Michael Jordan was the General Manager in Washington for the Wizards and could not be judged to have done a great job in any shape or form. Now he is back in North Carolina where he was a great college star and has control of the reigns in Charlotte.

In Charlotte, Jordan’s best moves have included hiring coach Larry Brown and trading for Stephen Jackson, Tyrus Thomas and Boris Diaw. Other moves, including drafting Adam Morrison and hiring former coach Sam Vincent, were more questionable.

There is Michael Jordan, but who is that other guy?

The Bobcats are in contention for what would be the franchise’s first playoff spot. Friday night they beat the Memphis Grizzlies to break a three-game losing streak.

Jordan’s purchase of the team is subject to approval by owners of the other 29 NBA franchises. However, he already has the endorsement of league commissioner David Stern.
source

If the money is there and Michael is still lining up investors, then David Stern has to like the idea of Michael Jordan being an owner. Anything attached to the Michael Jordan name has been gold and Stern would love to get the college basketball Mecca heavily involved in professional basketball. Stern is always looking for ways to increase the revenue structure of the league.

Michael just seems to attract interest. Coach Larry Brown, a definite plus to the organization, has flat out said that he is only there because of Michael Jordan.

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Wait, shouldn’t the title read “Stephen Jackson brings sanity to the Bobcats”?

You have obviously not been paying attention to the Stephen Jackson story. Golden State was more than happy to get rid of a team chemistry problem. Why Larry Brown at his age would want to take on Stephen Jackson is beyond me, but you know the NBA, if you can put the ball in the hoop with any regularity then some team owner will pay you millions of dollars no matter how you act in public.

So it is time for a quick review. Why would Charlotte take a chance on Stephen Jackson after the owner publically stated he would not embarrass Charlotteans which are not to be confused with Alanteans or any other Teans?

Jackson brings two qualities the Bobcats need – proven scoring ability and the versatility to play multiple positions. But he also brings a history of bad behavior that seems to conflict with majority owner Bob Johnson’s promise at the franchise’s outset.
source

Why the Bobcats took Stephen Jackson

Now for the pop quiz. Why did they do it? We just went over this, because Stephen Jackson can put the ball in the hole and the Bobcats suffer from a disease called “can’t put the ball in the hole”. It is that simple.

Stephen Jackson wanted out of Golden State

You would think the Malice in the Palace and the gun shooting thing and various other sundry items would make Stephen Jackson untouchable, but such is not the case.

Now here is the reply you have all been waiting for, why do it, for real? You are the Bobcats! Look in the mirror and realize that the playoffs are a long ways off and there is no reason to rush into a contract with a player that is going to cause problems. Why do it? You had an expiring contract with Bell, the survivor to play in Golden State, and now you have a long term contract with problems.

Ahh, but they never learn. Gotta go, that is Allen Iverson on the phone and he is looking for another team.

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Larry Brown looked stunned. He had just been ejected for debating a call by a replacement referee. How could he eject the grand old man of NBA basketball coaching? That was not all. The NBA decided to fine Larry two times for the one game. It must have been a 2 for 1 sale.

Larry Brown refuses to be a puppet for the NBA

So was Larry Brown abusive to the referee? Does a Bear … Well, you get it. Yeah, Larry was abusive. He is always abusive.

It is funny, but watching Larry up close in Detroit, he was often worse than Rasheed Wallace and often jumped in to the fray of things to keep Rasheed from getting the technical. He told Rasheed that his job was to play and mine is to defend you.

So what happened that caused the NBA to fine Larry twice for a total of 60,000 dollars?

This chain of events began at halftime of the Bobcats’ 17-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, after Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace was charged with a questionable offensive foul.

Brown approached lead official Kevin Scott, who charged him with a technical foul. Things became sufficiently heated that Bobcats point guard Raymond Felton acted as a barrier between Scott and Brown as the two walked off the court.

Then, with about 31/2 minutes left in the third quarter, forward Vladimir Radmanovic was charged with a personal foul and a technical foul, setting Brown off again. He began shouting at Scott, a former college and development-league referee, and Scott responded with a second technical foul, an automatic ejection.

Looking stunned, Brown lingered on the court for several minutes. Finally Scott walked to the scorers table and called for Hawks security to remove Brown from the court. He left at that point.

Brown didn’t speak with reporters immediately after the game. Asked the next day if he deserved to be ejected, he said, “I’m sure I did.”
source

Now this isn’t a problem with Larry Brown. No, far from it. This is a problem with having replacement referees. The NBA has gone overboard to defend the replacement referees so nobody will supposedly notice they are on the court. That is not going to work with Larry Brown. Believe you me; he is as intense a coach as there is in the game. He demands his players play playoff style ball in every minute of every game. Do you think this is going to change Larry’s behavior?

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Will Allen Iverson, better known as the Truth, be coming to a team near you soon? That is a question we all ask ourselves, isn’t it?

Hmm, maybe Allen is not news anymore. Geez, have one troubled season and they write you off. OK, maybe troubled season is not the way to put it or you could qualify his whole career as troubled. Or as my Boss likes to quote “Practice? Why are we talking about practice?”.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say that Iverson did not have a statistically amazing year like he usually does, but you have to like the fact that in this day and age of 6′ 7″ guards, that a little guy built like a little guy, can not only play in the NBA, but can star in the NBA.

Allen Iverson did not enjoy his best year with the Pistons

Now we have Allen saying on his Twitter account that he will be signing with an NBA team real soon. Many think that team could be the Charlotte Bobcats with Coach Larry Brown.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people on his behalf, because last year was a difficult situation for him being put in where he was, replacing Chauncey Billups,” said Brown. “That would have been a difficult situation for anybody. But I know he’s comfortable with me, and we’ve had a lot of discussions. When he played for me was probably when he played his best. Would I like to coach him again? Absolutely.”
source

It is hard to believe that Charlotte really wants Allen Iverson or vice versa and what about Brown wanting to coach him again? Now that would be a real twist.

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There was David Stern giving his annual pre finals state of the NBA address. This year it was quite interesting, as it was announced that the Charlotte Bobcats would most likely be up for sale. That in itself would be news, but you really have to realize how tough it is to make a buck in the NBA.

News has leaked in recent weeks that Bobcats majority owner Bob Johnson, who founded the team in 2004, was losing over $10 million annually from his original $300 million investment and wanted out before he was even more in the red.

Charlotte is currently valued at $284 million by Forbes. Once boasting one of the league’s more robust attendance averages at the old Charlotte Coliseum, it currently ranks 29th among the NBA’s 30 franchises in net worth.

source

Now stop right there and give it some thought. The Charlotte Bobcats have never been very good and do not have a marquee player to exhibit to the NBA marketing gurus. Tough to sell a team that is considered a joke.

The Magic must make money with Dwight Howard, right?

Now how about a magical team like the Orlando Magic. They must be making tons of bucks, right? This is where you might be surprised. This is where you realize just how bad the economy really is.

While the Magic are ranked 17th by Forbes with a valuation of $349 million, the franchise was expecting in May to lose $15 million to $20 million this season.

Martins said at the time that the amount the team lost this season would depend upon its playoff run. Reaching the Finals will definitely lessen the blow, but the Magic certainly have even more riding on the opening of their new arena in 2010.

The Magic have received some good news in regards to that opening, though. Sports Business Journal reported last month that a $100 million loan the Magic were seeking to help them finance their contribution to the arena was close to going through.

The approval of the loan will make the team the first mid-tier professional franchise to secure financing that big since the slowing down of the credit markets at the end of last year.

Stern has even promised them the All Star game to help them out. Now if the Magic are struggling, how can the Bobcats expect to turn a profit?

Photo source Newscom

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Jason Richardson is flying through the air

Jason Richardson was traded to the Phoenix Suns from the Charlotte Bobcats.

The multiplayer deal will require the Suns to part with forward Boris Diaw and defensive ace Raja Bell, two mainstays from the team that averaged 58 wins over the last four seasons under former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni.

Suns-Bobcats Trade Comparison

The Suns upgraded offensively with the acquisition of guard Jason Richardson (right). Here’s how the numbers break down:

Player PPG RPG APG
To Suns
Jason Richardson 18.7 4.1 2.6
Jared Dudley 5.4 3.0 1.0
To Bobcats
Boris Diaw 8.3 3.8 2.1
Raja Bell 9.6 2.9 1.3
Sean Singletary 2.6 1.2 0.9

The Suns will also receive a future second-round pick from the Bobcats and forward Jared Dudley while sending Sean Singletary to the Bobcats.

source

On the surface the Suns get a high scoring guard to complement Stave Nash and Charlotte gets a defender in Raja Bell. It seems like a good deal for both teams and it may be true. One thing is for sure; both teams needed a boost from somewhere.

Charlotte is 7 – 14
Phoenix is better at 13 – 9, but only 5 – 5 in the last 10 games. Phoenix is used to a much higher standard of play.

Photo source Newscom

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Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
source

Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

Photo source Newscom

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Jason Maxiell danced to victory against the Bobcats

The Pistons are hot again and looking like a championship team.

Taking 24 three-point attempts was probably not the way the Pistons figured they’d beat the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday night.

But they started falling early, when Tayshaun Prince made four of five in the first quarter, and they never really stopped, as the team finished 12-for-24 from long range in a 113-87 victory at the Palace. source

The Pistons set the tone early with defense.

The Pistons (37-13) held the Bobcats to 13 points in the first quarter, when they went up by as much as 20, and for the second game in a row, they didn’t look back.

The Pistons just keep on rolling.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Pistons win the East?

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Dwight Howard has tremendous upside

Normally the All Star game is not a big ticket with your intrepid author.

A game with little or no defense has a hard time holding my interest.

In fact, today’s basketball with all the rule changes towards offense has really bothered me in recent years.

But this year may be an exception. The league is just so filled with exceptional talent.

One starter in particular could become a dominant force in the NBA sooner than we think. That man would be Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Hmm, may just have to tune in after all. Here are your vote getters.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the second returns of the 2008 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,186,690; LeBron James (Clev) 1,005,733; Chris Bosh (Tor) 313,983; Paul Pierce (Bos) 268,926; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 192,828; Caron Butler (Was) 150,042; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 121,991; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 120,783; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 116,168; Antawn Jamison (Was) 106,370.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 777,764; Jason Kidd (NJ) 559,333; Vince Carter (NJ) 468,051; Ray Allen (Bos) 464,810; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 422,463; Chauncey Billups (Det) 238,125; Michael Redd (Mil) 183,309; Richard Hamilton (Det) 121,663; Joe Johnson (Atl) 109,443; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 109,345.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 970,778; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 466,292; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 124,348; Ben Wallace (Chi) 114,245; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 100,622; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 89,900; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 55,217; Emeka Okafor (Cha) 51,490; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 43,036; Eddy Curry (NY) 37,252.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 767,722; Tim Duncan (SA) 722,059; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 686,853; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 281,299; Josh Howard (Dal) 251,756; Shawn Marion (Pho) 240,752; Shane Battier (Hou) 227,112; Luis Scola (Hou) 222,896; Kevin Durant (Sea) 191,542; Grant Hill (Pho) 152,898.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 941,716; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 663,141; Steve Nash (Pho) 526,493; Allen Iverson (Den) 514,291; Manu Ginobili (SA) 220,620; Jason Terry (Dal) 200,693; Baron Davis (GS) 194,048; Chris Paul (NO) 189,646; Tony Parker (SA) 183,173; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 178,152.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 813,305;Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 463,916; Erick Dampier (Dal) 171,386; Marcus Camby (Den) 161,807; Pau Gasol (Mem) 118,759; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 85,715; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 69,691; Tyson Chandler (NO) 69,083; Andris Biedrins (GS) 67,862; Chris Kaman (LAC) 66,315.  source

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your favorite player make the cut?

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J-Rich sets one down

The nearly invincible Boston Celtics lost at home to the Charlotte Bobcats by the score of 95 – 83.

Jason Richardson dominated this game with 34 points and 9 rebounds. Gerald Wallace chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

…the Charlotte Bobcats stunned the Boston Celtics 95-83 for just their fourth loss of the season on Wednesday night.

The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for Boston (29-4) and spoiled its bid for the fastest start in team history to 30 wins. The 1959-60 Celtics started 30-4 before going on to win the NBA title.

The Bobcats, who entered with an Eastern Conference-worst 1-11 road mark, also got 16 points and eight assists from Raymond Felton. source

Richardson is an incredible athlete and has had the misfortune to play on bad teams.

When J-Rich played at Michigan State University, he was a slam dunking machine with a not so good outside shot.

NBA Basketball Jason Richardson factoid - Richardson won the NBA Slam Dunk Contests in 2002 and 2003, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to have won in consecutive years. source

But Richardson’s game was raw and he worked on it constantly. Eventually he developed an outside game to rival his inside game. Now he is known for his 3 pointers.

Boston Celtics

Before you go crazy and attach all kinds of meaning to this game, maybe we ought to take a bigger look at things.

Kevin Garnett led Boston with 24 points and eight rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 13 points on just 4-for-14 shooting.

The Celtics’ only other loss at home came when Detroit’s Chauncey Billups hit two free throws with 0.1 seconds left in an 87-85 win on Dec. 19. Boston is 16-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden. source

A couple of key notes to take. Kevin Garnett was his usual MVP self and Paul Pierce had a bad night. It happens.

But the bigger issue may be the Celtics coming off of a huge victory over the Detroit Pistons on the Pistons home court. The letdown from that victory to playing the Bobcats took a lot of steam out of the Celtics.

Still, a victory over the Celtics is rare and the Bobcats earned it!

NBA Basketball Fan Question What if Jason Richardson played on a great team?

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