A Change of Culture!!

[EmmaCat]

As far as I am concerned the Bobcats need to undergo a major change in culture or they will lose this town and it will be tough to win them back. I am a big of Bobcats fan and I love the NBA but even I am getting burnt out after these last two seasons. There is a culture of losing in Charlotte that has to change and as far as I am concerned it needs to change on all levels.

(1) The Name - The Bobcats name needs to go as soon as possible. Bring back the Charlotte Hornets. I know it seems like a small thing but when I was a little kid there was nothing I looked forward to more than going to "the Hive". The environment was electric and the arena was always full. The name Hornets means "success" to Charlotte while the name Bobcats means "failure". It is necessary for them to make this change.

(2) New Coach - Look, I like Mike Dunlap. I believe he would be an incredible NBA assistant coach but he is not a head coach. I respect his effort, intensity and determination. I also respect that he was willing to take a job when he knew he was placed in a no win situation. There was no way any coach could take a roster this flawed and make the team a success. I have 4 candidates who I would like the Bobcats to pursue this offseason, all come from a culture of winning: (4) Stan Van Gundy, (3) Brian Shaw, (2) Mark Malone, and (1) Jerry Sloan. All four of these guys know what it takes to win in the NBA and would immediate give some respect and credibility to Charlotte.

(3) Completely Rebuild the Roster - This roster is incredibly flawed. Nobody can question that and keep their credibility. When I look at the current roster there is truly only 1 player I would say is untouchable - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He is only 19 years old and he is part of the change in culture. I would make anyone else available for the right price. However, I believe the Bobcats will most likely have to keep Kemba Walker, Jeffrey Taylor, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo and Brendan Haywood. I am fine with that but everyone else needs to go. (1) Michael Jordan needs to get creative with Ben Gordon's expiring contract. My favorite move would be to trade Ben Gordon's expiring contract to Chicago for Carlos Boozer and get back the 1st Round Pick they owe from the Tyrus Thomas deal. If I was the GM I would do everything possible to make this deal and for the rest of this blog lets say they make that deal. (2) Then amnesty clause must be used on Tyrus Thomas. As athletically gifted as he does is bring down a team. (3) Byron Mullens is fine and he is improving but he is not worth the salary that the Bobcats would have to pay him. (4) Gerald Henderson is not the future starting SG for the Bobcats as long as MKG is your starting SF. You need an elite scorer and 3-point shooter which that is not Gerald. Also, you let all of the unrestricted free agents walk.

(4) Trade - Ramon Sessions has been an excellent player off the bench for Charlotte and I believe that his value is at an all-time high headed into this offseason. He would be a very valuable piece for a playoff team that needs a PG for a reasonable price. He has 1-year and $5 million dollars left on his contract and I bellieve the Bobcats could get a mid-1st Round Pick for him. In speaking to a friend of mine who is a diehard Utah Jazz fan, he thinks the Jazz would gladly trade the 1st Round Pick they are receiving from Golden State for Sessions this offseason because they desperately need a PG who can get out and run with a young team.

(5) A Great Draft - This is obvious, but the Bobcats must have a great draft. For arguments sake lets say they only have their 1st Round Pick because Portland continues to falter. With the #1 Overall Pick the Bobcats must draft Ben McLemore. McLemore is a 6'5 195 pound SG that has elite NBA scorer written all over him. He has explosive athletic ability and a pure shooting stroke. According to Kansas coaches his work ethic is off the charts too. This young man would be the ideal pure shooter than can stretch a defense to pair alongside Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Once again for arguments sake lets say the Bobcats have the #1 Overall Pick (you still draft Ben McLemore) and get Portland's Pick at #13. At that point with the #13 Pick I would draft Kelly Olynk. I know what people are thinking - another uncoordinated white boy from Gonzaga with long hair. However, I think Olynyk is a great piece to add to the Cats roster. He is incredibly coordinated, has great touch around the rim with both hands and can step out and hit the jumper. Also he has something that no Bobcats front court player has - a back to the basket game. I know once again some people will think I am crazy but he reminds me a lot of a young Pau Gasol. If he fell into the Bobcats hands at #13 a lot of teams would regret not picking him. For the sake of the rest of this blog lets say Charlotte gets both Ben McLemore and Kelly Olynyk.

(6) Free Agency - If Charlotte drafts both McLemore and Olynyk there roster will look like this heading into Free Agency:

PG - Kemba Walker - 6'0 185
PG -
SG - Ben McLemore - 6'5 195
SG -
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 6'7 232
SF - Jeffrey Taylor - 6'7 225
PF -
PF - Carlos Boozer - 6'9 265
C - Bismack Biyombo - 6'9 245
C - Kelly Olynyk - 7'0 240
C - Brendan Haywood - 7'0 285

Obviously, Charlotte will have a gaping hole at the PF and PG positions and I think the Cats can do a nice job filling that void in Free Agency with solid players that will be a valuable piece for this team moving forward. My number one target for PF is someone who was once my arch nemisis, Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough brings relentless effort, a back to the basket game and a high-volume rebounder. He would be a huge part of the change of culture for Charlotte because he plays hard every single minute of the game. I would even go as far as to overpay a little bit for Hansbrough to make sure we offer the best deal because you know what you will get from him every single night. I think with 28-32 minutes a night in Charlotte he would be a guaranteed double-double. Charlotte must get him! Then, I would fill out the roster with some young players from the D-League that I believe have the potential to be solid role players in the NBA. (1) Andrew Goudelock (PG) who can play some minutes as backup to Walker and can stroke the 3-ball. (2) Travis Leslie has been a superstar in the D-League and is only 23 years old. He is 6'4 and an elite athlete and defender. He is currently listed as the #1 propsect in the D-League and won the D-League All-Star Game MVP award. (3) DaJuan Summers is a 6'8 240 pound combo SF/PF that has done well in the D-League. He would be a nice versatile player to fill out the roster. (4) Sundiata Gaines has bounced around the NBA and shown flashes of ability to play backup PG in the NBA. He is just looking for an opportunity and Charlotte can give him one.

That would leave the Hornets (hopefully) an Opening Day Roster of:

PG: Kemba Walker - 6'0 185
PG: Andrew Goudelock - 6'3 205
PG: Sundiata Gaines - 6'1 200
SG: Ben McLemore - 6'5 195
SG: Travis Leslie - 6'4 205
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 6'7 232
SF: Jeffrey Taylor - 6'7 225
PF: Tyler Hansbrough - 6'9 250
PF: Carlos Boozer - 6'9 265
C: Bismack Biyombo - 6'9 245
C: Kelly Olynyk - 7'0 240
C: Brendan Haywood - 7'0 285

With that roster you would give your young players that are part of your future - Kemba, McLemore, Kidd-Gilchrist, Taylor, Hansbrough, Biyombo and Olynyk a majority of the minutes. You would also give other young players like Goudelock and Leslie to show that they can be a role player for your team moving forward. Your front court is hugely improved with the addition of Hansbrough, Boozer and Olynyk. Boozer gives you a mature veteran in the locker room that can still play ball and mentor this young team out on the court instead of from the bench like Haywood. This roster will make this team much more competitive and a lot more fun to watch but will still put the Charlotte in position to for a top draft pick in 2014 to hopefully land the superstar that will change the franchise forever in 2014 with Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Noah Vonleh or Julius Randle who I believe make up an incredibly strong top of the draft next year.

Thoughts?

[Potato]

Name - changing the name won't magically make them start winning
New Coach - maybe, but it's not like there are man who want this job. At least let Dunlap start our next season
Rebuild roster- what they're doing right now
Trade- were looking for a deal at the deadline, didn't get an offer they liked. Held back. Smart
Draft- well yeah

Kemba and MKG are untouchable.

[JGib23]

Agree with the name change

I'm not a huge Dunlap fan and believe he could be easily replaced with almost anyone but, I believe he will be back next year. I think he like a sacrificial lamb that is here to absorb losses for 2 or 3 years and develop talent and then move on when we hire our "real" coach... Kind of like the role Bernie Bickerstaff was planning to when he started out as the franchises 1st coach.

I'm on the fence about Mully & Hendo but, I think both will end up not getting a big contract offer and end up back here next year on their Qualifying Offer's (which are both reasonable salaries)... I'd would do the Chicago trade but, I think they will not give up on our 1st rounder they own... That pick could turn into Gold if we screw up any of the next 2 drafts...agree Tyrus is as good as gone.

I'm all for cashing in on Ramon but, I bet we can extract the most value at the trade deadline instead of over the summer. I think he has most likely been one of the top free agent signings in Bobcats history and I would be willing to hold on to him if he is committed to staying here after his contract expires for a reasonable sum... If not, try to get a late 1st from a contender for him.

In the draft, I'm still leaning towards Noel over McLemore ( if his knee checks out). I've seen McLemore a few times this year and I'm worried about him being able to create his own shot and he always seems to play hot potato with the ball in crunch time like he doesn't want to take the big shot... I'd prefer a draft of Noel and CJ McCollum but, I wouldn't be too disappointed with McLemore and Olynyk... Your right landing a top pick in 14 is important. Super talent at the top of that draft.

Great job!

[BobcatsOverBaghdad]

Props for the effort as well as the insights.

2 critisisms:

1) Hansborogh is undersized and an average scorer at best: with Biz that is 2 undersized post players on the floor with very poor scoring collectively between the two. I think the "more energy players=more energy on team" theory is overrated: Dunlap runs the crap out of his players and I can safely assume all of our young players (minus Thomas) really care about winning, which is all I really ask of them. But I'm tired of this logic of "we need more hustle players" (and I'm not singling out you EmmaCat, it's just sounding like a broken record in general), if our team is mostly made up of young players led by MKG + Kemba, with the bootcamp practices, I'm not worried about effort. Just avoid divas, and I'm fine. An alternative route, a double double machine for the post: that's why I like the Boozer trade (which unfortunately won't be happening this year), just not the Hansborough as starter move.
v v v v
2) I say draft the big Zeller brother who can run floor and score; save the SG pursuits for 2014 draft which has 2 Anthony Davis level talents in Parker and Wiggins.

[StakJak]

No idea why Sloan wasn't approached.

[CatNation]

not sure why youd want to trade Sessions for a mid first and but say Hansbrough would be a piece of our future

you wont get a player as good as Sessions with that pick and he's still young.

i think a good step toward changing a culture would be not trading good young players because they're playing so well that we can get a mediocre pick for them

[tondi]

I wouldn't give Sessions away but if it seemed like he wasn't going to resign here anyway then I would surely get what I could for him prior to the trade deadline. Especially if another team was offering a mid first rounder, which I kind of doubt would happen, but still.

[TheBeagle]

1. That's a matter of perspective. Like's been discussed on the "Hornets" thread, there's little to nothing negative about changing the name, but neither is it a panacea. The only time the Coliseum was electric after the Zo/LJ trades and Shinn/Honeybee trist was during the magical '01 playoff run; enthusiasm and attendance noticeably dwindled over the years. Compared to the Bobcats name, the Hornets were successful here, but I would never associate "Hornets" with "success." Never making a conference finals (something even the T'wolves have done) is not the hallmark of a successful franchise. But it would indeed be a quick fix momentarily, though maybe that's what's needed since we're, at best, 2-3 years away from contending for a playoff spot; "Hornets" as opiate for the masses.

2. Don't agree, as I discuss in "Fire Dunlap Bandwagon" thread.

3. Somewhat agree. Kemba needs a competent offensive big. Not a star or anything, just someone who can occasionally demand a double team or be enough of a threat that they have to be routinely chased when rolling on a pick n roll. Otherwise, keep things simple and make small moves like this previous off-season. I don't think anyone's untouchable, but if they are, I'd have to include Kemba with MKG.

4. Sessions is a good fit here and I'd hate to see him go. Don't know if a mid-rounder would be enough, especially since it would put even more pressure on Kemba without having the only other penetrator on the team not named Kemba.

5. Can't dispute there; like you said, it's obvious. But I've got my eyes towards the next 2 drafts, not just this year's. We need great drafts in '13 and/or '14. Agree with you on McLemore as my preference right now.

6. I like the look of that pretty good. I might have different players I'd rather see here, but really, the gist of your roster is right in line with how I'd like to see it.

[Plowright]

The entire culture change was supposed to happen this last offseason tougher, faster, stronger. I can't be bothered to go into detail as this is from my phone but as I said the culture change is already happened.

[Mustachio]

The entire culture change was supposed to happen this last offseason tougher, faster, stronger. I can't be bothered to go into detail as this is from my phone but as I said the culture change is already happened.

Totally agree. This is what the team is doing. It just doesn't happen over night, no matter what magic spell you think it is...

Call us the Hornets (please) but that wont bring wins.

Hell look at New Orleans.. they got what we wanted in the #1 pick and they aren't exactly working with a "winning culture" either.

They weren't kidding when they said we are building something. I don't know why no one believes them.