Michael Jordan, Man With A Plan?

This may be his last chance.

by Rodney David King

Last night was complete torture for anyone who calls themselves a Charlotte Bobcat fan. And while there aren’t many of them, the few that exist were in gut wrenching agony as we approached the first of the Bobcats two picks for the night.

Earlier that day, Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bobcats management team were moving and shaking like George Costanaza. They shuttled off their last reaming star Stephen Jackson to Milwaukee in exchange for Corey Maggette and the No. 7 pick. We already were in possession of the No. 9 pick which everyone in the city hoped to be Kemba Walker. At last, things were looking great in the Queen City and MJ was looking like he finally was making good on his promise to be a hands on owner with a focus on winning. And then we get to the draft.

After watching Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams go one and two as expected, picks 3-6 are what drove everyone else crazy and gave the Bobcats hope that the trades from earlier would net great results. As we approached the seventh pick, there still was great talent left on the board. The best of that bunch was 6’3’ point guard Brandon knight. A scoring guard he has a tremendous upside, a no fear mentality when it came to taking clutch shots, and had the look to be a leader in the making.

And a natural leader and scorer is what this team needed. Over the last few years, the draft hasn’t been kind to us. Emeka Okafor over Dwight Howard seemed like it made sense at the time, but looking back not so much. Raymond Felton and Sean May in the same year was a great feel good story, but the duo didn’t necessarily light the city on fire.  And then there was Adam Morrison, who we will never speak of again.

But this year was destined to be different. MJ made the right moves before the draft by  securing two picks. He was going to start building the future of the Bobcats and the show-off the new faces of the franchise last night. As we approach the 7th pick the city was on the edge of their seats.

Would the pick  be Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker? As David Stern approached the podium and announced the name we’ve been waiting to hear “With the seventh pick, the Bobcats select, Bismack Biyombo”. And the crowd goes silent.  Who in Gods name is that? Yeah I know 6’10 all muscle, can jump out the building, athletic specimen. He looks the part but, really can he play? With the history of failed picks already behind us, why would you not take a guaranteed thing with that first pick.

Now MJ appeased the fan base with the 9th pick by grabbing Kemba Walker, but for me, the damage was already done. Once again, MJ  looked like the great player who maybe shouldn’t be  in charge of a team. While he could move mountains on the court, his expertise off the court has always been in question and last night I looked at him suspect. It’s still too early to say who will be a bust and who won’t but we have history of drafting those who do become busts. Bismack may turn out to be a player and that missing piece that the Bobcats need to finally make the Playoffs and bring an electricity back to this city that hasn’t been excited about basketball since the Hornets were in town. What we do know is unlike some of the other drafts where MJ was only half-way involved, this draft is his, he owns this one. He was front and center for every workout and every interview. His finger alone pulled the trigger.

So if he hits the target with these two picks and manages to build a Playoff contender then three cheers for Mike. But if this doesn’t pan out and we just have another Alexis Ajinca on the roster, well then Lucy you got some ‘splaining to do.