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June 29, 2009
New D-League affiliate: Portland, Maine
The trip between Charlotte and the Bobcats' Development League affiliate just got a little shorter.
The Bobcats and Boston Celtics will be affiliated with the D-league's new Portland, Maine, franchise. Last season, the Bobcats sent rookies Alexis Ajinca and Sean Singletary to D-league assignments with the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Skyforce.
Bobcats coach Larry Brown wasn't big on sending rookies to the D-League last season, but ultimately was happy with how the experience worked out, particularly for Ajinca. I doubt Gerald Henderson ends up in Maine next season; he's got a great chance to be in the rotation as Raja Bell's backup. Derrick Brown could spend some time there, but considering how mature he seems, and how delighted the Bobcats were he was available 40th, he could stay with the Bobcats all next season.
Posted by Observer Sports on June 29, 2009 at 11:45 AM | Permalink
Comments
Interesting. Materially closer, yes, but still well off the NBA beaten path.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 29, 2009 12:08:36 PM
Henderson will be in the D-League as soon as his rookie contract expires. Might as well go directly there. Better for us if he bricks jumpers in Maine instead of Charlotte.
Posted by: Elevatorman | Jun 29, 2009 12:29:59 PM
@Elevatorman...haha..just make sure you remember this post when he helps us make the playoffs this season!
GO CATS!!
HI HATERS!!
Posted by: Bobcat Terry | Jun 29, 2009 1:09:11 PM
I like doughnuts
Posted by: Sean May | Jun 29, 2009 1:14:48 PM
Funny, em...in college, he played to his strengths and took very few long-range long-range jumpers while converting at an excellent rate while driving to the basket. Sure would be nice if somebody had taught that kind of basic shot selection to Felton at some point in his career.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 29, 2009 2:48:33 PM
Michael:
I was all for them drafting Henderson -- smart player, good athlete, motivated defender. He fills an obvious need. And I think Elevatorman is ridiculous in suggesting Henderson will bomb out here.
But your reply is a little over-the-top, too. Don't make Henderson's lack of shooting range sound like a strength. It has to improve. They know it, he knows it.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Jun 29, 2009 3:33:30 PM
It's WORSE if Henderson was taking good shots and still only hit 33 percent of them. At least if he was gunning all the time, you could say, "His percentage was shaky, but only because he was chucking them up. He'll display better shot selection going forward." Instead you're arguing that he was only taking good shots and still bricking them? That's swell. Now he gets to shoot from father out while being guarded by better athletes. I'm putting his over/under at 26 percent on 3-pointers this season.
Posted by: Elevatorman | Jun 29, 2009 3:58:37 PM
In the 2nd half of last season (dook's final 18 games), Henderson was 17-of-71 on 3-pointers.
17-of-seventy-friggin-one, also known as 23.9 percent
Ladies and gentlemen, that's your hot new Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard. Sweet.
Posted by: Elevatorman | Jun 29, 2009 4:08:21 PM
Procton can't let his k-rat prescription glasses see that while Henderson could be an answer as a backup shooting guard, one of the pre-requisites is actually being able to shoot.
Believe me, I want Henderson to succeed, but he had dang sure better learn how to knock down a jumper, or he's not going to be an asset. I think he can be a good defender initially, but he's got to be able to knock down the J to help us.
Posted by: heelatious | Jun 29, 2009 4:42:35 PM
Rick, any chance of the Cats picking up Turkoglu? I think he'd make a great addition to the team. If we lost Nazz and May tht would certainly give us a good start on the contract he'd be seeking.
Posted by: Hoagie58 | Jun 29, 2009 5:42:00 PM
Picking up Turkoglu and dropping Nazr and May would be ideal. I don't see how it's realistic. Besides Turk doesn't really fill a need for us. Wallace, Radman, D Brown, and even Diaw can all play small forward. If we did want to sign Turk we'd most likely be trading Wallace. I don't see him being worth it.
Posted by: Bobby | Jun 29, 2009 6:06:32 PM
Procton, nothing in this article was about felton. Your UNC bias is old get over it.
Posted by: JD | Jun 29, 2009 7:02:47 PM
Let me just say, I could have not gotten through this day without this news!
Posted by: wfnc2377 | Jun 29, 2009 7:29:11 PM
Dear Michael,
Trade anything for Amare. It will be worth it, I promise.
Posted by: Phil | Jun 29, 2009 8:13:14 PM
I think Turk could play either of the forward positions. He's actually shown the diversity to be able to play either of the guard positions as well- granted, I wouldnt put him at point very often, he would certainly work as a shooting guard.
Posted by: Hoagie58 | Jun 29, 2009 8:17:24 PM
Riddle me this, Rick: Where does most of the scoring from NBA wing players come from? From every measure, it's in the slashing/iso game, where Henderson's abilities ranked statistically among the very best in this year's draft class. But maybe you think Gerald Wallace is expendable because he doesn't have much range on his jumper? Or maybe you think Bell is too much of an offensive powerhouse to let go because he's such a great jump-shooter. Never mind that he contributes NOTHING ELSE on offense.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 29, 2009 10:09:47 PM
I think Henderson can be a good player for the Bobcats. That doesn't mean that he, Felton, and Gerald can't stand to improve on their perimeter shooting.
And in today's NBA, even the guys on the wing who can slash have to learn to shoot on some level. This is especially the case when you run as much of a halfcourt oriented system as Larry Brown does.
Perimeter shooting cannot be trivialized in today's game. To do so ignores the reality of which teams advance in the playoffs. Teams with athletes, but poor perimeter shooting don't advance and consistently lose to teams with better perimeter shooting.
The bigger question is if Larry will push the ball more with guys like Brown, Henderson, Wallace, Felton, etc. who have previously excelled in transition?
Posted by: jperry | Jun 29, 2009 10:33:00 PM
Why does Procton always put words in people's mouths? Even Bonnell's. I don't think Rick said that Henderson is a bad player. In fact, he went out of his way to make it clear that he wasn't saying that. He just pointed out Henderson's weakness. Henderson's weakness is shooting. What's the problem in acknowledging that?
Hoagie,
If we add Turk without giving up another big contract, what does that really give us? Will he start ahead of Wallace or Diaw at the forward spot? I would contend that he's not a guard at all.
He would put the bobcats over the luxury tax for what? To come off the bench? To move Diaw or Wallace to the bench?
It only makes sense if you move Wallace, and I just don't see that happening.
Posted by: Bobby | Jun 29, 2009 10:36:14 PM
Great point jperry. Orlando proved the importance of perimeter shooting just this season.
Ironically, Larry Brown spent half the season railing about guys not driving to the basket. Which of course adds to the idea that Henderson is really a Larry Brown type of player.
Posted by: Bobby | Jun 29, 2009 10:41:22 PM
Henderson's athletic slashing and defensive game should complement the shooting/ballhandling game of defensively-challenged DJ Augustin in the 2nd unit.
Problem is, if Raja goes down and Henderson starts, we're looking at a brick-laying perimeter bunch. Felton and Wallace can only improve their shots so much from this point onward. We'll see.
Posted by: DeLaQuest | Jun 29, 2009 11:28:56 PM
At least Derrick Brown stroked it well from 3.
Posted by: Bro D. | Jun 30, 2009 3:42:17 AM
There's pretty much zero chance of Turkoglu playing here, unfortunately. I think he's a terrific player.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Jun 30, 2009 7:54:30 AM
Felton shot 28% from 3PT last year. Shooting threes isn't the Bobcat's strength, and considering how big Brown is on driving to the basket, I don't see that being a problem.
Posted by: Steve | Jun 30, 2009 8:14:26 AM
Raja Bell Stat Summary:
Florida International Golden Panthers
Season GP MPG PPG FG% 3FG% FT% APG RPG BPG SPG
1998-1999 29 34.9 16.7 45.6 34.8 74.5 2.7 4.3 0.2 1.3
1997-1998 29 29.4 16.6 44.2 32.2 77.2 2.2 4.1 0.1 1.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 58 32.2 16.6 44.9 33.5 75.8 2.5 4.2 0.2 1.3
Our Current Shooting Guard averaged 33.5 percent from three in College also. He was shooting 41% his 3rd year in the league. What better Mentor is there for our rookie?
Posted by: Joe | Jun 30, 2009 8:42:02 AM
"Or maybe you think Bell is too much of an offensive powerhouse to let go because he's such a great jump-shooter. Never mind that he contributes NOTHING ELSE on offense."
Do you even watch the games or do you just pick and choose stats?
Raja is the LEADER on the court and he keeps the players in line and on their respective assignments.
You keep talking about Felton and not improving. Ever hear of "opponent's PER"?
http://www.queencityhoops.com/Ray0809Review.php
A "stats" guy like you should love this.
Posted by: fred | Jun 30, 2009 9:30:20 AM
Henderson didn't improve his jumper AT ALL in three years at Hogwarts:
8-of-25 as a freshman
20-of-63 as a sophomore
41-of-122 as a junior
See a trend there? Pretty much 33 percent, year after year. Either he doesn't learn, or dook's coaches can't teach, or both. It's beyond me why people expect him to miraculously improve now that he has to shoot from farther out while being guarded by vastly better defenders. But by all means, let's continue to pretend that a shooting guard's ability to shoot doesn't matter.
Posted by: Elevatorman | Jun 30, 2009 9:30:50 AM
One of the more overrated stories lines this draft was henderson's D and driving ability. He can't go left!
I'd bet money on:
1. that he never becomes a consistent starter for anyone ever in his career and
2. that no one ever sees a game next year and says, "wow, that henderson is in the same class as Raja in defending on the perimeter"
Posted by: A Fan | Jun 30, 2009 9:45:24 AM
fred, that's the same metric that showed Augustin as a better defender than Felton through half of the season. I think he's the better point guard, but I know defense isn't his strength. If people actually cared about it as a legit statistic, I'd say it was overrated, but fortunately, it's just Ric Bucher and the lunatic fringe.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 30, 2009 10:27:31 AM
any chance we can change the name of the team when bob sells? how about the charlotte cougars, think of the marketing potential! ladies night every friday and sat home game, prowl crawl 2 for 1 night, kids get in free with single mom, etc.
Posted by: brendan | Jun 30, 2009 11:38:27 AM
Great post Joe.
I don't see Henderson making strides like Bell did because of Hendersons form. Bell has good shooting form. It generally takes longer for someone to improve their shot when their form is less ideal than if it isn't. That's not to say that Henderson can't improve it, it will probably just take a little longer to. He's a hard worker so he'll get to a respectable percentage eventually.
Posted by: Mike | Jul 1, 2009 3:16:07 PM
Funny, Portland is only 300 miles closer to Charlotte than Sioux Falls.
Posted by: Ocracoma | Jul 2, 2009 6:10:28 PM
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