How do the Bobcats reach the next level

welcome to lotto land. are the cats going to the be clippers of the east? how many high picks have the clippers had and what have they done with them? you can't be cheap and expect to be competitive.

really disappointed with jordan. you can't just assume fans will show up to see your team play just because they're the local team. you gotta show a commitment to building a good product first. if you're building for the future, fans are likely to wait for that future before showing up.

i'd wager attendance figures take a huge tumble once teams are out of the playoff race. people talk about a "playoff atmosphere" around games because fans get way more excited when the games actually mean something.

i guess the good news is that it's looking like the nba is likely to miss a season, so the draft after next should be much better.

i wonder if they'll add a 3rd round or something...

 

In fairness to the Bobcats, they have yet to have a high pick that turned out to be anything other than a decent role player. Their problem might be eventually be that they're cheap, but for now their problem is they have no real eye for talent and they tend to overpay for the players they do get.

 

I still think GW was the only asset that could bring anything in return(picks, flexibility). You have an aging "star" who's game is not the same as in the past. Nobody wants fatass Diaw, or Jax. everyone else is a role player. They overpaid Okafor-glad they dont have that contract, they paid TThomas. you cant just say they are just cheap. last I checked they didn't pass on Lebron,Paul,etc because they were cheap. They haven't had the opportunity to get one of these players. people say "trade a pile of junk for a superstar" like it's that easy. anybody checked CPauls salary? he makes 16mil next year and 17 after that. remember trades have to closely match salaries to happen. Maybe MJ is clearing some cap to make a major move, not just to be cheap. Time will tell. The cats are actually 5 mil short of the top 7 payroll. they were 17th highest before the trade.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm

 

It looks like they have quit since the trade. GW was not doing much before the trade but it seems to have hurt their morale. Jackson being hurt is also hurting them a lot.

Getting another #8 seed and then getting swept would not have really done a lot to energize the fan base. I think I would rather have a lottery pick.

 

cap space is only useful to teams that can attract free agents. the bobcats aren't going to attract anybody of note unless they are winning games. who would move to a place like charlotte that's still trying to attract fans, isn't know for its night life, and has had 1 winning season ever? nobody with options, that's who.

in order to win, the bobcats need to spend money. they need to play the "salary relief" game. trade away expiring deals for longer deals. try to get a guy who's talented, but not in the long term plans of a rebuilding team. or maybe take on a bad contract along with some young talent that a team doesn't need. in a couple years, that big bad contract then itself becomes an asset (because it's due to expire) which can be leveraged into another big contract and talent player.

otherwise, you're just a rotating door of lotto picks. guys come into the league, they play for you until they realize you're not going anywhere, then they beg for a trade, or you realize you can't pay them what they want, or they become ufa's by refusing to sign a long contract. maybe it'll be different with the cats, but i dunno.

it'd be hard to be a local fan cuz the team isn't compelling enough to warrant going to see them play. they feel like they're rebuilding after having peaked last year and if last year was a peak, that's pretty sad.

 

i dunno. if it's true that fans would rather have a lottery pick than playoff games, then you'd think fans would be pulling for the cats to lose. do you really think people would go to the games, buy some merch, load up on some food and drinks, then cheer when the cats fumble the ball away and miss open looks? would the give a standing o for the team when they lose 5 straight? would they really start following other teams who are jockeying for lotto balls and cheer when those teams somehow manage to win? i don't think people really do that kind of thing.

if winning lotto balls was the same as winning games, then more teams would race to the bottom of the heap. you wouldn't hear about the kings looking to leave sac town due to lack of support (this coming from a team which enjoyed tremendous support a decade ago when they were good).

of course, maybe it's different for charlotte. the hornets left amidst reasonably good on the court success. perhaps fans in charlotte demand college level dominance which is pretty rare for the nba.

 

I am sure a playoff run would do more for the fan base in the short term than a lottery pick. Long term though the team is more likely to build a winner with a lottery pick.

The NBA needs to do something to level the playing field so the small market teams have a better chance.

 

I disagree. you cant just throw money at the problem and expect to fix it. they need to spend wisely. the salary relief game only works for teams that can go millions over the cap-or only about 5 teams in the league. Im sure it will be discussed when they have a lockout. that bussines model is broken. otherwise there will be a 6 team league and 20+ teams that are worthless. Name a few players the Cats could go after in your scenario, just curious. why would other teams rid themselves of young, cheap, talent. besides there aren't many teams that are that stacked. again look at what the cats have to offer in a trade where the salaries work. its not like they can trade matt carrol, najera, diop for chris paul because it all adds up. there has to be some value there.

Im sure a new CBA will address the salary problem. These guys all make so much now that they can leave 3,4,5 million on the table to play in south beach vs toronto because they are making 40 million or whatever.

corey brewer, lottery pick, just signed a 3 year deal with dallas for 7 million total. thats a realistic contract vs josh childress getting 35 mil/5 years and his team wants to "unload that bad contract" six months into the deal . see al harrington also. teams need to quit giving bench /role players max deals.

 

some good, some bad

 

I realize that we didn't do it ourselves and took it off of someone else's hands, but Diop's deal is just plain ugly.