Okafor

They got a lot better by getting a new coach.

 

This is a move the Bobcats had to make. Okafor is key if the Bobcats are to improve on last years record. And if you look at salary in a vacuum, it is overpaying, but that's what the market is dictating now. If he walks, the naysayers will scream that that Bob Johnson is too cheap/not committed to winning etc.

There's just not that many big man who can defend down low. And I like the thought of Okafor improving under Brown.

Speaking of Brown, I thought it was funny how Higgins back-handedly dissed Vincent with this quote:

Higgins: "He's a guy that I think his skills are still developing in a lot of ways. Having Larry [Brown] as our head coach now, Emeka will benefit having a great coach to teach him."

 

Sam Vincent sucked on a epic level. I'm as big of a Bobcats appologist as there is, but that guy was a tremendous failure.

 

I did say that they would be good last year and I still think they had the talent to be good. Vincent was a horrible coach and injuries did not help their cause. If they were to finish at .500 or better under Brown that would not really surprise me.

 

The sad thing is that as horrible as everyone thinks he was last year, the reality is that he was actually ten times worse. He set the franchise back at least two years, and damn near set it back to where it would have had to start over from scratch.

 

That's true. It's a Catch-22 because overpaying Okafor keeps them from bringing in players who will improve the team, but letting Okafor walk would make them even worse.

 

The pieces are in place for the Bobcats to be a pretty good team in the Eastern Conference. If they fall flat on their faces this winter, they will be moving to Las Vegas sooner rather than later.

 

Luol Deng got pretty much the same contract. I feel better about Okafor.

 

Bogut got a huge deal a couple of weeks ago. Once that happened, the marketplace was set for Okafor like it or not. It's a fair price for the market, frankly we're lucky only Memphis had any cap space, at least we were only bidding against ourselves.

 

Biedrins got a 5/60 deal this week too. 12m/year for a young big man who can average something close to a double-double is the market.

It sucks, but that's how it is.