Some comments, via Rick Bonnell on Twitter, from NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver prior to last night's game on the topic of a Bobcats-to-Hornets name change:

@rick_bonnell: "NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver is here. Says he expects to have a conversation with #Bobcats about the Hornets nickname."

@rick_Bonnell: "Adam Silver confirmed a name change usually takes 24 months. Said a Bobcats-to-Hornets change simpler since rights already NBA property."

Fire, meet fuel.

Living in Kentucky (and being a Louisville fan) I've had to listen to a fair amount of the "UK could beat a bad NBA team" chatter. I think this is ridiculous, and I've been vocal about that, especially since my favorite NBA team happens to be our worst-of-the-bunch squad. Living around a bunch of college basketball fans who don't follow the NBA, my eyeball arguments weren't very convincing, so I figured I'd dig up some stats to make my point. So if anyone else around here is tempted to believe the hype, here you go.

Below are statlines for UK’s starting lineup matched against statlines of Charlotte’s starting lineup from the Bobcats’ players’ last college seasons. The number in parentheses is the years of NBA experience the players have had since putting up those statlines. Again, these are college numbers for the Bobcats.

PG PPG RPG APG

D.J. Augustin (+4) 19.2 2.9 5.8

Marquis Teague 10.0 2.6 4.8

SG PPG RPG APG

Gerald Henderson (+3) 16.5 4.9 2.5

Doron Lamb 13.6 2.8 1.5

SF PPG RPG APG

Corey Maggette (+11) 10.6 3.9 1.5

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 12.0 7.6 1.9

PF PPG RPG BPG

Tyrus Thomas (+7) 12.3 9.2 3.1

Terrence Jones 12.6 7.2 1.8

Since Biyombo didn’t play college ball, here are the stats for he and Davis when matched up against each other in last year’s Nike Hoops Summit.

C PTS REB BLK

Bismack Biyombo (+1) 12 11 10

Anthony Davis 16 10 2

From a numbers standpoint, I think Charlotte would be favored if you simply put our players in a time machine from their final college seasons and played the game today. The only real advantages I see for UK are a 19-year old MKG over a 19-year old Corey Maggette, and an advantage for Davis over Bismack (despite their similar statlines from the Hoops Summit, Davis has a more developed offensive game and is more consistent). However, now that all our players are seasoned NBA veterans, having developed physically and in technique from their college selves? It wouldn’t be close. And this is just the starting lineups – the disparity in the benches would be ridiculously higher - laughable even.

Bottom line - don't buy the annual talk about the best college team beating the NBA's worst. This year's UK squad is one of the NCAA's best in years, and the Bobcats one of the NBA's worst in recent years, and we'd still run them off the court.

I can't remember the last time that I was this excited for an NBA Draft.  The possibilities are seemingly endless for the Bobcats tonight, with everything from standing pat and using our current picks to major trades apparently on the table.  I think we all share the same big question - what will the Bobcats' roster look like at midnight tonight?  Will it be the same familiar faces with a couple new guys thrown in, or will we be getting used to a very different team?  As the countdown to the craziness commences, let me know what you think the answer to that question is, Cats fans!

Sound a little wild?  Check out this really interesting article on SB Nation detailing the best and worst home advantages in pro sports.  The article examines what percentage of extra games each team in the four major leagues would have won if they'd played every game at home for the last three seasons, and then takes all the markets with two or more teams and measures them against the national average.  Charlotte and Raleigh are combined into one market, but taken together, the Carolinas provide a home advantage to the Panthers, Bobcats and Canes that is 166% of the national average - second to only San Fransisco.

So...any guesses as to why?  In any event, keep it up, Carolinas!

So it seems the Cats are going shopping.  That means for the December edition of Props and Drops, I'm going to take a look at two players that Charlotte shouldn't look to part with and two that should be ringing in the ears of every GM from here to Sacramento.

Continue reading this post »

The 10-11 Charlotte Bobcats are 7-13.  They just lost a demoralizing game to a terrible team.  People are starting to get called out.  Despite flashes of promise, the ball seems to be rolling decidedly downhill.  In the standings, the playoffs are close (1 game out), but in reality they feel a mile away.  Sound familiar?  It should - eerily so - if you were a fan of the 09-10 Bobcats.

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(DA -- From the FanPosts)

Sure, it's early, but we've finally gotten a decent look at this team we were speculating so much about all summer.  So, who has surprised you by playing above your expectations and who would you have no problem simply cutting loose if there were no guaranteed contracts? I'll offer two of each.

Continue reading this post »

(DA -- From the FanPosts)

Anybody notice this little tidbit in Berger's postmortem on the big (no)deal?

Ironically, one person familiar with the negotiations said the deal probably would’ve been done by now if Charlotte hadn’t waived center Erick Dampier and his non-guaranteed $13 million contract – which would’ve been a home-run for Denver in an exchange for Martin. Including Dampier in the deal would’ve provided what a source described as "ridiculous savings" for the Nuggets – about $33 million when factoring in the tax, making the deal "a no-brainer."

Salt, meet wound.

OK, guys, help me sort this one out.  Here's the Bobcats' salary numbers for this season...

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9146

Add in Tyrus' $12.4 million (that is the first year number, right?) and Shaun Livingston's first year ($3.5 million?) and that has us sitting at $82.8 mil with a luxury tax mark of $70.3 mil.  That's $12 million over the tax line.  No way MJ pays tax on this squad as constructed.  Plus, the Observer is reporting that we can't package Dampier's deal with other salary in a trade for 60 days per league rules.  That leaves us with basically two options that I can see...

1. Trade the Dampier contract for a star-level player in one of these crazy trades that have been batted around, keeping us in tax territory but doing so for a star player and a top-tier team (which MJ has said he would do).

or

2. Waive Dampier, get back under the cap, and go with the team as constructed, with a smaller move to perhaps flip Diaw or Nazr's expiring and maybe one of our ugh contracts for someone who would be our starting center. 

Given the circumstances, number 2 seems much more likely to me.  Without the ability to pair Dampier's contract with others, I can't see any teams going in on a big deal.  Yet, if we move ahead as we are, then we've traded our biggest expiring contract in a deal that really doesn't improve the squad from last year. 

I was really pumped during all the discussions yesterday, but the more I look at the numbers the more I wonder if we can make it work.  Surely, though, MJ and the front office have a plan for this one that's more than just buying out Dampier and running with what we've got?  What am I missing, guys?

(DA: From the FanPosts)

We can dream, can't we?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/sports/basketball/28rhoden.html

Obviously, it's tough to see this actually happening, but it is a good example of the benefits that will come with Jordan being the team's owner.  We may not land LeBron or someone else in the Jackpot Summer, but mark my words - down the line, doors will be opened for this franchise that would not otherwise be if MJ weren't the boss.