Michael Jordan's Charlotte Bobcats under immense pressure; waiting for some luck at NBA drafts
Michael Jordan stepped into the business of National Basketball Associations’ (NBA) franchise ownership five-years from now and has since then gone on to become the majority share holder of the Charlotte Bobcats. Jordan started
as the Managing Member of Basketball Operations and has led the Bobcats into the playoffs once – in the 2009-10 season.
The Bobcats tried their heart out to repeat the feat again last season but just missed the eight seed as they crumbled in the final stretch. Still they pocketed 34 wins and the major reason for those was their leading scorer Stephen
Jackson. After the departure of only All Star in the Bobcats seven year history, Jackson is about the only news producing player Charlotte has got. Jordan though is still in search of someone who can add more colours to the score board and going by his penchant
for youth and inexpensive player, Jackson might be on the way out.
With the drafts just around the corner, Charlotte Bobcats management have working overtime in search of a worthy pick. The chances of a new, powerful lead seem quite low though; Bobcats have the 9th, 19th
and the 39th pick. With the draft already deficient on the quality talent, there is hardly any option for the Bobcats other than to make a satisfying trade.
The free agency season for many star players is also close by. Jordan, however, has made it quite clear he would not spend a fortune on some All-Star, until he sees his franchise heading towards a destination. This sounds like
a very wise decision in some people’s view, but others have a different perspective.
Without a couple of promising leaders on the front-line, how can the Bobcats come out of their small niche? Some big names will surely mean big games.
But Jordan’s approach can work wonders as well. Stephen Jackson is reaching middle age and he is injury prone. Although the Charlotte Bobcats will be left with hardly any on court leader without him, however this past season, point
guard Matt Carroll was able to excel past Jackson as far shooting is concerned. Above all, the team needs youth having energy with fast reflexes, better coordination and unique skills and Jackson is becoming a bit of a liability both in this regard and financially.
At the draft, and the even in the expected deal before it, one thing is clear, the Bobcats need some consistent shooting threats. The Bobcats finished second last in the league on three-point shots and their coach Paul Silas has
highlighted as the major concern. "Look at the teams with great three-point shooting: Now, San Antonio didn't do well in the playoffs, but they won 62 ball games during the regular season. When we played them, it was such a 'What are you going to do?' They
can post up, they can penetrate, and everyone else is just knocking down 3s. So it's very important to have guys who can knock down those 3s."
In a nutshell, this year’s draft is a significant test of Jordan’s abilities as an executive. He is at cross roads, whether to rid the team of its most experienced and reliable scoring outlet and bring in youth or keep the injury
prone Jackson and hope that he builds a team.
As of now, we can only sit here and hope for more fruitful output by the Charlotte Bobcats’ at the draft picks – unlike previous drafts.
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