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First, let's start with the Charlotte Hornets.
Charlotte had a team. A team everybody loved, liked and supported.
A team that sold out every seat in the house for ten years.
Through those ten years there was one very visible problem and one problem that was not visible.
Visible Problem:
It was the overall strategy of General Management, mandated by ownership, to constantly trade our best players and somehow build a team around role players. This was done in an effort for cost control so the owner, George Shinn, could use the team as the mainstay of his personal income. This strategy is the opposite direction of all successful teams and is usually the trademark of perennial losers, such as the LA Clippers. A team whose owner, Donald Sterling, is consistently voted the worst owner in all of sports and whose team was voted by Sports Illustrated at one point as the worst sports team in the history of all sports. This is the blue-print George Shinn decided to follow.
Invisible Problem:
Or should we say, problems. George Shinn's personal character could not be coverd any longer by the curtain of success. His Sexual Assault case that was broadcast on Court TV was just the tip of the iceburg for all the dirt this guy was/is involved in, in his personal and business life.
These problems ultimately forced him to sell large ownership stakes in the Hornets to raise capital to pay for legal expenses and to settle/pay off all of the women he had been sexually assaulting, some of these women being Hornets cheerleaders no less. These personal problems were cited by George Shinn as a major contributing factor why he moved the team to New Orleans in a 2008 interview with the Charlotte Observer.
In other words, he ran like a coward, with the full support of the NBA.
So we the fans decided that it was time to let the owner, George Shinn, and the NBA know of our dissatisfaction with all the above. Fans should have the right to demonstrate such a disatisfaction without reprisals of threats of moving the team. From the start of the first season that did not sell out, the threats of moving the team emerged.
So what did the fans of the Charlotte Hornets who had made George Shinn richer than he ever dreamed and the NBA the hottest ticket in town get for all of their loyalty, immediate threats of moving the team and raising of ticket prices. The threats were eventually made good on and with the full backing of NBA President David Stern and the support of every NBA team owner.
Now for the politics.
The NBA had already decided before the Hornets packed their suitcases that the city of Charlotte would get another NBA team. Interesting problem. The city had a vote on a new uptown arena and the voters squashed it. Voters said no. City leaders said " Guess what? You're getting one anyway!" Sounds like a real "sweetheart deal" if you asked me.
So now, after a very bad taste in everyone's mouth from the departure of the Hornets and an even worse taste from the politics of having a team forced on us at tax payer expense, we have The Bobcats.
Bobcats:
Lets do the run down shall we.
1. Dumb Name that has no representation of the city.
It is the nickname of former owner Bob Johnson. It was a name chosen out of vanity and immediately indicated a disconnect between ownership and the fans.
2. Horrible colors. Worst in NBA. Even worse in person than on TV. Yuck!
3. After years of hearing the same speach from billionaire owner Bob Johnson "We are just not going to spend money on the team this year" the team finally came of age and built into what would become a playoff team. With a solid coach - Larry Brown - and players that the locals liked and played hard, such as Gerald Wallace, we finally had a foundation for a team.
4. Owner Bob Johnson sells the team. I guess this guy is smart after all. Our new owner is North Carolina's home grown and best pro basketball player of all time and one of the all time college great ones, Michael Jordan. I was really glad when this happened.
5. Year one of new ownership = palyoffs. Team on the right track.
6. Year two of new ownership = team is completely dismantled to "clear cap space" to land the "Big Time" free agents, none of which have been nor will be signed. I think we already covered the trading star players/build on role players strategy.
7. Year three of new ownership = complete train wreck. Season was already over before ten games were even played. It was obvious.
At the moment, the Bobcats have 3 wins out of 24 games played. Dead last in the NBA. At this pace the Bobcats will be lucky to reach ten wins for the entire season due to the shortened NBA season.
Interesting note: the second worst team in the NBA this season is.....you guessed it, the New Orleans Hornets with just 4 wins.
So what do we, the citizens of Charlotte, get for all of the time the NBA has spent in Charlotte? The worst team in the NBA and a giant tax bill.
At this point, the Charlotte Bobcats need to get on track or get out of town.
I am not a fan of the NBA at all anymore, mainly because of the Charlotte NBA experience.
I am a fan of basketball so I do watch a handful of NBA games, mainly playoffs.
As long as the City of Charlotte has a professional basketball team, I want them to succeed.
First, because they wear the city of Charlotte's name on their jersey, but I would rather not have a team in Charlotte than have a team that is a perennial loser, like the LA clippers.
Second, because of Michael Jordan. The endless good memories he gave me as a teanager watching him play, entertaining the fans, and winning.
Last, economically. The city has got to recoup all this tax payer money back.
End Game. There better be one and soon or it is game over permanently for the Bobcats in Charlotte.
Last edited by cheesecracker; 02-07-2012 at 03:46 AM..
I for one believe the Bobcats will turn it around. I believe Jordan got rid of some of the long term contract to position themselves for some quality free agents and higher draft picks. Let's face it Stephen Jackson nor Gerald Wallace aren't players that will provide a championship caliber team.
Next year the Bobcats are pretty much guaranteed a top 3 pick and in small markets such as Charlotte good teams are built around the draft. Take a look at Oklahoma City if Durant and Russell Westbrook wasn't drafted by that team they would not even considered going to live there if they were free agents. Most big time players aren't interested in living in a city as small as Charlotte that have very little business opportunities. Let's hope the next Kevin Durant is in the draft next year and the Bobcats drafts him.
Good analysis!
Call me an eternal optimist, but I think Bobcats will turn things around starting with next season. Look at Clippers, after years of turmoil, right now they are one of the most exciting teams to watch.
A good coming draft where a top 3 position is almost guaranteed, and a couple of young exciting players gives me hope.
As long as the shirt says Charlotte, I'll cheer for them!
I think the Bobcats should go somewhere else and we get an MLB team. More people here would be interested in going to see major league baseball than basketball. Bobcats are irrelevant to this city.
It comes down to winning consistently. If the bobcats become relevant, more people will show up. Until then it eill be very easy for them to be the punching bag. I dont agree that nba cant be popular here. The team needs to win. Yes, you will always have a few hardcore people who wont go no matter what, however if the team wins those people would be overshadowed.
I think this was done on purpose. I've even heard analysts say this. The team pretty much said, we're going to have to tank a year or two, clear up some cap space, get the salaries in order, this way it would be better in the long run. I've heard them compared to being the NBA's version of the 2001 Carolina Panthers. Remember what happened two years after that 1-15 team? That's right, made the Super Bowl (should have WON that Super Bowl)
They'll be fine. Then you can say you're a true fan and not a front-runner
It comes down to winning consistently. If the bobcats become relevant, more people will show up. Until then it eill be very easy for them to be the punching bag. I dont agree that nba cant be popular here. The team needs to win. Yes, you will always have a few hardcore people who wont go no matter what, however if the team wins those people would be overshadowed.
Being that I was there for both home games against Orlando in the playoffs, I agree. The place was packed and loud. We lost both games, but the people showed up (and they weren't showing up to see Orlando lol). After the Bobcats got swept, folks were really upset on the train ride from the arena. It showed that there was at least an interest. That's what happens when teams compete; people get interested. It's not like that now, but who can blame us. Ever since Wallace and Jackson left, I really haven't kept up much with the team. I'm guilty of "not being interested" too. I'll come back when the team is better (just being honest). GO PANTHERS!!!!
Being that I was there for both home games against Orlando in the playoffs, I agree. The place was packed and loud. We lost both games, but the people showed up (and they weren't showing up to see Orlando lol). After the Bobcats got swept, folks were really upset on the train ride from the arena. It showed that there was at least an interest. That's what happens when teams compete; people get interested. It's not like that now, but who can blame us. Ever since Wallace and Jackson left, I really haven't kept up much with the team. I'm guilty of "not being interested" too. I'll come back when the team is better (just being honest). GO PANTHERS!!!!
Yes, there def was buzz during the series (however it didnt help that they got swept). Jackson and wallace were salary dumps. They are trying to rebuild kind of like the bulls did a couple yrs ago.
Give it another 2 years. They will come around. Jordan is too competitive to settle for a steady income stream rather than WINS. They had to restructure in order to become a serious contender, rather than just a fringe playoof team. Letting go of Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mouring and building around role players, is not the same as letting go of Stephen Jackson and building around Kemba Walker. This season will most likely be their worst (thank goodness it's a shortened season!), but it will also make the coming years that much sweeter!
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