6 things Michael Jordan has to do with the Charlotte Bobcats
There’s a reason why — despite his team having clinched its first-ever playoff berth — Michael Jordan can regularly be seen near the Charlotte Bobcats bench looking like he needs some Milk of Magnesia.
The new majority owner of the ‘Cats has to appreciate the progress his franchise has made since its expansion days, but MJ expects more. He expects greatness. It’s that same high standard that most likely hurt Magic Johnson when he tried to coach, Clyde Drexler when he tried to rebuild a college program, and Isiah Thomas when he tried to run a pro team. Hall of Fame players are used to everything they touch turning to gold, and some of them wrongfully assume the players they are now teaching have the same tools, understanding and passion for the game that they did. When they find out otherwise, it’s tough to deal with.
So try to imagine Jordan, with six NBA title rings and six Finals MVP’s in his safe-deposit box, watching the Bobcats celebrate securing a 7th-seed playoff spot in the East like they’ve won a championship. It’d be like watching your little brother wild out after beating the first level of Super Mario when you’ve already beaten the game.
Jordan wants more than that. He wants better. And while he’s at it, he wants to make some money. Here are six things (for his six rings) Mike should do in the near future to build the Bobcats in G.O.A.T.’s image:
1. Change the name
Thanks to my recent interest in wildlife TV, I know that bobcats are among the smallest of the “big cats,” and they mostly prey on smaller animals like rabbits and squirrels. Definitely more menacing than your average alley cat, but still not the most badass name out there. Plus, the origins of “Bobcats” are too closely tied to previous owner Bob Johnson, who probably just wanted to name a team after himself and realized the “Charlotte Roberts” didn’t make any sense. Whether MJ takes the suggestions of Dime readers or goes in another direction, it’s time for a rebirth.
2. Change the uniform
The next logical step if you’re changing the name. I’m not even gonna attempt all the market research that goes into picking a new color scheme, but sometimes tells me Carolina blue, black, and silver wouldn’t be a bad template to start with.
3. Sign Ray Felton long-term
Assuming Tyson Chandler cashes in on his $12 million player-option, Charlotte won’t have a lot of cap space to work with this summer. Still, Mike should do what he can to keep free agent Felton in the fold. Felton (12.1 ppg, 5.5 apg) will always be overshadowed by and perhaps unfairly compared to ’05 Draft classmates Deron Williams and Chris Paul, but he’s a solid starter at this level and has been the QB guiding the ‘Cats turnaround. Finally given some stability with coach Larry Brown in place and a roster with some talent on it, Felton will only get better with experience and with some playoff games under his belt. D.J. Augustin is a good player and accurate shooter, but he’s better coming off the bench.
4. Use your influence, get some national TV games
Even in their current standing as a playoff contender, the ‘Cats are still seen by casual fans as a minor-league franchise. Charlotte highlights are typically glossed over or ignored altogether by the major sports TV outlets, and All-Star caliber players like Gerald Wallace still have next to zero mainstream profile. Jordan can hit up his networking contacts and use his larger-than-life influence around the League to land the ‘Cats on national TV a few times next season and change that perception.
5. Let somebody else handle the draft
For every solid pick Mike has ever made in his front-office tenures with the Wizards and Bobcats, he’ll always be haunted by two names: Kwame Brown, whom he picked No. 1 overall in 2001, and Adam Morrison, whom he chose No. 3 over Brandon Roy. In MJ’s defense, everybody was on Kwame back in ’01, and he’d only been hired by the Bobcats a few weeks before Morrison was drafted. Still, he followed that up by taking Augustin in the Top-10 and using a Lottery pick on Gerald Henderson in what turned out to be a deep draft.
Hyper-competitive men like Jordan always want to control everything — hence the story about MJ toying with the idea to give then-Wizards coach Leonard Hamilton a walkie-talkie during games to relay his own thoughts — but Jordan should do the smart thing and hire full-time talent evaluators.
6. Be a presence
I can tell you from first-hand experience: People want to be where Michael Jordan is. He’s just got a magnetism about him. He should represent the ‘Cats the next time they’re in the Lottery. He should go to at least one home game per week. He should plaster himself on billboards and marketing campaigns. He should give Wallace his own Jordan Brand shoe. (Well, at least a hot player edition colorway.) And show up for free-agent negotiations. How many players would consider giving up a few bucks and some exposure if they feel like MJ hand-picked them to be on his team?
-Follow Austin on Twitter at @AustinBurton206
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April 8th, 2010 at 10:13 am
Chaos says:
Hindsight is 20-20, esecially in the NBA draft. Roy could have been the IT guy for the Bobcats had they drafted him. I think Ray is a good pg but he is not afeature pgunless he eally steps his games up. they still need a banger at the PF. Henderson mightbe a diamond in the rough, a better version of dahntay jones (i hope). he’s insanely athletic and can maybe develop a better jump shot and handle. he is already a good on ball defender.
they need to change the name to something that is actually related to the city and yea i agree with you when they needed to be seen nationally….but they really dont have a style that scream “watch me”. usually defensive minded teams arent always fun to watch (Spurs?) and its harder to get people to watc game unless they play a running team (suns, knicks, warriors). the team also doesnt have a potential superstar on the roster who is gonna draw audiences. gerald plays wreckless and is gerat to watch and stephen jackson can score but we talkin about a guy that can drop thirty on your head and there is absolutely NOTHIG you can do about it but sit and watch.
April 8th, 2010 at 10:20 am
sh!tfaced says:
So he sucks at managing a team… you can’t have it all… lol
April 8th, 2010 at 10:35 am
jesus says:
good god, LB was the one who wanted Augustin over Lopez, not MJ
April 8th, 2010 at 10:47 am
dmitry of jersey says:
he needs to turn Tyson Chandler’s expiring contract into something legit at next year’s trade deadline….
April 8th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Papa Smurf says:
Is that velvet?
April 8th, 2010 at 11:38 am
life-p says:
Agreed Dime…and yes, it’s velvet…
April 8th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Royal says:
The first thing MJ is gonna do is put a casino in the arena…….
April 8th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
chris says:
1)and 2)- change the name to the charlotte flyers, change the unis
3)sign felton, but dump chandler asap for a used jock strap (he will always be eddy curry’s slightly more useful twin brother)
4) build a nasty, always televised rivalry with the atlanta hawks, start regional, then go national
5)and 6)sign dwayne wade, draft a big kid, and take your chances.
April 8th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Celts Fan says:
I’m pretty sure I heard MJ wanted Brook Lopez but Larry Brown pushed hard for DJ Augustine. Just saying, MJ wasn’t gonna blow that one, that’s on LB, BUT ya, ummm, Morrison…
April 8th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Chilirey says:
Please run the same story for Mr. ATM – Donald T. Sterling and the Clippers! if possible this franchise is worse then the Raiders!!
Thanks
April 8th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
fallinup says:
@ 10
I can do one for Sterling. Here it is.
1. Sell the team.
April 8th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
KRM says:
The bobcats should not change their name. That would just piss off the fans that have followed the team the last six years. Also, they should change their uniforms back to orange. It is gangster and original.
April 8th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
W says:
@10
I thought it was common knowledge that the clips are screwed until sterling dies…
April 8th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
the cynic says:
fact check here. Bobcats didn’t take Lopez because he refused to do a workout for them, so they said this guy is the type of cry baby who will leave in the middle of practice
Losing Felton would be a monster loss, he makes the big plays down the stretch because he gets in the lane
April 8th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
jesus says:
Cynic,
Felton is a chucker, dude is one of the most unclutch players I’ve ever seen. Losing him wouldn’t be a monster loss.
April 8th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
the cynic says:
@jesus
you may be right I haven’t seen a lot of bobcat games, but the games I have seen he drives the lane well, doesn’t over shoot(mostly cause his jumper is weak), controls the tempo, plays solid D, and the team looks much better when he plays as opposed to DJ. Of course that could be more of a reflection of DJ
April 8th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
the cynic says:
wow i just learned Felton is shooting 39% from 3pt, maybe his jumper isn’t as weak as i thought. Still looks weak though
April 8th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
crossphaded says:
Change the name? To what? The Charlotte Jordanaires? LOL
I dont see anything wrong with the colors or team name if the fans of Charlotte are cool with it. You got something against orange or something? =P
April 8th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
D.H. says:
Introducing your 2010 Charlotte Goats! They could go with brown and green jerseys.
April 8th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
miller says:
Austin – Now you’re giving MJ tips with your deep insight. Dime has really slipped man.
April 9th, 2010 at 12:13 am
NBAQueen says:
7. GET HIS MAN DWYANE WADE TO JOIN HIM IN CHARLOTTE???
April 9th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Kimberly Bourraine says:
awesome post dude
April 9th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Porter Leyba says:
thanks for the great post
April 12th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Chicagorilla says:
Really…really? So how is it that you blame MJ and minority owner and pres of basketball ops but the GM doesn’t get any blame? Yet every other team’s draft choices are blamed on the GM…you (and other media types) somehow manage to blame Jordan for the Wizards and Bobcats…even though he isn’t the one making the choice. amazing… it just seems like you hate Jordan for no real reason other than you hope he’s not good at everything.
Even now as the majority owner of the Bobcats, he hires a GM to do the drafts and the trades. Thats why they have GM of the year as an award (or is it called Executive of the year) and they don’t have awards for owners. You ungreatful muthaf^kas should be happy MJ is even involved in basketball period.
April 12th, 2010 at 4:18 am
Joe Cooley High says:
@Chicagorilla — Charlotte’s GM is Rod Higgins, who is just another of Jordan’s yes-men. MJ has final say on personnel decisions; that’s what they said when they brought him in. So yeah, it’s on Jordan. He’s making the draft picks. Obviously you’re a Bulls fan so MJ is your dude, but he’s not perfect. That’s what Dime is saying, hire somebody else to be the final say on bball decisions.