With the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft the Washington Wizards select..... Kwame Brown! Brown was a mistake to taken number one. He was not ready, and placed in an environment where there were too many expectations early on. He then proceeded to build a team in Washington that was marred with character conflicts. In 2003, Jordan was fired by the Wizards as president of basketball operations. In 2006, Jordan bought a minority ownership share with the Charlotte Bobcats to become the team's second largest shareholder. The biggest part of that move: He was the "Managing Member of Basketball Operations" as part of the move- which allowed him full control over basketball operations (Wikipedia- it's a blog. So what if i used Wikipedia as a source, we all remember this going down). Since 2006, the Bobcats have gone 206-352, which is good for a 37% winning percentage. During Jordan's tenure he had 4 coaches in 6 years, and drafted these players in the first round:
Adam Morrison
Brandan Wright (traded on draft day for Jason Richardson)
Jared Dudley
DJ Augustin
Alexis Ajinca
Gerald Henderson
Kemba Walker
Bismack Biyombo
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
In addition, their 2010 draft choice was traded in 2008 to draft Alexis Ajinca.
The best players on this list are raw athletes who will get better, or did not play their best basketball until they left the team.
So where does Mike Dunlap fit in?
Dunlap was fired after only one season (21-61), making him the 5th coach in 7 years to be fired by Michael Jordan in Charlotte. Dunlap was hired right after the Bobcats had the lowest winning percentage in NBA history. Now there were rumors that players did not enjoy playing for him due to "micromanagement," but that is beside the main point: The Bobcats ownership, led by Michael Jordan, has consistently made poor choices that has led to Charlotte's awful play every year. Dunlap was essentially in a no-win scenario, as it seems Bobcat ownership realized they made a poor choice last summer (He was a surprising hire). Continuing to hire coaches most every year cannot help lead the team to success, but a team with Michael Jordan in charge does not have a chance in Hell to succeed. There are two courses of action the Bobcats must take:
1. Hand the reigns to Rich Cho 100%: Cho was a successful assistant GM in Oklahoma City, where he helped build the contender that is a favorite to win the Western Conference this year. After a personality conflict as GM in Portland (where he made some very good moves) he was hired by Charlotte the next summer. Michael Jordan has to stay out of ALL basketball decisions to insure the team's success. As an owner, he is needed more for his money than his insight- which let's be honest has not had the best track record. This means he has no influence on who is drafted or signed as a coach, only that he puts up the money necessary.
2. Sell the team: If I were a Bobcats fan I would be appalled at the team over the past decade. While the future looks brighter than before, this team is still a long ways away. Walker can score, but looks like a teams #3 starter not #1 starter. Kidd-Gilchrist had an average rookie year and will continue to get better, but he is a complimentary player- much like a Pippen- who won't lead the team to wins. Biyombo is a raw center who blocks shots and rebounds, but has little offensive game. With Jordan out of the picture, the franchise can truly heal from 8 years of poor choices.
Over the next 2 years, the Bobcats will pay Tyrus Thomas 17 million dollars, Ben Gordon 13 million dollars, and Ramon Sessions 5 million dollars. Cho needs to be creative to remove some of this unnecessary salary off the roster. The Bobcats have not used their amnesty clause yet, and should do so on Tyrus Thomas this summer. Gordon's and Sessions' salaries come off the books after next season. The Bobcats' cap flexibility has potential entering the 2014 free agency period. With a guaranteed top 5 pick in this draft, they can add another young (and cheap!) piece to add to their young core of Walker, Kidd-Gilchrist and Biyombo. For the 2014-15 season, only those three, plus Brendan Haywood for 2 million and a team option on Jeff Taylor for 900K are all that are on the books (plus this years draft choices- Noel or McLemore would fit well). There is lots of potential for the Bobcats to get better, even if next season is another long one. The Bobcats decided that Mike Dunlap was not the right choice to move forward as a head coach. The next one hired has to stay for a long time, or else the tumultuous era of Michael Jordan will continue, and the Bobcats remain the laughing stock of the NBA.
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