Nuntius wrote:Prokorov wrote:I understand that Kemba may be a breath of fresh air, but this idea he is some great leader when he has had a losing record in 5 of his 8 seasons and never advanced a round in the playoffs tell another story
It tells the story of how bad Charlotte was at drafting. ... Most of the players they picked ended up not even being starters, despite the fact that they were picking in the lottery almost every year. When you botch the draft as often as they do as a lottery team then yeah, you are unlikely to improve and go far in the playoffs.
Nuntius wrote:ATLTimekeeper wrote:I love Kemba but I think we really don't know what kind of leader he is. He's never won much of anything at the NBA-level, his teams have never really outperformed expectations, never gone on a bit of a run. He might just be an easier guy to get along with, which is all that the Celtics may need.
I disagree with this part. Kemba's teams have consistently outperformed expectations, in my opinion. If we were to rank teams by talent then the Hornets should be finishing in the bottom 3 throughout Kemba's tenure. And yet, they never sucked that hard. Kemba consistently pushed them at least in the mid 30s range and they were always a threat to steal games, even from good teams. Yes, he only made the playoffs twice (same amount of times as AD, by the way) but that's to be expected when your team gives big minutes to Frank Kaminsky, possibly the worst rebounder at the C/PF spot ever.
It's beginning to dawn on me that many of the people commenting about Kemba Walker's time with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets are not really familiar with or follow the team. You're right about Charlotte's draft history since adding Walker (for that matter, it's been the same pattern since the NBA gave Charlotte its second franchise) -- the Hornets have had this history of drafting decent-floor, low-ceiling players whose profiles are more suited for the college game than for NBA potential.
Moreover, the Hornets have had this history of drafting players who come from big-name colleges and fresh off some run in the NCAA tournament (six of the Hornets' lottery picks played in the national championship game, with five on the winning team). Reportedly, these draft decisions are the result of owner Michael Jordan overriding the front office during the draft after having them do the day-to-day work. One prominent example is in 2017 when former coach Steve Clifford wanted Donovan Mitchell but Jordan overrode him to select Malik Monk because Monk was falling in the draft.
The most egregious drafts, in my opinion, were in 2012 (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) and 2015 (Frank Kaminsky). The 2012 Bobcats had the worst record in NBA history (7-59) and averaged 87 points per game and shot a collective .415 from the field. Instead of taking a player with scoring potential (Bradley Beal), Charlotte selects Kidd-Gilchrist, a player whose profile matched Tony Allen's (defensive player with poor offensive tools).
In 2015, Boston reportedly offered four first-round picks for the No. 9 pick, which Charlotte refused and used on Kaminsky, whom the Charlotte front office never interviewed. Moreover, Kaminsky reportedly said he never wanted to play for Charlotte and told the Hornets before the team after the Hornets selected him. Even if the Hornets did not accept the trade, the team badly needed outside shooting (I liked Devin Booker for the Hornets) or a potential star (Myles Turner was another consideration on the Hornets' board, based on scouting reports).
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