Jordan wants to restore Bobcats' image

[X-Clown]

Guess what, the Hornets were successful (for a time) because they had exciting players, and they got those players the only way a small-market NBA team can- through the draft. Alonzo Mourning (2nd overall), Baron Davis (3rd overall), and Larry Johnson (1st overall). The fact is, the Bobcats need to suck really hard for a while, because otherwise they will never have the players to field a competitive NBA team. If the team gets some good players, it wont matter what you call them. Seriously, the Clippers are one of the hottest tickets in the NBA right now. The Clippers.

Ding Ding Ding!!!

Great for the Browns and the Sonics. The Hornets were the first major pro sports franchise in Charlotte, and the connection this team had with the city is something the Bobcats haven't even sniffed in 8 years.

That kind of logic is like saying you should marry your first girlfriend just because she's your first.

Just because they never won any hardware (who else did in the 90's except Jordan?) doesn't mean the team and brand didn't mean a lot to the city.

Yeah, it DID at one point, but that point was nearly 20 years ago. That was before giving LJ an overpriced contract, alienating Alonzo Mourning, Shinn's rape trial, trading Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac, Bobby Phills, Derrick Coleman and so on and so forth. It wasn't just the fact that the team didn't win anything, it's that there became more and more apathy in the city after the aforementioned events and the Panthers showed up in town.

Where was this uproar when the NBA first came back to Charlotte to call them the Hornets again? And how many people that are calling for the team to be called the Hornets again are the same people who don't even like the NBA to begin with?

[King Taharqa]

The city didnt mean much to the Hornets, thats why they left and never looked back. Why not just become an NO Hornets fan if youre so proud of the franchise?

[cavic7585]

and call me crazy but i dont think we are that far off. Kemba and bismack were good draft picks. I dont know why some people believe that if you pick in the top 10 you get an allstar. hopefully we get a anthony davis/barnes/gilchrist type player, have another bad year and get a high draft pick.

also in anykind of business you do certain things to generate excitement about your product.

[cbarrier90]

Cbarrier you're naive if you think Jordan cares more about this team and city than Bob. He wont spend money and alienated us from superstars with that lockout stunt. There are agents who wont even negotiate with us unless we overpay. MJ has always cared about himself and his brand first and foremost. He traded away our face and replaced him with who? Himself! Mike the owner is the star, he's the biggest draw. LOL. With Bob you never had this problem

. He just signed the checks and gave his GM and coach what they wanted. But a pre-proggressive Charlotte wasnt ready for a self made guy like him. They had more love for a good old boy owner and his business that abandoned them than the one who presently repped and fought for them. What star player wants to play in an environment like that? So that in itself is part of the image problem for this market locally. We'd rather live in and rehash the past then look to and BUILD for the future.

:rofl:

MJ "alienated" YOU from seeing LeBron for 16 more regular season games. Boo hoo. Fact is, the NBA system is garbage for small market teams with the soft cap luxury tax and MJ is looking out for his own team. I am confident the Panthers will keep Cam in the fold because they will be able to afford it under the NFL system. If the Bobcats ever found a superstar, they'd never be able to do the same.

He traded away Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and Tyson Chandler because the best Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and Tyson Chandler could do was lead the Bobcats to a first-round sweep. To your point about building for the future, that team was cash-strapped with nowhere to go for improvement, so MJ is starting over. He's not spending money now because he's having to pay off terrible contracts to Diop, Maggette, Carroll, etc. until they expire in a few years. In the meantime, we'll have high lottery picks in the fold developing as those contracts expire.

And about that playoff appearance, it's the only one in Bobcats franchise history and it came under Michael Jordan's tenure.

Bob Johnson is a great entrepreneurial success story. Great! That still doesn't account for his sheer apathy when it comes to owning a basketball team. It's one thing to be a bad owner, but BoJo didn't even try to be an owner!

[MadHatter]

This is the truth. Focusing our energy on reliving the past or "winning back old fans" or erasing our Bobcat history (that will never be forgotten or erased no matter how hard some try) is what got us to this point. What happens in between the lines is 300 X more important than what happens outside the lines. If the Bobcats had a superstar that people NATIONALLY identified with like the Panthers do with Cam, nobody would be talking image problems.

Exactly.

Ultimately fans really do not care about the team name...the logo...the colors. They care about paying hard earned money to see a quality product on the court. Sadly, the Bobcats roster is so void of legitimate NBA talent, that I do not see this changing any time soon.

There are good players in this draft, but I don't even see that Durant, Rose, Duncan, type of game changer.

[King Taharqa]

Now Jordan built our playoff team. Lol. I bet he brought in G Wallace too? Cbarrier I wish you could talk to some arena workers about how nice Jordan is to them and fans who dare speak to him.

[Carl Spackler]

Bob Johnson is down there with George Shinn in the running for worst NBA owner ever. He didn't give the fans what they wanted at all. He made Charlotte people feel alienated by not having anything to do with the team or the city. He also fired his entire community relations staff. I am thankful to Bob Johnson for practically nothing. I'm thankful to the NBA for giving us another franchise, but Johnson's self-promoting nickname and poor attitude did nothing to make me want to support the team. I'm more of a fan now than I was when he owned them, regardless of record. And unlike most people on this board who bash the team, I actually watch them, so I don't compare Kemba to Clausen or say they'd lose in the NBDL.

[cavic7585]

i agree with KT on jordans attitude. I have always heard the guy is a world class a-hole.

[King Taharqa]

i agree with KT on jordans attitude. I have always heard the guy is a world class a-hole.

But hey people loved him so much as a Bull they overlook his character flaws and tell today's players to be JUST LIKE HIM. LOL.

[Niner National]

I think both owners have been shitty to be honest.

Bob Johnson created a mess by giving big contracts to mediocre players. Jordan hasn't done anything to improve the team, but maybe that's because he's stuck paying out huge salaries to shitty players like Diop.

[rico6]

I got to disagree with you on, well, most of this. MJ spending money to keep the team together once he took over as owner would have been the worst possible long-term move for the team. Thats not to say it wouldnt have helped the image of the team to remain somewhat relevant in the playoff picture for a couple more years, but long term the team as it was constructed would have never succeed long term.

MJ said as much at the time, but re-signing Tyson Chandler and putting the team into the luxury tax would have been silly for a team competing for the 7th and 8th seed in the East. It would basically be building the team around Wallace (29 right now), Steven Jackson (33), Chandler (29), and either Felton or Augustin at the point. That team is at best a 5th seed or so, and has no hope of legitimately competing with the Bulls and Heat. So, 2nd round at BEST. Also, it would have killed any cap space, required a ton of money in long term deals, and probably lose more money than any team in the NBA

That being said, it probably would have helped the team in the short term. There would at least be some buzz about the team, and attendance would certainly be better. But what about 2 or 3 years from now, when the team would be stuck with aging players on big contracts, no high draft picks in sight, no cap space, and no hope of competing for another 5+ years? I dont think the positive buzz of a couple playoff appearances would make up for the hopelessness of that scenario.

Jesus ******* christ someone gets it. Holy shyt, man.

[Penalty Flag]

This team needs some All-Star caliber players; Kemba could get there eventually, but it'll take a while for sure. Back in the day there was Larry Johnson, then Glen Rice, then Baron Davis, who were all exciting, not to mention a possible future Hall of Famer in Alonzo Mourning. Let's hope we strike gold and find some diamonds in the rough in the years upcoming.

[Chimera]

That point would be fine if you were really comparing apples to apples.

The Sonics were around 41 years, won an NBA championship, were in the NBA finals 3 other times, and won 4 division titles in a span of 5 years.

The Cleveland Browns existed for 49 years, won 4 championships (before the merger), 11 conference championships, 13 division championships, 28 playoff appearances, and have 21 hall of famers.

The Charlotte Hornets existed for 14 years, and won 4 playoff series (never advancing past the second round). Everyone who romanticizes about the team keeps remembering 1993, but what about the aftermath of it? Star players left the team left and right, and has given this city a stigma that stars will never want to stay here (which even spills over to the Panthers, see how many people are scared that Cam Newton will pack his bags). Changing the team's name back to the Hornets isn't going to help that.

They left because Shinn didn't want to pay.

He gave LJ that ridiculous (at the time) contract and he had nothing left for Mourning.

When it came time to pay Mourning, he was shipped off for Glenn Rice.

Glenn Rice earned every cent, but when it time came to pay up, he was shipped off for Eddie Jones.

When it was time to pay Eddie Jones, well, you get the idea. It happened to several players the fans loved:

JR Reid for Sidney Greene

Scott Burrell (I forget who we got from Golden State)

Johnny Newman for Rumeal Robinson

Hersey Hawkins to get back Kendall Gill, who they'd traded to get Eddie Johnson

I didn't like Kendall Gill because, as a SuperSonic, he got in a fight with LJ - but during Gill's first stint, we had a solid nucleus of young players with Gill, LJ, Zo along with veterans like Dell Curry, Muggsy, JR Reid, etc.

I know I got tired of management not being able to keep the team together.

To put it in perspective, imagine Jerry Richardson trading Cam for Jon Kitna and a bag of cash.

[Wanderlai]

This team needs some All-Star caliber players; Kemba could get there eventually, but it'll take a while for sure. Back in the day there was Larry Johnson, then Glen Rice, then Baron Davis, who were all exciting, not to mention a possible future Hall of Famer in Alonzo Mourning. Let's hope we strike gold and find some diamonds in the rough in the years upcoming.

Well lets see here...the Hornets were lucky and that lucks name was Bob Bass.

1991 LJ #1 pick started off great then damn back injury

1992 Alonzo #2 pick, almost had Shaq but lucky to get #2

1996 Kobe Bryant #13 pick. oh what could have been, he bluffed and was traded to LA for Vlade Divac

1999 Baron Davis #3 pick lucked out on lottery again.

Bass worked some majic when Shin didnt want to resign players...

1995-Alonzo to the Heat for Glen Rice, Matt Gieger, and Khalid Reeves

1996-LJ to Knicks for Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus

1997- signed Bobby Phills and David Wesley

1998- Rice to LA for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell

2000- Eddie Jones, Ricky Davis, Dale Ellis, and Mason to Heat for Jamal Mashburn, PJ Brown, Otis Thorpe, Tim James, and Rodney Buford.

Hornets had some very good teams and some very talented players. Granted when they were at their best Jordan was dominating the league.