bonnell: who is worse off than the bobcats?

[fatlever]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_n ... etter.html

I asked a simple question today of several NBA executives: Who is worse off than the Bobcats? Here’s what I heard, and I thought it was enlightening:

There are four franchises clearly in a worse situation than the Bobcats: Cleveland, Detroit, Washington and Sacramento, according to these execs.

i know this same question came up when hollinger ranked us dead last in the future rankings, which most all of us disagreed with.

which franchises are really in a worse position for the future than the bobcats?

things to consider:
1. current roster: is there a superstar on the team, a potential superstar, how young is the team?
2. cap space: does the team have cap space soon and how much?
3. future picks: how many 1st round picks does the team have coming soon?
4. arena: does the team have a state of the art arena to generate money?
5. ownership: does the team have an owner who is willing build a winner? does the owner have deep pockets? does the owner have influence?
6. front office: does the team have smart people making basketball, financial and marketing decisions?
7. market: how big is the market? is the fan base growing or declining? is it attractive for free agents?
8. coaching: does the team have a solid coach in place?

here are my grades for the bobcats
1. D the current roster is rather sad in terms of future promise. the best pieces we have are dj, hendo and tyrus who are all borderline starters.
2. B+ we have a lot of money coming off the books in the next 2 years. our cap nightmare is behind us, for now.
3. C we have two 1st round picking coming (2011 and 2013) and one 1st round pick going out (2012). the picks coming in are not likely to be lottery picks.
4. A time warner arena is as nice as it gets in the NBA.
5. B the only thing holding MJ back is not having deep pockets. he clearly has a desire to win a championship and he has clout in the league and community.
6. D- our front office has not shown an ability to build a winning team, draft well or solve the marketing and tv problems in the region.
7. C charlotte is one of the smaller markets, but its a fast growing city in a nice climate on the east coast. the lack of history and fan support hold the city back.
8. B- would make this grade higher if silas wasnt so old. silas jr shows promise but still unproven.

[Charlottehoops]

Do we have to give up our pick next year even if it is in the lottery?

[doc.end]

No. I wasn't sure about the actual protection, but this site - http://www.prosportstransactions.com/ba ... s/2012.htm - claims it is still Top 14 protected next year. So any lottery pick means the pick will stay in Charlotte.

[Battery]

Awww gee, who woulda thunk it after reading Bonnell's columns once Larry Brown got the axe. I'm in shock and feel like I've been deceived! Looking back now, I was duped and every one of Bonnell's now seemingly horrific flowery articles had us making giant strides towards becoming a championship contender once Mr.Sunshiny Days took over as head coach.


I guess Larry Brown was right after all. This team and franchise stinks to high heaven. S-Jax and Wallace did him a huge favor by playing like crap during the month of November and into December. Actually they did us all favor, now we can rebuild the right way instead of the band aid approach which gets you nowhere.


We desperately need a top 3 lottery pick this year and next....

[Battery]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2011/05/so-how-do-they-make-this-better.html

I asked a simple question today of several NBA executives: Who is worse off than the Bobcats? Here’s what I heard, and I thought it was enlightening:

There are four franchises clearly in a worse situation than the Bobcats: Cleveland, Detroit, Washington and Sacramento, according to these execs.

Wait...so now I am suppose to believe Rick Bonnell actually picked up the phone and was calling executives around the league and asking them which franchise is worse than the Bobcats??? I mean seriously, Rick, you write 25 word columns and give us a blog where you give us absolutely nothing enlightening all year long and suddenly you got the urge to actually do some work? Sorry bub, not buying it. It was YOU who thinks Washington is worse than us. I mean really??? Washington? Are you even familiar with their roster?

Washington just drafted John Wall #1 and most likely will add a top 5 pick this June. Rashard Lewis and his contract are no big deal because they're not winning for the next 3 seasons. They have some other young talent along with movable trade pieces where they can acquire players that are better suited to play alongside Wall. You must think they still have Gilbert Arenas. Geez talk about clueless writers.

Does Rick Bonnell even watch the NBA??

And like some executive would really speak negatively to Rick Bonnell about other NBA franchises. Rick I know you don't like to make waves and pretend other people are speaking when in fact it's you, but you do your readers a disservice because then you come off as not being genuine when you talk about the Bobcats. Are they your opinions or are they someone elses? Oh wait I forgot, you never speak negatively about the Bobcats until that player or coach is out the door.

Also Rick, the Charlotte Observer is the only paper in town so it's not like the Bobcats can boot you out if you write something negative about them. If they did that then your crappy paper would kill the franchise and turn the fans against the team. You got some power there bub, use it! Hold the players, coaches and ownership ACCOUNTABLE. Otherwise we will always suck. Why should they even bother to try and get better when nobody holds their feet to the fire. And it's why you write for a small market paper. Can't be big time by always playing it safe like with your latest trick....oh some execs said this. Yeah right.

[Kembastockton]

Why is it so hard for you to believe that an nba journalist would have executive connections inside the nba? He wouldn't be very much a journalist if he didnt. I easily see Washington as being in worse shape than we are. Yes, they have some young talent and high picks this year, and next. What you are forgetting is why.

They have been horrible for deacades with a glimmer of hope here and there that quickly goes out. Everybody is quick to remember Mike's mistakes as a Washington executive, but quick to forget that he had to answer to Washington's ownership. They approved everything that he did, and who knows might have gave him orders to make some of those boneheaded moves.

Their free agent situation is as bad as ours definitely, and probably worse. There is absolutely no free agent draw to Washington aside from playing in the nation's capitol. Despite what people think Charlotte is actually attractive to the more mature stable minded players(glue guys), because it is such a great area to raise children. Then you have every basketball players idol here as the boss. Add to that a ton of money coming available the next to years, and things look very bright in this area.

It is easy to point fingers when things are down, but realistically all it takes is a little luck in the draft. Ask San Antonio.

[countryboi]

6. D- our front office has not shown an ability to build a winning team, draft well or solve the marketing and tv problems in the region.

this problem is a killer....if you dont fix anything you have to fix this

[Snidely FC]

6. D- our front office has not shown an ability to build a winning team, draft well or solve the marketing and tv problems in the region.

this problem is a killer....if you dont fix anything you have to fix this

absolutely right and the reason I'm pessimistic this gets fixed is #5. ownership: Jordan's propensity for nepotism. he is loyal to a fault to his guys and I think you all know what I mean by his guys. are they right for the job? interview Kevin Pritchard to see if maybe he's better for the GM job? it'll never happen because he's not in the Jordan family tree.

[Elden Payton]

6. D- our front office has not shown an ability to build a winning team, draft well or solve the marketing and tv problems in the region.

this problem is a killer....if you dont fix anything you have to fix this

absolutely right and the reason I'm pessimistic this gets fixed is #5. ownership: Jordan's propensity for nepotism. he is loyal to a fault to his guys and I think you all know what I mean by his guys. are they right for the job? interview Kevin Pritchard to see if maybe he's better for the GM job? it'll never happen because he's not in the Jordan family tree.

If Kevin Pritchard was interested in the GM job I would personally cut Rod Higgins Brake lines on his car.

[Elden Payton]

Also I think that we are not so destitute as people make us out to be. Even with the current messy state of the roster we were still very competitive & made the playoffs last season. I think next season is the time to play the youngsters & throw caution to the wind even if that means we get accused of tanking. We need the high picks anyway. Toronto is way worse than us & noone wants to play there, at least we have potential in NC & it is imo the basketball mecca. (& we have Mj)

[chrbal]

More interesting question. Who is the most screwed playoff (this season) team?

I'll start. The Lakers. Kobe is no Jordan. The money they have locked up in big names (kobe, gasol) is pretty bad. It gets worse when you take on the secondary players (bynum<yes, him>, odom). BUT how about the money on these guys; Artest, Walton, Fisher, and Blake. All 4 have two or more years left on their deals, making at least $3.7 mil (Fisher) a year.

They don't have a much killer instinct, they quit on themselves, horrible cheapshots/dissrespectful play. Brian Shaw? or Kurt Rambis? or ???? when Phil retires.

There is no where to go but down for them. They are doomed.

[fatlever]

the lakers have been on the top for the better part of the last 12 years with only a few down years in the middle. at some point that dynasty has to come to an end. unless they can pry howard away from orlando this summer then i think they are headed back to a middle/late pack playoff team by 2013.

[Diop]

I dunno, if Gasol and Bryant smoke the peace pipe and start talking again and the rest of the team stay healthy they can always challenge.

Gasol has to learn to keep his private life separate from his professional life. That really cost them chemistry wise.

[Kembastockton]

This is a lame topic. Who cares who's worse off? What we gotta do to catch the teams better stacked!

[Battery]

This is a lame topic. Who cares who's worse off? What we gotta do to catch the teams better stacked!

It is a lame topic because Bonnell made it up. The 4 teams Bonnell listed is subjective. There is a lot to ponder when someone poses the question who is worse off than the Bobcats. The roster, free agency, salary cap, lockout, trades, lottery that hasn't taken place yet, draft that hasn't taken place yet, financial situation, coaches, and many things that could affect other teams in the league.

Then Bonnell throws out the topic and proceeds to write nothing about it. Good job. What a lame blog. I might have to get involved and start kicking some ass over there. Someone needs to wake this small market writer up. I can't take it anymore.