4.3 mil

So if we can get the same or similar production at $4.3 mil as we would have at $21 mil, how can anyone claim this as anything other that a very impressive off season - especially when you also add the fact that MJ >>>>>>>>>>>> Top Bob as our owner?

[BigSlam]

Snap SWeed!

[ohara]

You know, I have not the slightest clue on what to expect from the Cats. I mean, I see the reasons for people to be pessimistic and also the reasons for some optimism. I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall every time I stop to think about the upcoming season!

[tugs]

lol

DJ+Livingston > Felton
Tyson didn't play so: anything > him


Tyrus gets a year to learn under LB
Jack gets an entire year on our roster with added benefit of being familiar with the rest of the guys
Development of Hendo, Brown, and DJ
Another year of LB rounding out Crash's skill set (added the corner three last year, look for his range to continue improving)


I'd say we're fine. But whatev'

exactly. plus,

If you look at it that way - if Livingston can live up to his play over
the final month or two of last season he'll be as good as Felton was.
If Kwame can provide the P&R defense, boxing out, rebounding and
energy off the bench that TC provided and manage to play 51 games or
more then:

TC @ $12.6 mil + Felts @ $7.5 mil = $21 mill while Kwame @ $850k + Livingston @ $3.5 mil = $4.3 mil

So if we can get the same or similar production at $4.3 mil as we would have at $21 mil, how can anyone claim this as anything other that a very impressive off season - especially when you also add the fact that MJ >>>>>>>>>>>> Top Bob as our owner?

what made these off season moves look bad is that people fail to see these comparisons.

all they see is the household name players leaving and being replaced with a center and point guard (who actually have a lot of upside)that became a bust because of mishandling and the latter had a busted knee.

[Paydro70]

...you guys are crazy. I think Tyson was terrible for us, just awful... but even this season he was considerably better than Kwame Brown. Chandler played 51? Big deal, Kwame played 48, and 58 the year before. He's plenty injury-prone himself.

It's a huge "if" for Livingston to be as good as Felton was last year. Even if he plays as well as he did for the Wizards for an entire 82 game season it's only arguable whether he is as good as Felton was (he was better scoring, but he didn't rebound, pass, or protect the ball as well as Felton).

I think there's ample reason to believe we are a worse team than last year, and while our payroll for this year is lower, our situation hasn't changed at all long-term (it's worse, actually, because of Carroll and Najera). If both things pan out (Kwame = Tyson and Livingston = Felton), we'd be the same as last year (barring improvement from the youngsters which isn't part of "offseason moves"), which would be a "C." A "D" hardly seems a stretch.

The only major plus is the ownership change, and we've started to see it pay dividends in terms of team income... but not financial flexibility or on-the-court product.

[ElCapitan01Jax]

None of these guys are really that important like Kwame and Livingston.Yeah they are rotational guys but are they really gona play more than 20 minutes a night other than a few select times?

[BigSlam]

If both things pan out (Kwame = Tyson and Livingston = Felton), we'd be the same as last year

Except we'd be getting the same production at a fraction of the cost.

[Paydro70]

If both things pan out (Kwame = Tyson and Livingston = Felton), we'd be the same as last year

Except we'd be getting the same production at a fraction of the cost.

But that cost doesn't matter except to MJ's bottom line. It doesn't improve our future or our present.

[BigSlam]

If both things pan out (Kwame = Tyson and Livingston = Felton), we'd be the same as last year

Except we'd be getting the same production at a fraction of the cost.

But that cost doesn't matter except to MJ's bottom line. It doesn't improve our future or our present.

Of course it does. It provides us the financial flexibility to sign our own players and other FA's.

[Paydro70]

But that cost doesn't matter except to MJ's bottom line. It doesn't improve our future or our present.

Of course it does. It provides us the financial flexibility to sign our own players and other FA's.

What "own players" do you mean? Tyrus? We knew from the jump that one of he or Felton would have to go if we were to stay under the luxury tax, and lo and behold, one of them went. Our only FAs are vet mins and Felton's replacement, who we can only hope is going to be as good as him.

If you mean for next year, then I really don't understand, because keeping Tyson would have the same effect. In fact MJ actually made it worse next year because of Carroll and Najera's contracts.

[Marvel]

I'm surprised we didn't get an F,seriously.You guys are making judgements based on "ifs' and "maybes".And to think Kwame will replace TC as a serviceable replacement is a flippin joke.I hated TC but i know the difference between a rotten apple and a ripe one.The only saving grace for us this off season was re signing TT,but that was negated by letting Felton walk for nothing,the TC trade,we still got Doris,taking a gamble on Livingston(i love the guy but still,coming off a horrific knee injury and only a good half a season with the Wiz, i can understand the pessimism),and signing Kwame.Not to mention, we're going into the season startring with a 3rd year pg( i believe in DJ and i hope he becomes our pg of the future,but still that's another "if"), whose trying to rebound from an unforgettable season.
My grading would be an F.

[BigSlam]

But that cost doesn't matter except to MJ's bottom line. It doesn't improve our future or our present.

Of course it does. It provides us the financial flexibility to sign our own players and other FA's.

What "own players" do you mean? Tyrus? We knew from the jump that one of he or Felton would have to go if we were to stay under the luxury tax, and lo and behold, one of them went. Our only FAs are vet mins and Felton's replacement, who we can only hope is going to be as good as him.

Because of the bogus contracts we are carrying from past mistakes we were unable to sign Tyrus and Felton if we wanted to so we were forced to let one of them walk and then forced to do what we did with the Dust chip. So for me, there are two components to this equation.

1. The drop in immediate salary impacted by replacing Felton with Livingston and Chandler with Brown along with waiving Damp immediately creates approx 5 mil in cap space that we can still use if we so wish.

2. If there will really be that much of a drop off in production between the players leaving and the players replacing them. Even if there is, I doubt the drop off would equate to a $17 million dollar difference.

It's not just for the now either, I'm talking about a long term philosophy. One that is better than the overpaying way we have been applying. This franchise needs a culture change when it comes to how we use our cap space and I hope this is the start of it.

[Paydro70]

We don't have 5 mil in cap space... we have 5 mil below the luxury tax line. That can only be tapped into through trade, and thus is not useful at all for FAs or to resign our own players.

Even if they equate in production, that salary space is completely meaningless to the fan. It's great if MJ saves money, especially if it means the long-term prospects of the franchise is improved, but it really has no impact on our cap situation OR our immediate flexibility.

I don't see how our culture of overpaying is improved when we pick up Carroll for 12m over the next 3 years and Najera for 6m for 2. Next year we will have more, not less, on the books than we did before the off-season, even ignoring Tyrus' new deal.

[dmutombo321]

^ Well stated Payrdo. And everything you just outlined is what Bonnell seems to gloss over in his blog.

He talks at length about how cutting Dampeir was a necessary cost savings move, which it was. But as soon as astute readers look at the numbers openingly questioning why they traded TC/Ajinca for DUST/Carroll/Naraja in the first place, Bonnell ignores the question.

"Rick,

I think most people understand why it was necessary at this point to waive Dampier to avoid the Luxury Tax since they couldn’t find a workable deal.

What everyone is perplexed about is the bigger picture; namely why Charlotte needlessly dealt for Dampier/Najara/Carroll in the first place.

The Luxury Tax threshold they are justifiably trying to avoid is $70.3 million.

Prior to trading Chandler and Ajinca for Damp/Najara/Carroll, the roster was as follows:

Chandler: $12.75 mil
Wallace: 9.86
Diaw: 9
Jackson: 8.45
Nazr: 6.883
Tyrus: 6.612
Diop: 6.479
DJ: 2.54
Henderson: 2.104
D. Brown: .9
Ajinca: 1.467

Total Payroll = ~$67.045 mil

Had they not picked up Ajinca’s option last season (they basically traded him for nothing anyway), total payroll would have dropped to $65.578. Or they could have just cleared his salary this summer by trading him to any team under the cap for a future second rounder.

They then could have still added Livingston ($3.5 mil), Collins (< $900k) and forgone McGuire who is only going to ride the bench.

They’d still be under the $70.3 million luxury tax threshold, would still have Chandler at Center (instead of Kwame Brown), would still have Chandler’s $12.75 expiring coming off the books at the end of the year and, most importantly, they would not be adding Carroll and Najara’s garbage deals to the long term payroll."

There were several other readers posing the same questions.

The only halfway plausible explanation I can imagine is the one Fats recently touched on (i.e. while they could have kept Chandler and avoided the lux tax while still adding Livingston, they gambled by taking on more long term salary from Dallas (Hammer, Najara) in return for saving $6 million or so this year AND getting to explore hair brained trade schemes with DUST.)

Predictably, nothing materialized with DUST (becuase had he really had the type of value Higgens touted, Dallas would have packaged him themselves).

Now they're in a worse long term cap siutation than they were before trading Tyson.

Replacing Felts with Livingston is a seperate matter from the TC/Damp trade altogehter as far as I'm concerned. And really, I'm fine with it.

[tonman]

its not DJ + Livingston > Felton. are you guys not blind?

its Felton + DJ vs. 2xDJ + Livingston
so if you offset DJ's shooting and Felton's versatility, you have DJ vs. Livingston. so is DJ better than Livingston? and don't give me the if DJ played Felton's minutes crud. there's a reason why DJ's minutes went down last season.

also for the guy who did chandler + felton for 21M vs. brown + Livingston for 4.3M you need to subtract not only Dampiers 13M contract but another 7M in luxury tax. since chandler was basically traded for dampier and the bobcats let dampier go and signed kwame, it's 20M vs. kwame + 850K.

[Jaruff]

DJ's minutes went down because he couldn't compete with Flip Murray and Larry Hughes. It's that simple.

[Battery]

^ Well stated Payrdo. And everything you just outlined is what Bonnell seems to gloss over in his blog.

He talks at length about how cutting Dampeir was a necessary cost savings move, which it was. But as soon as astute readers look at the numbers openingly questioning why they traded TC/Ajinca for DUST/Carroll/Naraja in the first place, Bonnell ignores the question.

"Rick,

I think most people understand why it was necessary at this point to waive Dampier to avoid the Luxury Tax since they couldn’t find a workable deal.

What everyone is perplexed about is the bigger picture; namely why Charlotte needlessly dealt for Dampier/Najara/Carroll in the first place.

The Luxury Tax threshold they are justifiably trying to avoid is $70.3 million.

Prior to trading Chandler and Ajinca for Damp/Najara/Carroll, the roster was as follows:

Chandler: $12.75 mil
Wallace: 9.86
Diaw: 9
Jackson: 8.45
Nazr: 6.883
Tyrus: 6.612
Diop: 6.479
DJ: 2.54
Henderson: 2.104
D. Brown: .9
Ajinca: 1.467

Total Payroll = ~$67.045 mil

Had they not picked up Ajinca’s option last season (they basically traded him for nothing anyway), total payroll would have dropped to $65.578. Or they could have just cleared his salary this summer by trading him to any team under the cap for a future second rounder.

They then could have still added Livingston ($3.5 mil), Collins (< $900k) and forgone McGuire who is only going to ride the bench.

They’d still be under the $70.3 million luxury tax threshold, would still have Chandler at Center (instead of Kwame Brown), would still have Chandler’s $12.75 expiring coming off the books at the end of the year and, most importantly, they would not be adding Carroll and Najara’s garbage deals to the long term payroll."

There were several other readers posing the same questions.

The only halfway plausible explanation I can imagine is the one Fats recently touched on (i.e. while they could have kept Chandler and avoided the lux tax while still adding Livingston, they gambled by taking on more long term salary from Dallas (Hammer, Najara) in return for saving $6 million or so this year AND getting to explore hair brained trade schemes with DUST.)

Predictably, nothing materialized with DUST (becuase had he really had the type of value Higgens touted, Dallas would have packaged him themselves).

Now they're in a worse long term cap siutation than they were before trading Tyson.

Replacing Felts with Livingston is a seperate matter from the TC/Damp trade altogehter as far as I'm concerned. And really, I'm fine with it.

Thats because Bonnell is the laziest writer who covers the NBA. He's the only regular beat writer covering the team and he never comes up with anything original. For once it would be nice if he told us something that we didn't already know. An untrained monkey could do a better job than him.

[BigSlam]

What everyone is perplexed about is the bigger picture; namely why Charlotte needlessly dealt for Dampier/Najara/Carroll in the first place.

They had to think they had a shot as something bigger.