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Charlotte Bobcats (Last Year: 35-47)
Depth Chart:
C: Tyson Chandler/DeSagana Diop/Nazr Mohammed
PF: Boris Diaw/Alexis Ajinca
SF: Gerald Wallace/Vladimir Radmanovic/Derrick Brown
SG: Raja Bell/Gerald Henderson
PG: Raymond Felton/D.J. Augustin
Head Coach: Larry Brown (2nd
year)
2009-2010 Team Salary: $59.8 million
Projected 2010-2011 Team
Salary: approximately $58.0 million
Off-Season Grade: Failed
When the Charlotte franchise
was given new life, they went about building their roster the right
way; not overpaying veterans and building a team of talented youngsters.
Along the way to their current position a couple things happened to
stunt the growth of their franchise.
1. Their young players never fully reached their potential or ended up being busts (see Sean May and Adam Morrison.)
2. They took on some terrible
contracts and made some bad signings.
With little cap flexibility
this offseason, the Bobcats were very quiet until they pulled the trigger
on a trade that seemingly came from nowhere. Charlotte dealt their
rock down low, Emeka Okafor to the Hornets for Tyson Chandler in hopes
of saving some money in the long run; a strange move for an offensively
handicapped team to trade one of their leading scorers for a defensive-minded player.
One of the biggest moves of
the summer was the deal they never reached. Raymond Felton is
entering the final year of his rookie contract but the Bobcats were
unable to reach a long-term extension with their point guard, meaning
he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer unless a deal is made
during the year.
Drafting Gerald Henderson seemed
to be a move made more out of necessity since the Bobcats didn’t have
a lot of depth in their backcourt. I think he could be a nice
player at the next level but nothing more than a role player.
2009-2010 Outlook:
Charlotte actually got worse
this offseason which doesn’t put a lot of optimism into this upcoming
year. Larry Brown has worked wonders in his long coaching career
and will have to wave a magical wand again this season to get the Bobcats
into the playoffs. The Bobcats finished dead last in the NBA
last year in scoring and will certainly be near the bottom of the league
again this year as they lack a major scoring punch. If I were running
this team, I would do everything in my power to try and unload overpaid
players like Mohammed or Diop who have pretty awful contracts.
Don’t be surprised if Felton is traded if it seems unlikely that a
contract extension will be agreed upon between both sides.
Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:
It’s becoming common for
Charlotte to end up with a lottery pick and that will likely be the
case next summer. Since they will be over the salary cap barring
a trade or two during the season, the Bobcats won’t be able to spend
any money in the offseason.
At some point, this franchise needs to find a superstar. If that is to happen in the next two years, it will have to come via trade. For an organization that is reported to have financial struggles, the likeliness of that happening seems grim. Plus, there are not a lot of desirable players or expiring contracts on the roster to move.
2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 24th
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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