Bobcats Look To Ride Twilight Vampire Craze

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Bobcats Looking To Sign Another Forward

The Charlotte Bobcats continue their efforts to build depth and find quality role players this summer. The Arizona Republic and The Charlotte Observer have reported that the team has been in contact with Phoenix Suns free agent Louis Amundson. If the team were successful in signing Amundson, this could signal further shifts to the Bobcats roster.

Who Is Louis Amundson?

Okay, so you look at Louis Amundson and the first thing that comes to mind is “Vampire”, right? I expected to run a Google search and find a heartwarming, local newspaper article about how he’s worked hard to overcome the bias and adversity of adjusting to the US since his arrival from Transylvania. Over the past two seasons he’s been praised for his hard work on the court with the Phoenix Suns, but his extensive efforts to wear that mouthpiece and pretend to be a normal human are never recognized.

It appears that the Bobcats may be in line to capitalize on circumstances that will follow Amundson throughout his NBA “life.” The 6’9″ forward/vampire is destined to spend his entire career on the move, hoping no one will notice that he never ages. After breaking into the NBA from the D-League, he played just one game for Utah before heading East to avoid the suspicious eye of Jazz coach Jerry Sloan (estimated to be 95 yrs old).  Amundson  spent the following two NBA seasons working to learn the intricacies of modern human life and the dynamics of a team locker room with the Philadelphia 76ers. This experience prepared him for a more productive role with the Phoenix Suns.

spacejam-vampires

After the November 2008 release of the highly anticipated first Twilight film, Amundson realized that America embraced and celebrated his kind. His new sense of comfort began to show immediately. Over the next few months, he thrived in a more vampire-appropriate pace of offense with Phoenix. It could be argued that as he got more minutes on the court, his teammates actually began to run faster on the break just to get distance from him. It’s been speculated that after his first season, the Suns were forced to trade away Shaq after coach Alvin Gentry reviewed hours of game footage and noticed the way Amundson would watch O’Neal as slow and easy prey.

Now that Louis Amundson is once again looking to relocate and avoid suspicion, Charlotte hopes that he can invigorate their front line or at least give Larry Brown the gift of immortality. In order to compete with the other teams courting Louis Amundson, the Cats could offer him on an incentive-based contract to keep the base salary numbers low, as well as encourage Amundson to avoid biting season ticket holders or Rufus, the team mascot.

Notes : Louis Amundson may not be an actual vampire. My initial guess had him as a big man from somewhere in Europe. That, too, is probably wrong. It looks like Amundson was born in California, grew up in Colorado, and went to college at UNLV.  He was not an actor in The Lost Boys. Who knew?

-Mike

Wanna Win 50+ Games Next Season? Here’s the Answer.

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Felton for Iverson

This has been the best season – by far – to be a Charlotte Bobcats fan.  It is April 3rd, and the Cats find themselves only a game and a half back of Chicago for the 8th playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.  Their 34 wins are a franchise high and even if they don’t make the playoffs this season, Larry Brown has made a tremendous impact on the team’s culture and its players.  He’s taught them how to win.

Many fans believe that if the current roster had been together from the beginning of training camp the discussion would be as to which seed the Cats would be vying for, not if they’d make the playoffs at all.  That’s probably true and (barring a rash of injuries) the ’09-’10 Charlotte Bobcats as currently configured probably win 45 games and make the playoffs as a 6th seed – taking a team such as the Orlando Magic to 6 or 7 games and then heading home come early May.

But if the Bobcats want to be more than just ordinary playoff fodder, there is a practical and logical Answer.

Allen Iverson says that he’d rather retire than come off of the bench in Detroit.  No need to hang it up just yet AI, just head South and start for the ’09-’10 Bobcats.

Think about it.  AI is a perfect fit for Charlotte:

  • A mature Iverson re-teaming with his old coach is a great story and a great fit.
  • The Bobcats desperately need a guy who can finish and score a basket when it matters.  In his “worst” year as a pro, Iverson is still averaging 17.5 ppg this season.
  • Attendance: Iverson continues to be a massive draw wherever he goes.  He may not be the Bobcats best player but he’ll definitely be the most identifiable.  AI’s jersey’s still rank among the top 10 in NBA sales every year.

Add to this the fact the Allen will probably come cheap.  He’s an unrestricted FA after the season ends and many experts (including ESPN.com’s John Hollinger) have suggested that he’ll be lucky to get more than the full mid-level exception from his next team.  That’s great for the Bobcats because they can open that mid-level up by not resigning Raymond Felton (a move that in itself would excite a lot of savvy fans).  Yes, Iverson is 9 years older than Felton but c’mon – would you rather have Gana Diop over the next two seasons or Shaq at the same price?  The Bobcats aren’t “building for the future” anymore.  They can’t afford to.  Jordan, Higgins, and Bob Johnson understand that if this team doesn’t start winning big and attracting more fans that their collective futures will not be pretty.  Iverson coming to Charlotte puts them in a better position to win now and to attract casual basketball fans to boot.

Your 2009-2010 Charlotte Bobcats:

PG: Allen Iverson/DJ Augustin
SG: Raja Bell/Iverson/1st Round Draft Pick in ’09 or Cartier Martin
SF: Gerald Wallace/Vlad Radmanovic
PF: Boris Diaw/Alexis Ajinca
C: Emeka Okafor/Gana Diop

With this lineup you have Boris run the show similar to how Anthony Mason ran the offense from the “point forward” position under Don Nelson and Dave Cowans/Paul Silas.  Iverson takes all of the shots that Raymond currently shoots but actually makes them and gets respect (thus calls) from the officials while doing so.  DJ comes off of the bench as the “true PG.”  The team drafts a “big” two guard or PG in the late-lottery mid-first round who can be groomed to replace AI/Bell.

If the Bobcats can pull off this move – by convincing AI to come to Charlotte and reunite with Coach Brown on an up and coming team – there is no doubt that the team wins 50+ games next season and challenges for a top 4 seed (and home court) in the East.

-ASChin

Bobcats Sign Juwan Howard – Keeping the Fab Five Alive ’til ’09!

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FabFive

The Bobcats signed veteran PF Juwan Howard today, adding some experienced front court depth.  The team hopes that with proper minutes Howard can rebound from his recent struggles and put up numbers closer to 22.1 ppg/8rpg/4.4apg from the ’95-’96 season.

To make room for Howard, the ‘Cats waived Dwayne “Wait, I came all the way from Turkey for this?” Jones.

Jimmy King was unavailable for comment.

-ASChin

Bobcats Roster Holes

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The Bobcats still have a big hole in their roster – Power Forward.

Who could fill that void, if Emeka Okafor returns for the 2008-09 season?

A) Sean May

Sean May

Two years ago, the Bobcats were able to show America the stellar talent within this guy’s chubby frame. Since, he’s been on the shelf with busted knees and has slimmed down. . . slightly. Can he give the ‘Cats what they need offensively and defensively? His ability to guard guys on the perimeter is a question.
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