- Bobcats GM Rod Higgins has some work ahead of him this summer
Now that the light drama of the 2009 NBA Draft Lottery is behind us, GM Rod Higgins can finally put to rest those dreams of Blake Griffin decked out in orange & blue and get back to reality.
With five weeks to go until Draft Day the Bobcats have some work to do.
“We’re broke.”
It’s no secret that the ‘Cats have been hemorrhaging cash since their ill-conceived inception 5+ seasons ago. You know how it goes: When you’re broke there are two things you can do. Save More Money + Make More Money.
SAVE MONEY ACTION STEP #1a: Unload Nazr Mohammed by bundling him with the 12th Pick.
Bonnell tossed out the idea this morning as being “crazy.” Yeah, it’s crazy if you’re the GM of another franchise and accept this deal. No way the Bobcats get so lucky as to have somebody take Mohammed’s $13.2 million in exchange for a low lottery pick in a weak draft.
#1b: Unload Nazr Mohammed by trading him for another Financial Eyesore.
Since the Bobcats admit to needing more depth at PF and SG, perhaps the ‘Cats could shop Mohammed’s relatively short deal in conjunction with a 2nd-rounder or two for someone like Sacramento’s Francisco Garcia who the Kings owe $23 million plus over the next four seasons.
You could also throw out an offer of Mohammed and the 12th Pick to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa and see if cash-strapped “Cheapskate” Robert Sarver would bite in order to save $14 million big ones.
And then there’s the pesky Jamaal Tinsley rumor that just won’t go away. Ugh. While the salaries match up okay and it’s always nice to have depth at the point, do you really want another poor-shooting-shooting-first PG on the team? Especially one with a questionable reputation like Tinsley’s?
Of course, there’s always the “#1c” strategy of keeping the pick, finding a gem in the late-lottery and holding onto Mohammed until next year until he becomes a much more enticing expiring contract but given the odds of finding a decent player at number 12 and given the Bobcats inability to draft properly, I think we’d all be much better off if they just moved the pick.
SAVE MONEY ACTION STEP #2: Re-sign Sean May at the League minimum with a team option for a second year.
This is good deal for Sean and he owes the organization big for stealing a multi-million dollar paycheck for 4 years. Next season will be Sean’s second back from micro-fracture surgery and IF he can get into decent physical shape this offseason, there is no reason why he can’t be a solid backup PF for the ’09-’10 Charlotte Bobcats.
MAKE MONEY ACTION STEP #1: Sign Allen Iverson to a mid-level deal.
Is it controversial? Yes.
Could he endanger team chemistry? Yes.
Will he make the Bobcats relevant in the national media? Yes.
Will he sell tickets and jerseys? Absolutely.
This is a no-brainer for the organization. Since when does a household name player come along at such an attractive price in a buyer’s market? We’ve talked about it before here at the Baseline. Iverson in blue & orange next season sells jerseys, season tickets, gets the team nationally televised games and, more importantly, Iverson becomes the scorer that the ‘Cats have needed since Day 1. No more hot-potato as the shot clock winds down, just give the ball to AI and get back on D.
We have some albatross contracts with Nazr, Diop, Diaw, and Emeka. I am all for signing Iverson but I think packaging Emeka or Felton with one will be more beneficial in getting some useless expiring contracts and maybe a pick next year. I don't mind any of the players mentioned, it's just that Felton can't shoot that well as his FG% outright stinks and Emeka is injury prone. And Diop was just a Nazr clone so I never understood that deal or even trading Hermann to get Nazr. We should have been a playoff team by now and trading JRich was another setback considering that we traded a player who other teams covet for a couple highly paid players while also trading Jared Dudley. It just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe we can trade a couple players and picks for McGrady and his bad back as well. The Rockets don't seem to want him all that much and we could really use a star player.
First off – the "Jordan Wrecks Franchise as GM" narrative is just too far ingrained in sportswriters minds that no matter what Rod Higgins does, it will be treated with that meme. Higgins could do magic this offseason and the headlines would still read – "Jordan Gambles Bobcats Future With Latest Deals".
Still, let's put our faith in Rod. Nazr's contract has to go. The Cats have no flexibility to improve their roster otherwise. I don't agree with the Sean May suggestion. He's done nothing and he frustrates the fans. The Cats should start fresh with another hustler as a back up Power Forward.
How about Brandon Bass (Mavs)? I think he's a free agent this summer. He would be available at around the same rate that May would require.
Our pick needs to be traded. Nazr needs to get unloaded. Both are key…but I don't know if they go together.
The Sean May theory seems to make sense but that dude obviously has a problem. I hope he comes back waaay lighter but it's just not going to happen.
I'm ok with Diop…his D is pretty solid. If the Bobcats' "Free Throw Specialist" can have half the affect he had on Wallace, Diop will be a solid backup.
I agree on the AI concept…it's a no brainer. LB wouldn't bring him down here without some understanding. DJ is the future…playing with AI would help him out.
First off, Brandon Bass is gonna get a lot more money that Sean May this offseason. Sean will be lucky if someone throws out any offer above the minimum whereas Bass is likely to receive a mid-level offer from a team hurting for bigs. I wouldn't be surprised if Cuban offers him the full mid-level over five years given Bass's performance in the playoffs.
As for Felton's poor shooting, Baseline contributor "E" and I were chatting over the weekend about this. Go back and look at Okafor's shooting percentage during his first two seasons in the league. Although it's hard to believe now that 'Mek is shooting 56% from the field, in his first two season he notched 44& and 41% respectively. Hardcore Bobcats fans may remember that this was during the "Emeka Is Our Go-To Scorer"-era. My point is is that since the Bobcats don't have a primary scorer (or even a dependable secondary scorer), guys who would generally be decent shooters wind up looking terrible by tossing up shots that they would generally never take given the right situation. If Felton goes to OKC or Portland next season, he shoots 46%+ from the field. We'll have a more in-depth post on this sometime during the July Free Agent Frenzy.
God damn. It sure is nice to have an "injury prone" player who's played 80+ games the last two years, Brian.