| 2009-10 Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats Authored by Andrew Perna - October 22, 2009 - 12:26 am
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Last Season’s FIC Rank: -1.6, 18th
Key Additions: Tyson Chandler, Ronald Murray, Stephen Graham
Key Subtractions: Emeka Okafor, Sean May
Key Rookies: Gerald Henderson, Derrick Brown
Probable Starters: Raymond Felton, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Tyson Chandler
Point Guard: Raymond Felton’s run in Charlotte will last at least another season after he finally agreed to the team’s one-year qualifying offer a few weeks ago. The Bobcats are lucky that the down market kept teams from signing him to an offer sheet, because he’s a lot better (but more expensive) than some of the point guards that were highly-coveted this summer (ahem, Ramon Sessions).
Sophomore D.J. Augustin figures to get more minutes this season, but Felton was able to hold him off for the starting job last year. He has been very reliable over his four-year career, playing in no fewer than 78 games while improving in each of his first three seasons. His numbers dipped a bit in 2008-09, but Augustin wasn’t really to blame as his minutes remained consistent.
Felton is strong for his size, but he’s on the short side. He was a winner coming out of North Carolina, but four straight seasons of losing in Charlotte may have worn off any of those qualities he picked up as a Tar Heel. Both Felton and Augustin are very quick, but the latter has the better shot. The former Longhorn has the range and consistency that the Bobcats have been longing for out of Felton since 2005.
Larry Brown still has great coaching instincts. Felton is short even for a point guard at times, but Charlotte played him alongside Augustin at shooting guard often last season to great success. About a third of his time came as an off-guard and he was +18 at the position for the season (against -20 as a point guard).
Augustin’s frame is much smaller than Felton’s, so he’s a natural fit as the point guard when the combination is on the floor together. He had a plus/minus of -41 for the season, which isn’t surprising when you consider that the Bobcats were outscored by more than 100 points over 82 games. However, the rookie posted an impressive points per 100 possessions figure of +1.1 (Felton’s was +4.0).
With how important point guard have become in the NBA, the Bobcats almost have an embarrassment of riches. If Augustin is able to cement himself as the team’s starter of the future, Charlotte should shop Felton before the trade deadline. He’s no guarantee to sign a long-term deal -- just take a look at the back-and-forth in contract negotiations this summer -- and they might as well turn their depth at the point into help elsewhere.
Swingmen: The Bobcats have a nice hodgepodge of players on the wing. There are five to six players that figure to see minutes this season and a majority have varying skill sets.
Raja Bell, who has an expiring contract that could be dangled, is the team’s defensive presence on the perimeter. He’s clearly on the downside of his career, but can still hit an important three-pointer and brings fire to a team that desperately needs it. He’s one of Charlotte’s few veterans, which at this stage in their development is almost as important as his offensive and defensive contributions.
Gerald Wallace, who believe-it-or-not is entering his ninth NBA season, has been a mainstay in Charlotte after beginning his career in Sacramento. He has a propensity to get hurt, but is the Bobcats’ most versatile (and exciting) player. He is among the most athletic players in the game when healthy and he has improved his defense vastly since coming into the league back in 2001.
The combination of Wallace and Bell on the perimeter was one of the reasons why the Bobcats limited opponents to 94.9 points last season, good enough for ninth in the NBA.
Behind projected starters Bell and Wallace, the Bobcats have rookie Gerald Henderson and journeymen Vladimir Radmanovic, Ronald Murray and Stephen Graham.
Henderson brings a varied skill set to Charlotte. He is a good all-around defensive player and has the ability to create his own offense. He doesn’t have tremendous range, but can score and that’s something the Bobcats drastically need. The club scored just 93.6 points per game last season, which ranked last in the league, while they ranked a still bad 27th in points per 100 possessions.
Radmanovic can hit a three-pointer, but has been a disappointment in the NBA since averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds for Seattle during the 2003-04 season. Murray was an underrated acquisition this offseason. For $2 million, he’ll give Brown a much-needed explosive scorer off the bench.
Frontcourt: The Bobcats acquired Tyson Chandler from the Hornets this summer in exchange for Emeka Okafor. The trade, which was one of the biggest of the summer, was often debated because of the salary cap ramifications. Chandler’s contract, while more expensive annually, is much shorter than Okafor’s.
Chandler, like Okafor, is far from polished offensively. The players are actually fairly similar, although Chandler is taller while not nearly as strong as Okafor. The enigmatic Chandler is more athletic, but can take himself out of the game at times and isn’t as savvy as the former finance major from Connecticut.
The presence of Chandler should allow the Bobcats to maintain their defensive mindset, assuming he’s able to remain healthy. He played in just 45 games last season because of lingering ankle and toe injuries, which actually axed a deal to the Thunder at last season’s trade deadline.
Boris Diaw, who Brown admitted needs to work back into shape quickly after missing time due to an ankle injury this summer, should start at power forward alongside Chandler in the paint. He can play a variety of positions, but Charlotte’s lack of depth in the frontcourt will force Diaw to play a majority of his minutes as a big man. He’s a very good passer, which could help Chandler get some nice looks inside even with longtime teammate Chris Paul no longer on his side.
Charlotte has solid bench players in DeSagana Diop and Nazr Mohammed, while also possessing promising young guns in Derrick Brown and Alexis Ajinca. Those in North Carolina are crossing their fingers that Ajinca can develop into a serviceable center, because Chandler is undoubtedly leaving town within the next two years.
Forecast: It’ll be hard for the Bobcats to match the 35 wins they posted last season, which was a franchise record, simply because I see Toronto and Washington leapfrogging them in the standings. There are a few players that make the Bobcats fun to watch, but there won’t be any May basketball in Charlotte until at least 2011.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. You can also follow Andrew on Twitter: APerna7.
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