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June 06, 2007
Being a 'Friend of Mike' might get you a job with Bobcats
Coastal Carolina coach Buzz Peterson returned my call this morning to say nothing is new on whether he’ll join the Bobcats’ basketball operation. Managing partner Michael Jordan – Peterson’s roommate at North Carolina – invited him to join the organization. Peterson was in suburban Orlando last week for the NBA pre-draft camp, and I’m told by a source that Peterson would likely be a scout if he joins the Bobcats. Peterson said he hasn’t had detailed discussions with Jordan about what he would do, and is waiting for Jordan to get back to him. I’ve always found Peterson a guy of candor and integrity, so I’ll take him at his word. To me, the wider issue here is just how many of Jordan’s buddies fill jobs in this franchise. Jordan isn’t the first NBA executive to practice cronyism – Bernie Bickerstaff and Paul Silas both hired their sons as assistant coaches – but hiring Rod Higgins as general manager and offering Peterson a job were such predictable moves, they were almost clichés. I hope being a Friend of Mike isn’t the single biggest qualification to work for this team.
Posted by rbonnell on June 6, 2007 at 11:30 AM | Permalink
Comments
Hey Rick, I appreciate your articles about the Bobcats, you do a good job covering the team, but why is Jordan being singled out for hiring his friends? Virtually every pro sports owner does this. Robert Sarver the owner of the Suns just hired his "friend" Steve Kerr as GM in Phoenix. The Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has his sons & several "close friends" working for him. Baseball owners have been hiring their "friends" for GM/front office positions since MLB's inception. But Jordan is being accused of cronyism? I just think its a non-issue. Keep up the good work Rick.
Posted by: Bobcatfan4ever | Jun 6, 2007 12:32:12 PM
Jordan can do whatever he wants when it comes to basketball. Anyone who posts on this blog otherwise is unworthy of even considering themselves a fan.---new blog..
Posted by: Jonathan | Jun 6, 2007 2:54:16 PM
Good point. I think Buzz is probably among the most qualified of the hires made by Jordan. The Bobcats are falling all over themselves to screw this thing up. Fred Whitfield is supremely unqualified to direct the business ops. His only jobs have been working for Mike. Total lackey.
Posted by: bfi | Jun 6, 2007 2:56:16 PM
Jordon hired his friends in Washington and we saw how that turned out. I smell more failure.
Posted by: Larry | Jun 6, 2007 2:57:26 PM
Nicely put Larry. Whitfield was the Director of Player Personel in Washington. How did that work out?
Posted by: bfi | Jun 6, 2007 3:08:32 PM
the management can only do so much..ultimately it is the players in Washington who sucked it up. They all lacked experience, and neeeded a leader. That is why Jordan himself tried to play.
Posted by: Jonathan | Jun 6, 2007 3:25:12 PM
"Jordon hired his friends in Washington and we saw how that turned out. I smell more failure."
Yeah, cleared cap space, a sold out arena every night for 2 years, increased jersey sales, and more revenue generated. I smell jealousy & insecurity from you.
Posted by: bobcatfan4ever | Jun 6, 2007 3:33:49 PM
Whose jersey? Oh, I guess we will sell some MJ 23 Bobcats Jerseys. All Jordan did in in Washington was run off Rip Hamilton (NBA champ). Washington has fared a heck of a lot better without his ego. Maybe he'll make a comeback with the "Jordancats" and sell some jerseys.
Posted by: bfi | Jun 6, 2007 4:38:28 PM
All I know is that if I was running a team I'd hire Rick Bonnell and every sports writer on the Observer's staff. We'd win it all then!!!!!
Posted by: Bonnell<>Reporting Genius | Jun 6, 2007 4:41:51 PM
Sometimes in life you find yourself in the extreme position to hire someone, and it just so happens you know someone personnally that is qaualified to take on that position. Now the people that disagree probably has never been in the position to hire someone before because I would hire a person I knew and that was qualified in a minute. Jordan has learned over his years of being in the executive offices and hopefully it has panned out for this new organization. Plus I think there is no dispute about his knowlegde of the game itself, just get better with that player personnel thing (meaning letting Alan Anderson show what he can really do), and after this great 3rd season all looks bright.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVBS9SaPksY
But things look good for he bobcats because of the change of the game in the NBA and with a young coach and young execs that know eachother personnally, I think thats good business.
Holla!
Posted by: T-Dub | Jun 6, 2007 6:08:19 PM
To the person who made the comment about Fred Whitfield being "supremely unqualified to direct the business ops. His only jobs have been working for Mike. Total lackey."
You might want to do some research on his background & work buddy. Your statement is completely wrong and I don't say that as an opinion.
Posted by: GJ | Jun 6, 2007 8:23:48 PM
RICK,
I've seen film of Steve Hawes, and unless something quirky happens before 8 or we package and trade up, I think he's the best pick for us at 8. He's got serious skills and can become an excellent center in the NBA. Two or three years down the road, I believe he may end up being the 3rd best player in the draft, and we need a 7'0 center to replace Brezec at some point. Your take please?
Posted by: Charlotte Fan | Jun 6, 2007 9:16:32 PM
Remember GJ, this is a blog. Just a bunch of opinions. No research required. You tell us. What has Whitfield done that doesn't have Jordan written all over it.
Posted by: Magic | Jun 6, 2007 11:48:00 PM
CF, I'll assume you're talking about Spencer Hawes, and here is one report on how he looked this past week at the Predraft camp in Orlando. The 16 is a reference to the fact that his workout ranked 16th out of the 18 prospects who only worked out in Atlanta. He will be a quality backup for years, but the 3rd best player in the draft? Hardly.
16. Spencer Hawes 7-0 244 C Wash. Fr.
What he did well: Hawes measured a hair away from 7’1’’ and 244 lbs. That’ about it.
What he struggled with: You know you hurt your stock when the assistant coaches running the combine have a higher vertical than you do. Hawes’ 29’’ vertical did not compare to the big men he was competing against. So even though he can’t jump, he’s really strong, right? Not quite. Hawes performed a disappointing 9 bench reps and compounded it by running the slowest sprint time (3.51) and one of the most pedestrian lane drills (11.88).
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 7, 2007 12:47:25 AM
Bonnell!!!! Bonnell!!! Keep plugging away Big Rickey!! Your blog's blogging baby!!
Posted by: James Cameron | Jun 7, 2007 8:44:26 AM
Facts on Jordans Time at Washington:
2001/2002 37-45 No play-offs
2002/2003 37-45 No play-offs
Pollin dismissed Jordan noting that Jordan had detrimental effects on the team, such as benching Larry Hughes for Tyronn Lue when Lue passed the ball to Jordan more, making poor trades, and squandering the teams' 2001 1st round draft pick on high schooler Kwame Brown who never panned out.
Wizards replaced Jordan's managerial role with Coach Eddie Jordan and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld. The team's current roster only has two holdovers from the Michael Jordan era
The Grunfeld tenure has been widely lauded as being tremendously successful. In particular, the trade of underachieving first round bust Kwame Brown for All-Star Caron Butler is considered to be one of the all time uneven trades in NBA history.
Posted by: Larry | Jun 7, 2007 11:08:39 AM
Amen
Posted by: magic | Jun 7, 2007 11:17:48 AM
mike is doing what his white counterparts do!HIRING people he knows and feels comfortable with he didn't invent this practice just look at mlb and damn every franchise in pro sports.
Posted by: peedee | Jun 7, 2007 11:19:50 AM
Mike is the greatest basketball players of all time. Bball is his life. Naturally, the people he will become friends with with are basketball people, so the fact that they are his friends doesn't mean it will be bad. The situation in DC was different. That team had salary cap issues and some bad contracts (J. Howard). Let's give Mike a chance - I think he will do well. Right now, he gets us on Sportscenter and can sell FA to play here.
Posted by: Hal | Jun 7, 2007 12:19:29 PM
Rick, anough about MJ, let's get some rumors going on here. Can you find out what the latest on G Wallace is? Are we going to make him a strong offer? Do we have the cap to get him Okafor, and Lewis?
Posted by: Hal | Jun 7, 2007 12:24:39 PM
Rashard Lewis will not be worth anywhere NEAR the money he'll get paid. He's a soft player who only scores. Poor rebounding, defense, and heart. That's NOT what we need.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 7, 2007 1:59:43 PM
And I guess we now add Phil Ford and Lee Rose to the list...can Dean Smith be next?
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 7, 2007 3:17:23 PM
Cronyism is an obvious part of professional parts and Michael Jordan's latest moves are nothing new. However, fans of the Bobcats should have reason for concern considering the last time Jordan filled positions with his buddies in Washington for the Wizards...well we all know how that worked out.
Posted by: Nic | Jun 7, 2007 8:13:46 PM
I have faith in MJ. He knows basketball, he knows the people in basketball. I dont mind if he hires people that are close to him, as those are the people he trust, and trust is a big part in business. Despite his poor decision in drafting Kwame Brown, Jordan helped establish that team and open up the caproom that allowed Wahington to make the moves for Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas. And at the time, drafing Brown was risky, but not stupid as he looked to be the one of the best long term bigman in the draft. He just didnt pan out. The only reason the new GM in washington looks so good is because Mitch Kupchak of the Lakers is such a moron. So i say have faith in MJ and let him hire his friends....I just hope that MJ does not befriend Joakim Noah. Please MJ, lets not have kwame #2 in Charlotte. Say no to Noah!
Posted by: Cats4Life | Jun 8, 2007 12:36:01 PM
I really like the fact that ownership, management and coaches are not mostly white like most teams in the league (Lee Rose as the 'token' white guy-- poetic justice). I think this could lend some much needed credibility to the Cats organization in the eyes of some of the best players in the league and certainly is a nice corrective in the rich and white dominated sports world. I'll wait on judging the moves in a basketball sense until we see what happens on the floor next season.
I agree that AA needs to get more of a run, especially considering his superior defensive skills.
Spencer Hawes would be the worst lottery pick in Charlotte since JR Reid.
I don't want Joakim Noah either.
I think the most likely, best pick for the Cats at #8 would be Al Thornton. Did anybody else out there in Carolina country see any FSU games this year? At the combine a few days ago he lead everyone with a " 41.5’’ vertical leap and displayed a freakish 7’1’’ wingspan while standing just 6’7’’. Thornton also weighed in at 221 lbs, showing he had gained weight since the end of the season. The added weight certainly didn’t slow him down, as Thornton ran a blistering 3.16 second sprint. "(NBADraft.net)
Any combination of G-force and Thornton at the two and three would be defensively and offensively dominant (in that order) He may need to work on his handling skills but he shot 44% from three last year (53% overall). The point is to get the best skills out there on the court. We know G-force and Okafor can be moved around and still be extremely effective (Wallace at 2-3-4, Okafor at the 4 and 5), Thronton is another one of those freak athletes (with better offensive skills at this point than either Wallace or Okafor had) who I think will develop the type of versatility to play the 2-3-4.
And as a closing thought, why not send Brevin to Portland (where he could counsel their young guards and feed their young forwards) and try to get Joel Pryzbilla in return. Pryzbilla is the perfect fit. for his career, in just 19 min/game he averages almost six rebounds and 1.7 blocks. And you don't ever have to run a play for him. He would be a vast improvement over Brezec (maybe a good platoon situation) and the Blazers are very soon going to have Magloire, Aldridge, Randolph and Oden, meaning Pryzbilla is extremely expendable (and pretty cheap too). Make some calls Ricky B.
Posted by: BustaCat | Jun 8, 2007 2:01:41 PM
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