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June 05, 2009
New owners would make Brown anxious
Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown -- arguably the team's greatest asset at this point -- said he'd be anxious about an ownership change that results in Michael Jordan no longer running the basketball operation.
Brown also said he needs Jordan fully engaged by running the team. Jordan wasn't in Charlotte Thursday, when the Bobcats worked out lottery picks Stephen Curry of Davidson and Gerald Henderson of Duke.
"He's special and great to be around. We need him engaged and involved,'' Brown said of Jordan Friday. "If he's gone, he's the guy who hired me. You don't know who'd be coming in here (to run the team) and how they feel about the job we did, our capabilities.
"But I have no control over that. I'm going to do the best I can. Our staff's going to do the best it can to get us better.''
So would Brown be less comfortable coaching the Bobcats in Jordan's absence?
"It depends on who it would be,'' Brown said of new management. "But I came here because of Michael.''
The Observer first reported that majority owner Bob Johnson has retained a sports investment banker to look for bids for controlling interest in the team. NBA commissioner David Stern's comments about the Bobcats, at a press conference Thursday, suggest a sale is inevitable.
Jordan, a minority partner with control of basketball decisions, has said in the past he'd be interested in majority control. Jordan hasn't commented lately on how interested he'd be in buying the team.
Brown addressed several other issues Friday:
-- He said he's still receptive to coaching Allen Iverson, who'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but wonders whether the Bobcats -- a team far from championship contention -- is the right fit for Iverson this late in his career. Brown coached Iverson in Philadelphia in what was a successful, but sometimes combustible, relationship.
-- He said rookie Alexis Ajinca, currently working out in Dallas, needs to be more coachable next season. Brown said Ajinca didn't handle not playing very well. Brown now thinks it would have been beneficial for Ajinca to play more last season in the development league.
-- He said veteran center Nazr Mohammed was probably disrespected by not playing more last season. Brown commended Mohammed for how hard he's working this off-season to, in effect, force more playing time out of the coaching staff.
More detail to follow. Stay tuned.
Posted by Observer Sports on June 5, 2009 at 12:12 PM | Permalink
Comments
Ajinca is not even ready to play on a collegiate level, let alone an NBA team. I never liked that pick from the beginning, and I hate it even more now. He looks completely clueless on the court.......... Iverson shoots way too much to be apart of this team. He can not run the show like he used to. He went to the Nuggets and they went downhill. He then went to the Pistons and they went even further downhill. Its funny how when the Sixers and Nuggets got rid of him, they both immediately got better! If this was 2002 again then maybe....but as for 2009, thanks but no thanks Allen!!
Posted by: Smitty | Jun 5, 2009 12:58:16 PM
I'm amazed that City of Charlotte welcomed Bob Johnson with so much fanfare when he brought the Bobcats to the city. To me, the guy didn't really make an investment of time and is ready to pull out when times are tough.
Hopefully, any new owner will make a commitment like Richardson has done with the Panthers. That will make the franchise strong and bring good players to Charlotte.
Posted by: David Morgan | Jun 5, 2009 1:11:11 PM
Allen Iverson would be the death knell for this franchise.
Posted by: Brigolf67 | Jun 5, 2009 1:24:23 PM
Bob Johnson didnt bring anything here, including the slobcats. The NBA was here, Stern just had to approve the owner, and it was Johnson. He hasnt done this city any favors
Posted by: DNYCE | Jun 5, 2009 1:34:54 PM
It depends on who it would be,'' Brown said of new management. "But I came here because of Michael.''
that is the worst quote ever! What about the team, staff and Charlotte more importantly! That is why this team is going down! Someone needs to give Brown a coaching lesson on speaking skills.
Posted by: stacy | Jun 5, 2009 1:46:30 PM
Je*** Ch**** himself could own this team and St. Peter could coach it deep into the playoffs and we would STILL refuse to buy tickets for a team whose existence was made possible only by negating a vote count in wartime. When brave American GIs were fighting and dying for democracy in foreign lands, our undemocratic Mayor McCrory and the undemocratic 2002 Charlotte City Council refused to enforce the vote count of the Arena Referendum of 6-5-01 which overwhelmingly rejected the proposed Uptown Arena, and defied the majority of the voters and built the unwanted Arena anyway BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T AGREE WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS! Disgraceful!
When we get our stolen hotel-motel tax revenue back by the proposed "Arena seat surchage" we'll all go out and buy season tickets again like we did for the Hornets when they had losing teams. But first we are determined to restore democracy to Charlotte and get our money back!
Duh!
Posted by: theft_victim | Jun 5, 2009 1:51:41 PM
I am disappointed with the way the Bobcats have been run so far by Bob Johnson. It seems to me to be common sense to spend significant time and money to make sure your investment is successful. I agree that the next owner should take lessons from Mr. Richardson on how to run a successful franchise. I do think it needs to be someone who lives in the area and has a hometown stake and actual pride in the this frnchise. Bob Johnson swooped in and bought the Bobcats expecting an easy profit because he never intended to keep the team. Now he is losing millions and does not see an end to it so he is trying to get rid of it as soon as possible. I just hope that the team stays in Charlotte because they can succeed here if the have the right ownership.
Posted by: Leonard | Jun 5, 2009 1:55:41 PM
I am amazed that Ajinca didn't handle his lack of playing time well. Did he really think he deserved to play ahead of the other players on the Cats front line? I hope he was frustrated because he knew he wasn't skilled enough to enter the rotation. I will go with the latter because the former would be mind boggling. I haven't given up on him, but he has to bulk up in the off-season and learn defend.
I also hope Mohammed plays more this season. He is the most offensively skilled center on the roster.
Posted by: Token | Jun 5, 2009 1:56:17 PM
How about drafting Hansborough, Danny Green, Lawson and get ready to see some REAL basketball! Go Bobcats!
Posted by: Brian | Jun 5, 2009 2:00:05 PM
@theft_victim that may be the single greatest bobcats related post I've ever read. Well done sir.
Posted by: Clay | Jun 5, 2009 2:07:14 PM
Brian I hope that was a lame attempt at humor..or at least a sarcastic jab at the Tar Holes! Last thing we need is another one of those bums on the team...haha
Posted by: Bobcat Terry | Jun 5, 2009 2:12:46 PM
I agree with some of the others, I hope that the new owner whoever it is, is in line with Jerry Richardson. The Cats need a figure like him to run the franchise.
@theft_victim - you sure must spend a lot of nights in Charlotte hotels then since the city just "stole" your money. I guess your wife couldn't tolerate you either.
Posted by: PantherDave | Jun 5, 2009 2:18:05 PM
The problem with the NBA and other pro sports leagues is that they want too much money for what they are worth to a city and offer as entertainment. If they had a more socially responsible and less self-serving money grubbing business structure, and stopped dumping their outrageous fiscal demands on host cities, perhaps the citizens could respect them and be far more likely to support them. For now though, Im glad to see the Bobcats face extinction and Bob Johnson go home with his tail between his legs.
Posted by: Jamal | Jun 5, 2009 2:20:53 PM
Allen Iverson and the Bobcats..yeah right...AI would never make it in Charlotte....this town is definitely not ready for AI....
Posted by: deb | Jun 5, 2009 2:23:09 PM
I am going to go on the limb say with all this stuff circulating around the team people are going to forget all that stuff when the Bobcats finally get in the playoffs this 2009-2010 season. The NBA draft is the key to this whole entire thing whether its through trades or drafting someone like Gerald Henderson, someone who can defend, get to the line, and bring energy off the bench Go Cats!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Bobcat23 | Jun 5, 2009 2:26:25 PM
By the way, a huge percentage of the hotel/motel and car rental taxes are paid for by local citizens and also by local businesses who provide cars and rooms for their visiting customers and vendors. The idea that "out-of-towners" are paying for all of this is part of a marketing scheme sold to you buy marketing professionals. The facts are also that no city...NONE...has ever had a positive economic impact equal to the tax money put into laying for an arena or stadium. That is an easily verifiable statement and dozens of studies have supported it. its rather disturbing though, that we were told otherwise... by marketing professionals hired by the arena developers and those businesses who stood to gain financially from a team coming here.
Posted by: Jamal | Jun 5, 2009 2:27:23 PM
What's past is past, when given lemons, make lemonade.
Smitty, RE: Ajinca, you're an idiot. Dude is all kinds of smooth, he would have been a top 3 pick this year.
Posted by: Bro D. | Jun 5, 2009 2:36:14 PM
Look, LB was asked the question about Iverson, so he answered it. AI is not coming for many obvious reasons. I like Larry's candor. Ajinca was his pick and he was a reach. I didn't like the picks, wanting Lopez and Chalmers (yes, I wanted Chalmers with the 20th pick, and he would have been great as our back up PG). Surprised by the acknowledgement on Nazi; sounds like he didn't get the burn and that led to an ongoing relationship/performance issue. Hopefully his workouts and contract situation deliver something for us this season.
Posted by: Mark | Jun 5, 2009 2:37:02 PM
Jamal - I know a lot of people in Charlotte and I can't say I know a single one of them that rents hotel rooms and cars on a regular basis. I've also not heard or seen one single study that suggests a "huge" percentage of local citizens pay these taxes. What is truly baffling to me is that there are citizens in this town who are still bitter about something that happened 6 or 7 years ago. It could've been handled differently yes, but it certainly hasn't made you broke or affected your life in any drastically negative way. If there's any anger that should be geared to anyone it should be towards some of the irrational decision making by certain financial execs in this town that have cost the city thousands of jobs, along with the rest of the country that's gone into an economic blackhole.
Posted by: PantherDave | Jun 5, 2009 2:37:13 PM
I really wish you guys would proof read your articles more. I may sound nitpicking but reading things with misspelled words from a business such as yourself really kills your image.
Posted by: Lee | Jun 5, 2009 2:37:20 PM
And oh, about Iverson... we don't need him here. I can't imagine LB will want to tolerate him for a whole season, esp at this point in his career. The team chemistry we have now is the best I've seen...
Posted by: PantherDave | Jun 5, 2009 2:46:28 PM
i hope jordan buys the team
Posted by: jeremy | Jun 5, 2009 2:57:23 PM
I know a lot of business people in Charlotte that rent rooms and cars for out of town workers or clients. Does the average joe rent the majority of rooms rooms? Probably not, but Charlotte isn't a real popular vacation destination, so that leaves businesses large and small paying for the arena. Of course that cost just gets passed on to their customers in the end. A group of friends and I had Hornet's tickets for 10 years. I don't think any of the six of us has been to a Bobcats game and probably never will. Win or not, this town could care less.
Posted by: bw0603 | Jun 5, 2009 3:09:56 PM
The Observer has an image?
Posted by: Lee2 | Jun 5, 2009 3:34:44 PM
Yes Johnson is terrible, yes the team has been mismanaged from the start. But why does anyone think things will be different if Jordan is the owner? The executive staff that is in place and has been doing the poor job is all Jordans people!
Johnson is bad, but it is Jordans handpicked group running this team into the ground.
Posted by: Hoopsguy | Jun 5, 2009 3:36:04 PM
I'm sure there's plenty of people that haven't been to a Bobcats game, and those are the same ones that think that the city doesn't care. I disagree with that. When the Cats where on the verge of making the playoffs this past year, they filled up the arena at the end of the season. In fact, 2 of those games were over sold (I know b/c I went to both). You put an owner in charge that cares about the city and team, or a marquee player. They will win, and people will come. Look at the Dallas Mavericks. No one in Dallas gave a rip about them until Mark Cuban came along. Same with Cleveland and LeBron James. May not be the old days of the Hornets, but they will... Besides Charlotte has changed a lot in the last 15 years when the Hornets had their hey-day.
Posted by: PantherDave | Jun 5, 2009 3:37:21 PM
Can we start lobbying for a NEW TEAM NAME??
Posted by: Rob | Jun 5, 2009 3:43:57 PM
Brown needs to get over himself. He signed a contract with the team, not Jordan.
If it would have been beneficial for Ajinca to play in the D-League, then why the hell wasn't he there? In fact, why the hell did we draft him AT NUMBER TWENTY??? We could have gotten an undrafted guy just as ready to contribute who also needed time in the D-League who wouldn't have cost us a 1st-round pick.
Bro D, that's ridiculous. Ajinca couldn't put up more than 10 and 6 IN THE D-LEAGUE! Just like he couldn't earn more than 8 MPG IN THE SECOND TIER IN FRANCE! He might have been a top 3 pick...in the second round.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 5, 2009 3:44:12 PM
sure chalmers would have been a great back up point guard to take at #20 last draft but if we had have done that who would be our starting point guard? not felton. hes not starting point guard material. at least with augustin we have a starting calibre point guard on the roster. with felton and chalmers wed just have two back up point guards and with lopez two bigs that would get in each others way.
Posted by: the voice | Jun 5, 2009 3:52:40 PM
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