Excellent Bobcats article

[dvdbumpus]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22392.shtml


This article elaborates on draft picks, the trade options we have of Richardson or Ray Allen.

From what he said, I'd be more excited into getting Richardson. Here's why:


More importantly than what he brings on the court - which is a lot - Richardson is a solid leader that would do nothing but strengthen the Bobcats locker room. For years in Oakland, he never once complained about the team losing and wasting his talent or anything of that nature - instead, he worked hard and became a fan favorite, championing them and working hard to give them the winning team he felt they deserved. His addition would be absolutely great for a Charlotte franchise looking to invigorate their fans and build a winner.

Richardson's $11.1-million salary is relatively reasonable for a player on the cusp of being an All-Star. With so much talent in the West, Richardson has yet to find himself playing in the midseason showcase, but in the East, he has a chance.

So what would Richardson cost? The eighth pick (which the Warriors would use to leap frog over Chicago to take Yi Jianlian .. if he's gone, they'd take Al Thornton), Sean May (the Warriors need a big body who can rebound), and a future second rounder. May's time in Charlotte has been up and down, with injuries really holding him back; the Warriors would be concerned with May's conditioning and weight issues, but that isn't anything that some hard work over the offseason can't help.

The Warriors would consider this deal solely for the reason of shedding Richardson's salary. He has been the heart and soul of the Warriors franchise, but some fans would understand that keeping Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins would be nearly impossible without moving someone. It would be a sad day in Oakland but emotions would be eased by the addition of Yi in the Bay Area, with its large Asian population to embrace him.

The Bobcats could also acquire one of the Warriors' second round picks as well. This would give Charlotte an opportunity to grab a glut of big bodies that would be available, including Kyrylo Fesenko, Herbert Hill, Glen Davis, and Jermareo Davidson. Rather than going big, the Bobcats could consider some of the swingmen mentioned earlier (especially Terry, another UNC product that could stay close to home) and look to add to their depth in the paint in free agency.



I always thought he was a good team player (Michigan state players usually seem to be), but toughing it out during those crappy years? That's class, and being 26 he's still coming into his own. He's a team leader and during the playoffs you really got to see his passion for the game. He'd also be like a second coming of Crash, where his intensity is infectious, with the team and with the fans. Richardson is also signed until 2010/2011, all under 15 million...AND with the exception of this year he isn't an injury risk. All in all, with him in place, the lineup looks pretty tough.

I think that having Higgins here from GS, the need of GS needing to get under the cap as well as the addition of Yi or even Thornton(both of who are hyped and fit well for them). I think we have a shot at him, and will help both teams.


Later in the article, it mentions the potential lineup after all is said and done:

PG: Raymond Felton / Brevin Knight / Taurean Green
SG: Jason Richardson / Matt Carroll
SF: Gerald Wallace / Adam Morrison
PF: Walter Herrmann / Joe Smith / Othella Harrington
C: Emeka Okafor / Primoz Brezec / Jake Voskuhl

I can see that as being a very good, and very deep lineup. Thoughts, or ways of improvement?

[Dead_Real]

Very good read

As you all know I'd be really happy to get Rich for various reasons for one if we are planning on pushing the ball next year what better player to have at the two than J-Rich?

I think this trade is the more reasonable one I've heard on the Bobcats side of things. Just giving up the 8th pick (considering Yi falls to us) would be huge and both teams would benefit from the move.

[dvdbumpus]

The article even said that GSW was even looking into Al Thornton.....who knows?

If we can land Richardson and the 18 for the 8th and possibly someone else, I would let them have Brewer if he was available as well. Richardson is a safer bet as he's already successful, and has a better shot. His defense also isn't bad either.

I'm pretty stoked about the possible deal if you couldn't already tell.

[timang]

that guy probably visits this site! hahaha :)

nice read btw.

[TheBeagle]

Good find, bumpus! Yes, this trade is a must, which makes next Thursday even more exciting. I think it's legit, because the Warriors have so many athletic shooter/slashers who are making less (excepting BD), and the Yi addition for them would be ideal. Also, your Michigan State connection is dead-on; Izzo is the best coach in college basketball (sorry, Roy, but you even know it's true), and his players, generally, are good citizens.

[spectre]

All I can say is I hope someone in the Bobcats' organization reads HoopsWorld!

I do think he's overestimating what it'll cost (May, 8th, 22nd or future 1st)...the 8th for JRich should be the basic package, and if we're lucky they'll take Knight and throw in the 18th.

Regardless, JRich is the guy. He's cheap for what he brings AND he's locked into that contract, he's still pretty young and he's been an iron man up til last year.

One little move could do so much.

[Keetch]

Good article but a bit too hyped on the trade for my taste; I agree with Spectre, the writer seems so excited that he's giving up too much.

I like the 8 and 22 for JRich and GSW's 18, but the 8, 22 and Sean May is too much for JRich and their 2nd Rounder. Anyways that lineup he posts leaves us terribly weak in the frontcourt. I don't think the Bobcats would give up so much.

[Mustachio]

i cant believe you guys are excited about bringing in Jason Richardson for all our draft picks and Sean May....

but giving up 3 picks and an unsigned Crash for Kobe Bryant is an awful idea????

I like this trade if Yi, and Brewer are both gone... and they still want Al thorton, Julian Wright, Hawes Etc...

but i think we are better off drafting a promising 7 foot instant marketability asian pf/c, or Brewer.

IF Kobe gets traded to the east... thats yet another SG that we cant guard. if we have a chance to get Brewer, hes gonna be the guy who guards, Kobe, bron, peirce, rip, etc, etc.
not that J-rich cant, but hes a lot more expensive.

but i do agree with you guys that a lineup of Ray, Rich, Crash, Mek, Brezec... is pretty solid. but ray, Ammo/brewer, Crash, Mek, Brezec is cheaper and younger... and not that bad.

[Mustachio]

i just re - read the article and two things popped out...

1. It is ridiculous that we have to go to a national newspaper, or website, or some random blogger to get useful, fan friendly non whining information about our team. The Charlotte Observer should be ashamed.

2. It really is a great idea. it works for both teams, keeps us under the salary cap still (so that we can resign players like adam and ray when the time comes.) and J-rich would fit in here and not skip a beat. i get chills thinkin about the hustle we would see from our backcourt... wow.
i think having this lineup would put us in a good positon now, and not cripple us for the future as much as others.

i still maintain though, that if Yi or Brewer is around at 8.... we draft them. as the article said, MJ, myself and some other posters here are still very excited about Ammos talent. if we get J-rich, Ammo will barely ever see the light of day again on this roster.

if brewer is around at 8... ray, ammo/brewer, crash, mek, primoz is a lineup that is still solid and it allows charlotte to feel out Ammo. if he really is as bad as it seemed this year, then we have his backup plan playing minutes already.

if Yi is around at 8 Ray, Ammo, Crash, Mek, and Yi is a running, young, versatile lineup that would do very very very well in the East.... assuming of course that Yi isnt a bust.

[cltblkhscoach]

Thank you for a realistic trade scenario!! I'd be happy with this if we only had to give up the 8 and Sean May for Richardson, or if we got their 18th for the original deal. Morrison is only in his second year, it may help for him to be that 6th man off the bench, having a consistent role unlike last season. My only concern is guarding a team with two decent big guys, but I guess we could manuver the lineup as needed.

[TheBeagle]

i just re - read the article and two things popped out...

1. It is ridiculous that we have to go to a national newspaper, or website, or some random blogger to get useful, fan friendly non whining information about our team. The Charlotte Observer should be ashamed.

2. It really is a great idea. it works for both teams, keeps us under the salary cap still (so that we can resign players like adam and ray when the time comes.) and J-rich would fit in here and not skip a beat. i get chills thinkin about the hustle we would see from our backcourt... wow.
i think having this lineup would put us in a good positon now, and not cripple us for the future as much as others.

i still maintain though, that if Yi or Brewer is around at 8.... we draft them.
Ah, Mustachio has seen the error of his ways! It really is a good trade, though, I also agree it should be 8 and, 22 OR May, not 22 AND May for J-Rich. I'm going to email my insider John Delong and see what he's heard of this, as I'm much more intrigued by this than the Gasol rumor. I agree that if Brewer is still around, we should take him, but if only Yi is there, let's send Stern up to the platform announcing a Bobcats/Warriors trade.

[tamburello]

I hate Richardson since he took Mehmet Okur down in the end of 4th match of the Jazz-Warriors, only for a stupid "respect" matter. But when I look at the trade, it makes quite sense to me. He showed a good improvement during the last season and playoffs. So I'm OK with that proposed trade.

[Mustachio]

J-rich is great and all.

But a Gasol trade, or picking up Yi... if those two options are there, we gotta take em.

A big man is worth more than a 2/3 combo guard anytime. especially a big man that has been an allstar... vs a guard who hasnt made that leap yet.

[dvdbumpus]

J-rich is great and all.

But a Gasol trade, or picking up Yi... if those two options are there, we gotta take em.

A big man is worth more than a 2/3 combo guard anytime. especially a big man that has been an allstar... vs a guard who hasnt made that leap yet.


If it's Pau, definitely. Yi....I'm still on the fence over.

[Mustachio]

J-rich is great and all.

But a Gasol trade, or picking up Yi... if those two options are there, we gotta take em.

A big man is worth more than a 2/3 combo guard anytime. especially a big man that has been an allstar... vs a guard who hasnt made that leap yet.


If it's Pau, definitely. Yi....I'm still on the fence over.


your right... Yi, while a very promising big man... Jrich is more proven.

[TheBeagle]

Here's what John Delong emailed me about the/any proposed trade:



i don't know specifically about the gs scenario, and i'm leaving soon for wimbledon so my mind's been on tennis. but the wheels are turning over at bobcatsland.

they're bringing brandan wright in this morning, which tells me something. they're definitely looking to package and trade up if they can. no way brandan wright agrees to work out for somebody who's drafting eighth unless there's a reason.

if in fact they're going to sign someone significant in free agency, there's no need to sign a free agent, plus the 8th and 22nd picks. just add a signficant free agent and one stud rookie, and you've got the nucleus you need to go into the future. look at it this way: are they three average players away from being a playoff team, or two really really good players away?

i would hate to see them give up on may. just because i think may's good to have on a team, on the court and in the locker room, and i think he will figure it out and find his niche and be a serviceable player over the long haul. never a star, not necessarily a starter, but a serviceable player. but, obviously, you would never hesitate to include him in a deal if it led to a blockbuster that helps you.

I'm with John on the 2 premier players over 3 decent players scenario. But who should/could those 2 players be? All I know is the "wheels ARE turning over at bobcatsland," so this next week is going to be something else!

[pree]

Hey everyone .. I'm actually the guy that wrote this article.

Thanks for your kind words .. I got an email a few hours ago from someone on this site who said that he read my article here and wondered if I knew the Bobcats would get JRich all along. I didn't, but I really appreciate the nice words that some of you have posted. It feels good to see that the Bobcats actually sort of went through with the deal I proposed here .. they ended up giving up a lot less than I thought they'd have to! Apparently, the Warriors really were desperate to move JRich.

Congratulations on acquiring him - you will not be disappointed, I guarantee you that much.

This is the first step towards playoff baskeball in Charlotte - revel in it!!

[tamburello]

Thanks Mr. Bhattacharya and welcome, but why don't I stop feeling raped? We tied Richardson, and his 4 year 48 million contract, that's just like a free agent signing, right? And we gave up our 8th pick(which can be regarded as a steal) and even couldn't take back their 18th pick(Belinelli in this case) and settled with 36th pick(Davidson). Technically we killed our chances to jump into free-agent market, we've been in a situation that we selected Dudley(which is also a horrible preference) with 8th pick and Davidson with 22nd. Most importantly, we killed our chances to make a run at Amare.

[pree]

Thanks Mr. Bhattacharya and welcome, but why don't I stop feeling raped? We tied Richardson, and his 4 year 48 million contract, that's just like a free agent signing, right? And we gave up our 8th pick(which can be regarded as a steal) and even couldn't take back their 18th pick(Belinelli in this case) and settled with 36th pick(Davidson). Technically we killed our chances to jump into free-agent market, we've been in a situation that we selected Dudley(which is also a horrible preference) with 8th pick and Davidson with 22nd. Most importantly, we killed our chances to make a run at Amare.
I think you might feel raped because Stephen A Smith yelled it until your subconscious accepted it just so you wouldn't have to hear him anymore.

I don't feel as though the Bobcats killed their chances of jumping into the market at all - the reality of the market is that what the Bobcats need is either overpriced or not available. The team clearly needs a go-to scorer, meaning the only three really likely targets are Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Chauncey Billups. Lewis is a secondary scorer who hasn't really been a winner, so he isn't worth it. Carter is overrated, in my opinion, and looks like he is staying with the Nets anyway. Billups is an interesting possibility that is hard to argue against, but again it does seem like he'll stay with Detroit.

So with relatively slim pickings in free agency, the Bobcats seemed to have made a deal for a reasonably priced scorer. $11.1-million feels like a lot, but that's what Josh Howard is making, ish, and he's a third option in Dallas, to put it in perspective.

As far as Amare goes, I don't think he's being traded, either. Anytime you want one of these marquis guys, you're going to have to give up a LOT to get them, and I don't think Amare will be worth the package the Suns end up asking for him. Plus, he would be a silly acquisition because he has an incredibly high ego and is hard to get along with - Vincent was hired to maintain a happy locker room ... Amare almost immediately shatters that, don't you think?

This is a good deal - I'm writing my analysis on it on Friday, so it should be up Saturday or Sunday, depending on how long the fact checks take. The Golden State side of things is up already (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22520.shtml), if you want a preview of what to expect in what I'll be writing about the Bobcats.

[Mustachio]

Thanks Mr. Bhattacharya and welcome, but why don't I stop feeling raped? We tied Richardson, and his 4 year 48 million contract, that's just like a free agent signing, right? And we gave up our 8th pick(which can be regarded as a steal) and even couldn't take back their 18th pick(Belinelli in this case) and settled with 36th pick(Davidson). Technically we killed our chances to jump into free-agent market, we've been in a situation that we selected Dudley(which is also a horrible preference) with 8th pick and Davidson with 22nd. Most importantly, we killed our chances to make a run at Amare.
I think you might feel raped because Stephen A Smith yelled it until your subconscious accepted it just so you wouldn't have to hear him anymore.

I don't feel as though the Bobcats killed their chances of jumping into the market at all - the reality of the market is that what the Bobcats need is either overpriced or not available. The team clearly needs a go-to scorer, meaning the only three really likely targets are Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Chauncey Billups. Lewis is a secondary scorer who hasn't really been a winner, so he isn't worth it. Carter is overrated, in my opinion, and looks like he is staying with the Nets anyway. Billups is an interesting possibility that is hard to argue against, but again it does seem like he'll stay with Detroit.

So with relatively slim pickings in free agency, the Bobcats seemed to have made a deal for a reasonably priced scorer. $11.1-million feels like a lot, but that's what Josh Howard is making, ish, and he's a third option in Dallas, to put it in perspective.

As far as Amare goes, I don't think he's being traded, either. Anytime you want one of these marquis guys, you're going to have to give up a LOT to get them, and I don't think Amare will be worth the package the Suns end up asking for him. Plus, he would be a silly acquisition because he has an incredibly high ego and is hard to get along with - Vincent was hired to maintain a happy locker room ... Amare almost immediately shatters that, don't you think?

This is a good deal - I'm writing my analysis on it on Friday, so it should be up Saturday or Sunday, depending on how long the fact checks take. The Golden State side of things is up already (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_22520.shtml), if you want a preview of what to expect in what I'll be writing about the Bobcats.


i agree i think it will be ok on both sides. even if we kept the pick, wright was the BPA... so there wasnt much else we could do tamb.

Now we got rid of another project, and picked up a reliable scorer that everyone seems to think will fit in nicely. we shall see. Losing wright is not even that big of a deal to me.

[tamburello]

Of course, there is nothing to do now. What has done is done. I hope I'd be wrong and Richardson would be a fruitful choice on our behalf.

[Mustachio]

do you not agree, that Wright had huge bust potential being the 8th pick, and needing a ton of work? we may have saved ourselves some UNC Bobcat heckling! Even if he turns out to be a solid player in a year or twos time, will he ever be a franchise player... man the odds are stacked way against that..

there could have been several better ways this draft played out... but the thing is theres 29 other teams out there trying to better themselves and picking at 8, we had to deal with what came to us ya know. The Amare deal was weird, i was so pumped about it, but it never really seemed real to me....

[dvdbumpus]

After Yi was drafted before us and we drafted Wright, I thought the draft was ruined. It wasn't the worst it COULD have been, but Wright was nothing many people were excited about getting. Getting J-rich was probably the best realistic deal that came about without sacrificing what we already had.

[pree]

Wright was NOT going to help you win now and there is always bust potential when you take a guy ONLY for his potential, as teams were doing with Wright. Had he gone in the top 5 as originally expected, it could have been a very bad situation. At #8, he was taken late enough to be considered a value pick, but the Bobcats made a move to win tomorrow, not next year.

There's something nice about that.

[dvdbumpus]

Agreed pree. We can also remember this: Boston traded the #5 and some bums to Seattle for Ray Allen. A 32 year old, can't play any defense declining Ray Allen. Makes me happy what we got for our pick.

[Mustachio]

i cant see one bad thing about this trade. am i crazy.

we just traded a proven commodity and a later pick for an mystery commodity.

if we resign Wallace... its automatically one of the better backcourts in the east. people are acting like its a bad idea.... ill take proven over mystery anyday.

[timang]

i cant see one bad thing about this trade. am i crazy.

we just traded a proven commodity and a later pick for an mystery commodity.

if we resign Wallace... its automatically one of the better backcourts in the east. people are acting like its a bad idea.... ill take proven over mystery anyday.


of course it's not bad, hell, it's even GOOOOOOOD. but i see if we could have played the cards better(adding the 18th pick or something for the 22 and blahblah), not one will be in doubts over that one.