RealGM

Got this today.



Now that the NBA trade deadline is behind us our basketball operations department will now turn its attention to the college ranks. Our scouting staff is working hard evaluating the top collegiate players as they conclude their regular seasons and begin conference tournaments. We have a group of seven scouts, including five who are focused solely on college players, along with one international scout based in Italy and one pro scout. Between the seven of them, Rod Higgins and myself, we see over 1,000 games per season in order to secure as much information as possible as we try to make the best decisions possible to shape this franchise into one that can compete at the highest levels of the NBA.

Those of you that I've been fortunate enough to meet have probably heard me talk about building through the draft. When I was in Seattle and Oklahoma City that's exactly what we did, using three straight lottery picks to set the foundation for what is now one of the premier teams in the NBA. In 2007, we used our own pick to draft Kevin Durant and were able to make a trade that allowed us to get Jeff Green. The following year, our lottery pick was Russell Westbrook and we used a second first-round pick acquired via trade to select Serge Ibaka. And in 2009, we added James Harden to that mix.

Obviously there is a little luck involved, considering that we had top-three picks in two of those three drafts, but I see that process replicating itself for the Bobcats. With Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo in 2011, followed by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeffery Taylor in 2012, I am confident that we are well on our way to building a similar future here in Charlotte.

Despite our shift in focus from trade deadline to college scouting, we will continue to actively evaluate every possible opportunity to improve our team this summer, via free agency, trades and the draft. We had dialog with nearly every team leading up to the trade deadline and will aggressively pursue players and assets that will help us achieve our goals.

We appreciate your support this season and look forward to having you back for 2013-14.

Best Regards,

Rich Cho
General Manager
Charlotte Bobcats

hotrod wrote: We had dialog with nearly every team leading up to the trade deadline and will aggressively pursue players and assets that will help us achieve our goals.

I hope he laid the foundation for a draft day trade addition. Sessions, Gordon and Henderson are movable pieces, at least theoretically, so hopefully there was at least some motion towards moving one or more of them even though no transaction was completed.

I'm hoping to draft 2 picks in the top 10 by packaging the POR pick (whether we are set to get it in 2013 or carryover).

MasterIchiro wrote:

hotrod wrote: We had dialog with nearly every team leading up to the trade deadline and will aggressively pursue players and assets that will help us achieve our goals.

I hope he laid the foundation for a draft day trade addition. Sessions, Gordon and Henderson are movable pieces, at least theoretically, so hopefully there was at least some motion towards moving one or more of them even though no transaction was completed.

I'm hoping to draft 2 picks in the top 10 by packaging the POR pick (whether we are set to get it in 2013 or carryover).

he blew his chance to move gordon and henderson, both of them are going to walk for nothing. its a damn shame really

Gordon still has another year left. And would you rather have a 2nd round pick or the ability to give Hendo a QO. Not even trading JJ got a 1st in return.

i feel so much more confident about this franchise when cho is the mouthpiece vs higgins. i heard a radio interview with higgins the day after the trade deadline and he did not inspire much confidence.

how to you think our staff of 7 scouts (5 college, 1 international and 1 pro) compares with the rest of the league? i am pretty sure thats more than we had in previous regimes.

I have had unwavering confidence in Rich Cho since he took over. I honestly have very little doubt about his ability to turn this franchise around. Whether we ever become an OKC type team is obviously in the air (that's tough to do and required a hell of a lot of luck) but we are most definitely on the right track. I do think Cho needed to be a little more active on the trade front (particularly at the deadline last March, when we could have gotten something, anything out of our starting point guard and power forward), but his overall approach to building this team is solid.

Just class.

I trust Cho, though I am getting tired of losing pieces for nothing (DJ, Diaw, now probably Hendo). Sign-and-trades are supposed to be less likely under the new CBA but maybe we can make something happen.

countryboi wrote:gordon is going to walk for nothing.

We should be so lucky...

James Gatz wrote:Gordon still has another year left. And would you rather have a 2nd round pick or the ability to give Hendo a QO. Not even trading JJ got a 1st in return.

Henderson is going to make more than the QO from some else and Gordon is going to opt out. Yes you may hate Gordon but he has value hell we traded for him. I honestly think cho is wasting talent if the rockets can get Thomas Robinson for peanuts we could have done the same. I guess he would rather pen nicely worded letters.

countryboi wrote:

James Gatz wrote:Gordon still has another year left. And would you rather have a 2nd round pick or the ability to give Hendo a QO. Not even trading JJ got a 1st in return.

Henderson is going to make more than the QO from some else and Gordon is going to opt out. Yes you may hate Gordon but he has value hell we traded for him. I honestly think cho is wasting talent if the rockets can get Thomas Robinson for peanuts we could have done the same. I guess he would rather pen nicely worded letters.

I would be thrilled if Gordon opted out. That would make the Bad Porn trade legendary.

But this is the real world and Ben won't leave that money on the table.

No way Ben opts out...again we would be extremely lucky if that happened. And we didn't trade for BG, we traded for the draft pick. He was just a necessary evil that came with it.

After reading that letter I hope that Cho doesn't truly believe that he'll duplicate the "luck" that he had in Seattle/Oklahoma City as Presti's lapdog. The Bobcats isn't exactly the type of franchise that I think "luck" will fall upon. I'm uncomfortable with the fact that he even use his past success as an assistant as a reason to believe in his future success as the actual general manager.

Gordon has to have some dignity as a competitor. Hes not seeing minutes now let alone when/if we draft a SG. I firmly believe a buyout will occur eventually.

@Liver Pooty- I was wondering the same thing about buying Gordan out and I tweeted Larry Coon and he told me we were not allowed under the CBA to offer him money to not pick up his player option (essiently a Buy Out).

I think he counts $13M on the books unless he's so unhappy here that he just leaves but, I can't see any chance in the world that he would leave $13M on the table to take a chance in this new world under the new CBA. I think he would rather not play a single minute all next season and collect $13M than be a starter on a playoff team and make $5M.

Looking back on the trade, I'm glad to have the extra pick but, $13M dollars was a boatload to pay for a 1st rounder.

Well I think part of the value (other than the pick) was to turn him into a better player. Cho tried to deal him at the deadline for an upgrade (Humphries). The Nets balked. But there's still a chance Cho can turn Gordon's expiring into a useful player.

And even though the Celtics preferred to keep their first rounder over Sessions, there's still a chance Sessions expiring can go for a first rounder in a deeper draft next year.

I'm not sure if we lose Henderson for nothing. I'm surprised the Grizz and Pacers made no overtures for him - at least none that we know of anyways.

Diop's expiring was obviously worthless.

JGib23 wrote:@Liver Pooty- I was wondering the same thing about buying Gordan out and I tweeted Larry Coon and he told me we were not allowed under the CBA to offer him money to not pick up his player option (essiently a Buy Out).

I think he counts $13M on the books unless he's so unhappy here that he just leaves but, I can't see any chance in the world that he would leave $13M on the table to take a chance in this new world under the new CBA. I think he would rather not play a single minute all next season and collect $13M than be a starter on a playoff team and make $5M.

Looking back on the trade, I'm glad to have the extra pick but, $13M dollars was a boatload to pay for a 1st rounder.

Dont forget about the salary floor. Teams developing young guys wont mind having to spend big money on garbage for a high pick if they have no intention to go after significant free agents during that time. The free agent market isnt very good this off season, therefor large expirings are not very toxic for us right now. I still love the trade.

Hope Cho has been reading our draft chatter thread.

he blew his chance to move gordon and henderson, both of them are going to walk for nothing. its a damn shame really

Even if this was to happen you guys seem to forget that every time a team looses a player for nothing they also loose that salary. Neither Hendo or Gordon is a major loss talent wise, but they account for more than 15 million in cap space.

But honestly I am starting to think that we will resign Hendo. Think about it. If we couldn't trade him for a draft pick in a weak draft why would anyone want to over pay for him this summer?

MountBiyombo wrote:
But honestly I am starting to think that we will resign Hendo. Think about it. If we couldn't trade him for a draft pick in a weak draft why would anyone want to over pay for him this summer?

That's the way I feel as well.