The NBA has gone without one of the more storied franchises in its history (in my opinion) for the past few years. I am of course talking about the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics teams that consisted of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were repeatedly among the best in the NBA during their prime. And had they not ran into the Michael Jordan led Bulls in their lone finals appearance they may have a ring to show for their efforts.
Much of this history has been lost however with the team's move to Oklahoma City. The Thunder making their first finals appearance in only their 4th season since moving from Seattle only furthers the 2 franchises even more. So what can be done to bring basketball back to Seattle? The most obvious choice in my opinion is to move the Charlotte Bobcats.
After giving this some serious thought I have come to the conclusion that this is the best possible scenario for Seattle. Charlotte has a rich basketball history but it does not belong to the Bobcats, it belongs to the Hornets. Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson were among the NBA's best during their time in Charlotte and the team reached the playoffs in 7 of their final 10 years before being moved to New Orleans.
The Bobcats on the other hand have been writhing in mediocrity since their inception into the Association. In the 8 years the team has been active they have made the playoffs just once (with a record slightly over .500) and only have had 1 all-star (Gerald Wallace) who was selected in the expansion draft following the teams creation. Only 5 of the teams 17 total draft picks are starters in the NBA with only 2 still playing for the Bobcats (Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson).
The inability to recognize talent that will translate into the NBA comes straight from the top. For all his incredible feats as a player for the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan is lacking when it comes to evaluating talent in the NBA. This is a man who drafted Kwame Brown over players such as Tyson Chandler, Joe Johnson, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol. His most recent blunder was trading Stephen Jackson to the Bucks for Corey Maggette and a 1st round pick. Trading away your top scorer for a has been and a lottery pick in a fairly weak draft does not yield good results, even if the underlying reasoning was to attempt to tank this season. Which failed in hindsight as the Bobcats posted the worst season ever for an NBA franchise and still did not receive the top selection in this years draft.
As bleak as things are in Charlotte there is a sliver of hope. Moving the team to Seattle will develop more interest in the team and I'm sure the team would be welcomed with open arms by the Seattle faithful. Seattle being the 13th largest media market in the US could also help sweeten the pot. And at this point I'm not even sure they are the best basketball team in the state of North Carolina (UNC). Charlotte fans may not welcome the move but it is one that should be made for the good of the franchise. However as long as Michael Jordan is in charge the team is not going anywhere, he was born and raised in North Carolina and played his college ball at UNC. But we can always hope right?
Awesome first article! It is refreshing to see someone talking about moving an NBA team that is not the Sacramento Kings. I think the Bobcats are a logical choice to swap cities. Have there actually been talks of the Bobcats moving to Seattle? I am aware that the citizens of the Emerald City strongly desire an NBA franchise. Also, Ryan wrote a really interesting piece about which cities to expand the NBA to, and he narrowed his search to Seattle and Kansas City. I am all for moving the Bobcats to Seattle, and I think they would get more love there.
ReplyDeleteI have heard no talk about it and I honestly don't think it will with Michael Jordan owning the team but I feel it would be a good move. I read his article as well and agree with the Kansas City choice. The Chiefs and Royals are consistently sub-par so the city is craving a winner.
ReplyDeleteMy real question is what is it going to take to make the NBA successful in the heart of Tobacco Road? Is it a matter of separating Jordan from the decision making process and bringing in someone who knows how to manage a basketball team (retirement project for Phil Jackson?)? Is the NBA even a sustainable venture in a media market saturated with excellent college basketball?
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I had to read your comment a few times Worbs, I could not figure why you were calling Seattle Tobacco Road lol... Nevermind, I get it now. I don't think you can place all of the blame on Jordan, after all he did buy the Charlotte Bobcats, not the L.A. Lakers. Essentially, he was handed a deck of cards that weren't exactly stacked for success. With that being said, Jordan has made a lot of questionable decisions and the Bobcats could be a better team right now. Regardless, either way, we are not talking about a championship franchise. Anyway, I believe Seattle is a better, more sustainable venue than Charlotte.
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