Shaun Powell on the future of the Bobcats

[Plowright]

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/shaun_powell/12/23/bobcats/index.html

good read. Very true a lot of the things he says

[superb1]

Hopefully this would be the plan

[Absinthe]

Maybe I'm cynical, but I believe most truly great players will likely take less money to play elsewhere.

[Pepperz]

Its a good piece. It describes what we are trying to do. We have a few pieces in place, just need a few more. What FAs are intriguing to you guys that are coming out in the next couple years. With Kemba, Biyombo, 2012 pick, and a talented FA we could be a quality team.

These are just some of the people that interested in...

2012
Landry Fields
Michael Beasley - R
Kevin Love - R
Jason Thompson - R
Anthony Randolph - R
Roy Hibbert - R
Brook Lopez - R

I got alot of T-Wolves but those guys are very talented.

2013
Stephen Curry - R
Monta Ellis
Tyreke Evans - R
James Harden - R
JOSH SMITH
Paul Millsap
Al Jefferson

Personally, I think that if we can get two more top draft picks with the 2012 and 2013 than pick up some ones like Josh Smith, we can and will be a SICK team.

[anton273]

Nice read, only time will tell but I trust cho to make things happen in Charlotte!!

[pants144]

yep, if all goes according to plan (bad record, good development, one maybe even two promising draft picks, cho makes it past year one) then i'd be hypothetically down for a big free agent signing in 2013!

normally i'd think we'd end up overpaying Al Jefferson and have him lead us to the not-playoffs, but cho seems smarter than that. problem is that the 2013 free agent leaves a lot to be desired in our two (projected) positions of need...

small forwards: Linus Kleiza? Luke Walton? Trevor Ariza? Rashard Lewis? Richard Jefferson (if his conscience gets to him and he turns down that $11.1 million player option)? Josh Smith is really the only respectable choice.

centers: Mek Part II? Splitter? Mosgov? Al Jefferson - no!!!

this is all to say that we'll likely need to address small forward + center in the draft (duh!). drafting for need!!! or draft-day trading for need!!!

as far as 2013 free agents for us, DeMar DeRozan strikes me as the most interesting since there are a lot of other talented guards and he could get lost in the shuffle.

[SWedd523]

I have a feeling that if we draft small, we'll make a big time offer to Hibbert and Kevin Love. Both of those guys are young enough to build around, and perfect foils for Biyombo

[H21T]

good read, although I believe well hope that most of us here knew that to be the plan.

[BBQNut]

don't want to rain on everyone's parade, but it's a little early to start counting
on Kemba to be a star. I hope he is, but lets wait until the season actually begins
before we annoint him.

[Plowright]

i dont think anyone here thinks Kemba for sure will be a star. Infact, a lot of the media seem to have greater expectations of Kemba than we do. Most predict him as ROTY

[Ghost Kat]

i dont think anyone here thinks Kemba for sure will be a star.


ummm......Me

[ND22]

ummm......Me

Me too.....

[bes628]

Me too.....

Make me Three.

[Plowright]

Fine, call me skeptical but if he turned out to be another Jason Terry would you call that STAR?

[Dcarnys]

Fine, call me skeptical but if he turned out to be another Jason Terry would you call that STAR?

Maybe not, but I sure wouldn't be dissapointed.

[Plowright]

I think my idea of a star is different to yours. I think Dwade, cp3, lebron, dwight howard, melo, amarea, deron, kobe, Dirk, Durant are the only "stars in the league" I hope kemba is on that level but I do not think anyonr dhoulf excpect him to be

[TheBeagle]

I think my idea of a star is different to yours. I think Dwade, cp3, lebron, dwight howard, melo, amarea, deron, kobe, Dirk, Durant are the only "stars in the league" I hope kemba is on that level but I do not think anyonr dhoulf excpect him to be No D Rose?!?! I'd take him over any on the above list....and that was before his game winner at LAL earlier.

OT: Article was good and not slanted....obviously not an ESPN.com piece from one of their hacks. I think most Bobcats fans understand that this is the direction of the franchise and are mostly supportive of it. There is definitely a lot of pressure on Kemba. To the common/casual fan, he's the only player with any buzz surrounding him and he needs to play at a level to keep that buzz going, locally more than nationally, at least initially. It's a weird thing: as a franchise, we need to lose this year and often, but we need Kemba to give everyone the ooohs and aaaahs to keep them distracted from the losing while we build this team from the bottom up.

Whether he becomes a star in the D Rose sense, who knows, but he just needs to keep that buzz going until we can add that true star or two in the next couple years.

[SWedd523]

You wouldn't take Rose over Dwight, LeBron, or Durant at the very least

[stun704]

You wouldn't take Rose over Dwight, LeBron, or Durant at the very least
I'd take Rose over Durant

[Ghost Kat]

Fine, call me skeptical but if he turned out to be another Jason Terry would you call that STAR?

For the Bobcats??
Yes
Look at this team, a Jason Terry is way better then what we've had in the past. But Kemba breaks ankles.

[bes628]

Well to me there are the A-Level stars...The superstars if you will i.e. you're lebron's, Wade's, Melo's etc. Then there are B-Level guys like Steve Nash, Lamar Odom,Pau Gasol, etc.

No doubt in my mind he can be a B-Level Star.

[kickazzz2000]

Dudes got A all over him

Game and body of D Wade with the swag and height (his main weakness) of AI


SWAG

[Toocool]

When he scored on Larry Sanders with the And-1, he went for a strut along the baseline.
Kid has so much swagger, awesome to see.

[GoBobs]

Kemba is going to be like Derick Jeter. His stats won't jump off the page at you, but he will be making plays in the clutch and his game will be way bigger then his numbers. He will be a guy that gets all his teammates to play above their heads because his winning attitude and confidence will be infectious.

[TheBeagle]

You wouldn't take Rose over Dwight, LeBron, or Durant at the very least Not trying to be a contrarian or anything, but I certainly would. Easily over Dwight and LeBron. KD would give me pause but if push came to shove I'd go Rose.

[Toocool]

Not trying to be a contrarian or anything, but I certainly would. Easily over Dwight and LeBron. KD would give me pause but if push came to shove I'd go Rose.

I would happily take Rose over Lebron or KD.
Not too sure about whether I would take him over Dwight.
Ready made franchise bigmen who are beasts in the paint, a rebounding force and a defensive presence all in one package are extremely rare to come by. They're guys you can build around.
On the flipside, a whole team is moulded around a PG. The better the PG on your team, the better your team is as a whole. Look at guys like Nash and Kidd, who make other players who would otherwise be pretty meh look like great/star players.

So if you gave me a choice between Rose, Howard, Lebron, KD?
Probably go with Howard, and then Rose.

[SWedd523]

On the flipside, a whole team is moulded around a PG.
No it isn't.

2011-Dirk
2010-Kobe
2009-Kobe
2008-Allen, Pierce, Garnett
2007-Duncan
2006-Wade
2005-Duncan
2004-n/a
2003-Dunca
2002-Kobe/Shaq
2001-Kobe/Shaq
2000-Kobe Shaq
1999-Duncan/Robinson
1998-Jordan
1997-Jordan
1996-Jordan
1995-Hakeem
1994-Hakeem
1993-Jordan
1992-Jordan
1991-Jordan
1990-Thomas

You have to go back to my birth year to get a title team built around a PG. I just can't understand why anybody would take Rose over CP3 or Deron, much less LeBron, Durant, Durant, etc. Maybe his whole "humble" spiel is taking hold? Meh.


The better the PG on your team, the better your team is as a whole. Look at guys like Nash and Kidd, who make other players who would otherwise be pretty meh look like great/star players.
How many rings do the two of them have together in their ~30 years of NBA play? One.

[Toocool]

I'm not stating that it's the PG that wins the championship for the team.
Nor did I say that you get a title team built around a PG. I said that for Center.
It's the team that gets better with the PG around them.
You really think the Mavs would of won a championship without Kidd's passing?
Kobe? He practically played PG with him getting the ball where he could drive and dish.
Duncan? He had Tony Parker and Manu, both decent passers (or great in Manu's case) who could/did play PG.

[SWedd523]

Which team would have been better last year. Mavs without Kidd, or Mavs without Dirk? Exactly.


Kobe is obviously a wing, just because he demands the ball doesn't make him a PG. And Duncan is clearly the focal point of the Spurs. The fact of the matter is that a title team (that IS the whole point, isn't it?) is built around a LeBron, a Durant, a Wade, a Dwight, etc. Those are the guys you get first.

[DUnit24]

Since I watched him play in college, I have felt like Kemba is more in the Allen Iverson mold rather than a Jason Terry.

Walker is special. He wants to be the best too and has an unbelievable work ethic.

Ive watched many Bobcats draftees fail, but Kemba im not worried about. Call me crazy but hes another Allen Iverson type star. Book it.