Now that we have MJ

[teej]

Is there any way in hell a major Jordan Brand player tries to come here?

The following players are part of Team Jordan:

Carmelo Anthony (summer of '11)
Dwayne Wade ('10)
Joe Johnson ('10)
Chris Paul ('12)

Ray Allen ('10)
Josh Howard ('10)
Mike Bibby ('12, but I put him in as Ray insurance)

Is there any scenario where MJ convinces one of them to come to Charlotte, and they come via S&T or reg. trade? We have expirings each of the next 3 years along with young talent to give out in a trade. I have a bunch of ideas, but I have no idea how likely it is this would happen. How much power does Nike have? Because that'd make one hell of a marketing pitch.

[ziggy]

Of the upper echelon players, the only one that I think that we would have a small shot with is CP3 only because when he was entering the league he "supposedly" really wanted to stay in NC and play for the Bobcats.

For him, this would be coming home.

[Muttley]

I'm not sure that being part of the Jordan brand will matter to free agents. BUT, if it did, I'd say that the summer of 2012 the team actually might be financially able to offer CP3 a good contract. With his local connections, AND if New Orleans continues to struggle (well... relative to their division and conference), then maybe MJ could convince him to sign here.

[Toocool]

Best shot for us would be CP3. Melo loves Denver, I doubt he'll move. I don't want Johnson, isn't worth the max salary. Ray Allen is kind of old now and declining. Wade isn't good, since imagine Wade and Crash on the court together, both aggressive rim attackers = injuries. Most injured 2+3 ever :biggrin:
I'll pass on Bibby. Howard is okay, but he's 28 already. So in 2-3 years he'll be 30. Pass on him too.

[teej]

So if CP3 comes, who wears #3, him or GW3?

And if we had CP3 throwing lobs to Crash and Tyrus (and maybe by then UPS)...omg omg omg. Cue Andy Samberg:

http://th05.deviantart.com/fs39/300W/f/2008/344/c/9/I_jizz_in_my_pants_by_HOLIMOUNT.jpg

The basketball gods wouldn't let that happen would they?

[Muttley]

The basketball gods wouldn't let that happen would they?

Probably not for us, no.

[CatNation]

Probably not for us, no.

I'm sure Josh Howard will love playing here. :facepalm:

[Muttley]

I'm sure Josh Howard will love playing here. :facepalm:
For a max deal too, no doubt...

[BRNC]

I could easily say "no thank you" to Josh Howard...

[teej]

I actually wouldn't mind Josh for a little less than MLE deal as a 6th or 7th man, but I don't see how we could do it.

Then again, who knows with this Front Office.

[SWedd523]

We have Crash, UPS, TT, who all can play the SF position. We need to be looking at big men and offensive spark plugs. Howard would be redundant unless we trade Crash along with Diop for Al Jeff, Ryan Gomes, and a 1st. :D



Ray
Jack
Howard
TT
Jeff




hmmmmm :g:

[BRNC]

We (mostly) have concerns about Crash and injuries issues...I actually see Howard as more of a concern than Crash...plus...you know Howard will want more money than he's worth...IMO SF (even if we trade Crash) would really not be a "weakness"...

[teej]

I don't really want TT playing small forward, and I was looking to Howard for a big SG who can shoot.

But that was only if he came cheap, which I know he won't.

[Demon DeaCat]

I'd love the possibility of getting some Deacs on our squad. The Paul scenario would obvoiusly be a home run and he does love NC and still has strong ties at Wake. The only problem is he will be entering a critical window in his career, and as much as he'd love being close to home, he's not going to waste his prime years on a team he doesn't think can be a contender. Of course, he could make a lot of teams a contender just by himself. The question is, how much will Jack have left in the tank by then and will GW have started to decline? Will we be able to address the center position, since we'll need the cap space from TC and Nazr in order to have room to sign him. Will TT and Brown have developed to the point that they can assume leadership and keep us competitive? Lot's of factors will determine how realistic a goal that is.

As for Josh, I don't know that he can't be had for the MLE. Sure he'll want more, but his stock has never been lower, and with a shrinking salary cap and LT, an injury prone 30-something guy with a bad PR rap sheet isn't going to be in a position to demand a lot more than that. I agree Teej, that he'd be a perfect high quality back-up SG.

[spectre]

What's the timing on when Paul can look towards FA? In doing S&Ts we'd need bigger expirings, so could it work out where he'd be available around the time Jax & Boris' contracts start to wind down?

Far as I'm concerned he's #1 target if it's at all possible.

[SWedd523]

I think a guy like Paul will be effective for a long time (see Steve Nash) because a lot of his game isn't dependent on athleticism so much as it is his intelligence.

I wouldn't mind locking Paul up until he's 35 or so. Wouldn't mind it at all.

[Toocool]

Paul would probably want to play here, but CP3 has been jealous since other superstars have been catered to except him. Charlotte wouldn't have that much to offer him except rising stars (hopefully) in TT, Hendo and UPS.

[TheBeagle]

It wouldn't take much of a sales pitch to get Chris interested in playing here. Of course there are plenty of athletes that don't play for the Charlotte pro franchises that have residence of some kind in Charlotte, but a friend who knows his mom, Robin told me he was looking last summer for a house, but the birth of his kid slowed that down but he'll likely be getting a place this summer. Our buddy, MT, even verified this. I think there was even an "off the record" quote from his brother, CJ, that he would love to play here so that he could be in his homestate, which he loves (:biggrin:), but far enough away from Winston that he'd have some personal space from mom and dad.

I could be totally delusional on this because I want it so bad, but I think the only way this doesn't happen is if FO drops the ball but I can't see MJ letting that happen since they are really kindred spirits in terms of competitive spirit; it really is an all-around perfect marriage...and of course we'll keep our fingers crossed daily 'til it comes to pass.....

[kickazzz2000]

Im pullin for Collison to tear it up leading to the inevitable shinn salary dump of cp3...so far darren is cooperating brilliantly.