Rich Cho hired as Bobcats GM; Rod Higgins moves up
Big news, guys!
The Charlotte Observer reported late Monday night that Rich Cho has been hired as general manager of the Charlotte Bobcats. Rod Higgins has been named president of basketball operations. Higgins reached out to Cho within a day of his firing before lobbying to Michael Jordan to hire Cho.
11 months ago
Joshua Priemski
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Cho to CHA?
Joshua, you beat me to it! So there’s now also a redundant fan post.
Most of us in PDX were baffled when Cho was let go. We liked him.
He was part of the OKC rebuilding effort, and could be a great asset to the Charlotte franchise.
Lmao. "CHOCHA"
Bro, I have Twitter and stuff.
by Joshua Priemski on Jun 14, 2011 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I have a feeling that Charlotte will be getting a lot better with a guy like Cho at the helm.
He’s a great guy and you can tell he’s just really intelligent. I was very pissed when I heard the Blazers fired him because I thought he was awesome bringing us Gerald Wallace and was looking forward to what he would do this summer to help our team. Lucky for you, you get to see what he does for the Bobcats now.
The smarter you are, the more likely you are to be tripping balls at any given moment.
Draft Nikola Vucevic
Sort of.
To my understanding, the organization has done most of its scouting already, with only a few workouts remaining. He’s supposed to be in Charlotte for Wednesday’s workouts and will be asked for his input, but I can’t imagine the final decision is his. He hasn’t witnessed any workouts to my knowledge. Ben will learn more soon, I’m sure.
Bro, I have Twitter and stuff.
by Joshua Priemski on Jun 14, 2011 2:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I think you guys are forgetting something
There is decent possibility that we will facilitate a draft day trade. This guy can help establish some respect for our front office throughout the league. I think some of the reason our players don’t have good value around the league is because our front office is not well respected around the league. It goes hand in hand. Teams may want to work with us more now that one of “Michael’s Boys” isn’t working the phone. Wishful thinking but I hope that this is the case. It makes sense
He will have a bigger say than most of us have expected....
He was hired officially today or yesterday but Im sure a guy with a background such as his, has been planning ahead as to what moves can be made to improve from his prospective. Remember Higgs reached out to him as soon as he was fired by Portland…
I think this is a fantastic move
It seemed to me that Cho became the scapegoat for the Blazers not advancing as far in the playoffs as they hoped/expected. I really feel this is a ‘their loss, our gain’ situation.
Furthermore, I like that MJ really has stepped outside the box and not surrounded himself with another of ‘his guys’. On the one hand it’s good to have people you trust, but things can get too familial in a front office where nobody is willing to upset the apple cart when changes need to be made.
Finally, Cho was wanting to suspend Brandon Roy in the middle of the playoffs for taking to Marc Spears about his playing time… it should be curious how he deals with Jax, because as mercurial as Jackson is his mood can sour quickly.
The Big German had as much to do with Portland's playoff exit as anyone else.
I don’t know anything about Cho other than what I’ve just read in this thread. With that said, it seems unfair for the Blazers FO to peg him as the reason why Oden couldn’t stay healthy, why Roy sustained crucial injuries, and why they unfortunately landed in a 1st round bracket with the eventual World Champions.
I’m willing to bet that Cho charmed the pants off of someone in our FO during the Wallace deal, so much so that the wheels were put in motion back at the trade deadline to get him on our side. I’m intrigued.
Cam Newton for '11 ROY!
Roy
Should’ve been suspended. He was a crybaby. People dont realize the dynamic of what Roy did. It wasnt just talking to the media. He pretty much wrote a sympathy letter. That effects the fans and it distracts the locker room. Roy crushed the chemistry and the Blazers coaching felt that they were then obligated to allow him to play. THis did more hurt and help. They werent going to beat the Mavs anyway. The majority of Roy’s minutes were pretty much useless except one game. And I think that although it was a great performance, it was an overrated factor in the planning for the next couple of games. Their lack of center was the reason they lost. Chandler Haywood and Dirk Diggler was just too much for Camby. But they wouldve had a fighting chance had Roy not had increased minutes.
Jax has never been one to cry to the media, I actually never really see him talk to the media about locker room minutes until seasons are over. He may have a bad rep with referees but never had I heard him have a problem with coaching until AFTER Larry Brown was gone. I actually thought he was one of “Larry B’s guys”. I dont think that Cho mind’s JAX on court attitude bc alot of times, JAX is the victim of terrible ticky tack fouls bc of his relationships with refs. Besides Cho never minded Camby, Miller or Aldridge and they are known to get a lil heated on the court also.
Stephen Jackson played basketball before arriving in Charlotte
“Jax has never been one to cry to the media”
With the exception of all the events that lead up to him being traded from Golden State
by James Dator on Jun 14, 2011 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
LOL Thats different
well it is… he doesnt want to be on the team and he let it be known. Thats a big difference in “I want more minutes” in a playoff series that you werent really apart of getting to….
To be fair
Roy did a hell of a lot more to get Portland to the playoffs than Gerald Wallace did, even though Wallace started 6 games. Fact is, he played 47 games for Portland last year and averaged 27.9 minutes… I think it’s far too much of a superlative to say Roy didn’t really play a hand in getting Portland to the post-season.
I’m not saying what Brandon Roy did was right, but we can’t give Jackson a pass for demanding a trade and scorn Roy for wanting more time. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jax… but let’s not pretend he’s a choir boy here. He gets restless easily, especially when he personally doesn’t like a team’s direction. There’s no guarantee he’s had a giant change of heart and is willing to buy everything Rich Cho is selling
by James Dator on Jun 14, 2011 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Jax wants to be here...
Because MJ and Silas are looking to him as a leader and he recognizes that. Whether he agrees with Cho or not (which I couldnt see why), Silas/Higgs/MJ are still there. I dont think he’ll CHANGE the direction of the team moreso than put the best pieces to maximize what Silas is trying to do… JAX was not on the winning GS team. JAX was now on a team with Curry, Ellis and Azibuike and Morrow. He was the last all-around player left. He went from a team with Davis, Richardson, Barnes, Pietrus and Azibuike. They weren’t winning and he wanted out.
As far as Roy. Ok he was the star. He had alot to do with them getting a good record. But I can guarantee they didnt win all 47 games. The same case could be made for Caron Butler and the MAVs and Rudy Gay and MEM. Their teams found away to win plenty of games without those guys. But during the PLAYOFFS, doing what Roy did was more detrimental to the outcome than what JAX did in a preseason. Also no other injured guys too the risk of distracting their teams to speak about his personal feelings. The playoffs is not the time to PROVE you can still play. He saved his job bc he performed well that next game. But in the long run, he set the team back. Rich was fired bc of Roy, the coaching of the games changed after the rant and ultimately Blazers ended the series weaker than they started mainly due to Roy’s increased minutes…
Problem is, Roy was right...
Like his methods or not, he was right… in every statistic and metric he was outplaying Wesley Matthews in the playoffs, yet playing 10 minutes a game less.
More points per 36, more assists, more rebounds, shooting better from the floor, turned the ball over less…
The list goes on…
Better shooting in the clutch (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points), better defense (as judged by opponent’s PER).
Like I said, he shouldn’t have reacted the way he did… but he outplayed Wesley Matthews who started. If they played Roy over him they could been closer.
FUN FACT: When Roy only played 8 minutes the Blazer lost by 12, the largest margin in the series.
Thats a Misconception
that per 36 is nothing in that situation. per 36 to me is the worst thing ever. It doesnt factor in fatigue or anything. Matthews played waaaayyy more minutes than Roy. Im sure “The Custodian” had a pretty damn good per 36 in game six. But he isnt better than anyone on that team. Roy was wrong all the way around. Its not about HIM. He’s been injured half the season and he’s so selfish that he was worried about HIS minutes. This why Duke lost in the NCAA. Sometimes you just gotta stick to what works. Look at the MAVs in the playoffs. Barea and the Custodian worked. Portland didnt stick to what works. They changed the whole gameplan to cater to the ego of Roy. Prove you can play next season when you are ready. So who cares if he had a good minutes when he was in? What about what the rest of the team? What were they doing other than standing around watching the “Roy show”…he got increased minutes and again ultimately, they went out alot weaker than they came in
10 more minutes is 'waaaaay more minutes?'
We’re not comparing three minutes with thirty-three minutes here, we’re comparing 23 and 33… huge difference. I fail to see how fatigue factors in at all… per 36 is designed to be a metric to equalize performance regardless of minutes. If you’re insinuating Matthews faded late in games, then I’d like to see evidence of that.
However, given the fact Matthews averaged 33.6 minutes in the post-season and 33.7 in the regular season, yet played dramatically worse in the regular season I find it hard to believe that he magically started to lose his breathe in the Mavs series.
Again, you keep wanting to argue Roy’s ego… like I’ve said repeatedly, he went about it the wrong way, but it doesn’t mean he was wrong in his assessment of the situation. He was playing better, and was benched for it. Matthews dropped off from his regular season form, and the decision was made not to upset the apple cart. That decision could have sent them home.
FYI, Cardinal’s per 36 in game 6 was not good at all: 9pts, 0 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 fouls
Lemme show you something; Before I even start. Roy was hurt nearly half the season. As the end of the season neared, he started to get worked into the rotation (with little success). March he avg 21mins and 8pts. April he avg 20mins and 6pts. Goin into the playoffs, he knew he wasnt a starter. He knew he wasnt fully healed. Now the first game of the playoffs he played 26mins. He scored 2pts. Its not fair to compare him to Matthews for the simple fact that alot of the time they were in the game together. Now. Game 2, 8min and Opts. Game 3 and 4, 24mins 16 and 24pts. Game 5 and 6. 29mins and 5pts and 9pts. Matthews proved himself during the season when Roy was injured. They had Wallace now. Batum was becoming one of the best defensive players in the league. Matthews was becoming one. And they had Wallace. They built a chemistry. Roy might can score but he wasnt standing infront of anyone. Roy was the apple that the team didnt want to upset and he shouldve picked off the tree and placed in the bottom of the barrel. He wasnt playing better.
Conveniently leaving out that Matthews scored 2 pts the first playoff game and 13 the second was a nice touch
If we’re going to play this game then it helps to present the whole picture. I don’t have an agenda here, what the Blazers do doesn’t mean crap to me… but the fact is that WHEN Brandon Roy got minutes he was more effective across the board… points aren’t everything.
On the entire series:
- Roy: 17 assists, 13 rebounds, 137 minutes
- Matthews: 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 201 minutes
He scored 2pts in 19mins
Not 26mins. So while Roy was crying about being benched, he has to realize that they need more production. When has Matthews been an assists man? 17asst in 6games is what? under 3 a game? Thats not enough to even include. Same thing with the rebounds. Thats not their strength. Matthews was more consistent scoring and playing defense throughout the series. And it was smart for McMillian to stick to what got them to the dance. But he didnt.
One last question...
“Matthews was more consistent scoring and playing defense throughout the series”
If this is true, then how come not a single metric supports this? Just look at Basketball Reference’s advanced playoff stats:
- Roy: 19.9% usage rating (how much a player was used in team plays when on the floor), 16.4 PER (Player Efficiency Rating), 0.102 WS/48 (win share… how much did a player contribute to a team’s win), 110 defense rating (points scored per 100 possession when he was on the floor)
- Matthews: 18.3% usage rating (used less than Roy), 12.8 PER (Played less efficiently than Roy), 0.064 WS/48 (Contributed less to wins than Roy), 118 defensive rating (allowed more points than Roy).
Sure, he was more consistent… consistently worse.
Metric Stats...sheesh...means nothing...
Do metric stats factor in when the points were scored? No. Does it show who scored against who? No. Thats important. Lebron and Wade was droppin big numbers but did nothing in the 4th quarter. Roy had the ball when he was in way more than Matthews (the team player)…When Roy was in the game, the offense ran through him. And it wasnt that successful. Stop. Roy messed it up. Shouldntve even Asked for more time. He changed the whole dynamic of how the games were played. Its some things the METRIC STATS cant measure and thats how the offense was ran (thru Aldridge when Matthews was in and thru Roy when Roy was in). You cant measure WHEN they scored.
Great Move
I really liked the work he did at Portland.
I think we have gained a heap with this move.
Following these blogs:
http://www.rufusonfire.com, http://tradestreetpost.com, http://www.ridiculousupside.com, http://www.inhistoric.com
Great. I mentioned it to a few friends that the Cats
should reach out to Cho or Pritchard with a job offer. I think it’s great we can hire Cho and promote Higgins to another position, keeping stability in our way of thinking, but also adding new ideas with Cho. Hopefully, Cho’s “personality” doesn’t rub M.J. the wrong way as it did Paul Allen.
I'm gonna live forever, I'm never gonna die. The only thing I fear is I'm never gonna fly.
by Charlotte Bobcat on Jun 14, 2011 7:20 AM EDT reply actions
Paul Allen
is just erratic anyway. Cho wasnt the first to get fired so quickly.
Maybe this can e the real trade off from Portland
What is he good at trades, FA’s, everything. Should we expect a big change in the Bobcats FO?
Cho is an analytic guy and a stats head.
Obviously he’s pretty decent at trades considering he landed Wallace for basically expiring contracts and two late first round picks. I think FA will be something that he’s learned in, but not experienced necessarily. He did get a law degree from Pepperdine specializing in sports contracts and negotiations, so he should be pretty good for signing FAs. Another great thing about having a guy like Cho in your FO is the fact that he’ll most likely be one of the first guys to really have a comprehensive understanding of the new CBA when it’s finally agreed upon. I have faith that he’ll be doing great things in CHA, I just wish he was going to be doing them in PDX…
The smarter you are, the more likely you are to be tripping balls at any given moment.
Draft Nikola Vucevic
His Engineering Degree is what makes him good...
What he did with his time in OKC was nothing short of engineering. He didnt have the most glamourous pieces. But he set a foundation and he built from there. And I think he’s gonna do that here. I cant see JAX being dealt for anything less than a mid rounder. 10-15th pick and a player. And if that happens, I expect him to make a great move in FA. We can look toward having a 5 or 6mil dollar man here. Dealing Diaw could land us a nice return in 18-26th picks. I see a good roster shake-up in the near future. He knows what it takes to Build.
Even more important than his work in Portland was his work in Oklahoma City and Seattle before that
The was the AGM since 2000 in Seattle, and left OKC only to get a full time gig in Portland.
Here are the 1st round picks (and notable 2nds) Cho at least played some role in:
- Desmond Mason (18th overall)
- Vladamir Radmanovic (12th overall)
- Earl Watson (2nd round)
- Bobby Simmons (2nd round)
- Nick Collison (12th overall)
- Luke Ridnour (14th overall)
- Robert Swift (12th overall)
- Johan Petro (25th overall)
- Mouhamed Sene (10th overall)
- Kevin Durant (2nd overall)
- Jeff Green (5th overall)
- Glen Davis (traded to Boston)
- Russell Westbrook (4th overall)
- Serge Ibaka (24th overall)
- James Harden (3rd overall)
What does this list tell us? With Cho on board his teams were not afraid of taking risks on international players (4 on this list), he took a lot of offensive players and his overall approach to the draft was to wheel and deal a lot.
Granted, Swift and Sene were complete misses… but the rest of this list is fairly solid.
I do
Vucevic please
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Jun 14, 2011 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Just has an international name
;-)
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Jun 14, 2011 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I like it
I was hanging around The Internet a bit last night before I went to bed and saw this news. I was like, ‘wait, what? we did what?’ lol
This is good news. I think the Trail Blazers made a mistake firing Cho so quickly, and I think he can really help out our team.
Looking forward to it.
Good Hire
Team could definitely use a stat head to go with the more old school evaluation style of MJ and Higgins.
Cho's name is pretty hot right now, so this is obviously exciting news.
I’m most happy that we finally have a guy in the FO who’s resume is more than “I’ve been in basketball for a long time and I’m a FOM.”
His knowledge in quantitative analysis should really come in handy. The rest of professional sports has already realized that advanced statistics improve decision making in terms of who you want on your team. I’m glad the B’cats are finally on board.
by Basketball Rambler on Jun 14, 2011 1:53 PM EDT reply actions
I agree guys...
This is the best news in a long time for our team. No more of those teams getting the better end of the deal on us anymore! Cho will bring credibility to our FO for years to come! Just think if we had someone like this years ago, we wouldn’t have all this excess baggage bad contracts on our team today!I think this puts us in a good position to pull off something bigger in 2012!Welcome to the Cats Emperor Cho!!!
It's difficult to say
Keeping Chandler and Felton (and Wallace obviouslt wouldn’t have been traded in this scenario), would have made the Bobcats a viable playoff option for the next few years. But they never would have grown into a contender because it would have been a team built on really good (not star) players who were all probably a bit over paid. Chandler earned his salary this past season, but he hadn’t lived up to what he makes for several years prior. Felton’s contract is inflated, though you can’t hate the guy for wanting to get paid. Wallace is well paid, but he’s just not capable of reaching consistent star play. So I say no, we ultimately had to rebuild and those were the first steps.
by Basketball Rambler on Jun 15, 2011 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good answer...
and rec
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Jun 15, 2011 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
As a fan, I wish all of them could have stayed. But I’m an adult and realize, like Cho said, in order to take two steps forward, sometimes you have to take one step back.
I'm gonna live forever, I'm never gonna die. The only thing I fear is I'm never gonna fly.
by Charlotte Bobcat on Jun 16, 2011 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
did they really give it a chance, i mean yeah it doesnt look like a title team on paper but maybe make some noise down the road?
by jadedeed2327 on Jun 17, 2011 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions
The Bobcats could have been up to a 5th seed if the 2010 team came back and played last year
I think Chandler would have been rejuvinated this season even in a Bobcats uni.
The problem is the team was way over the cap. Jordan struggled to get enough money together to buy the team. We can’t expect him to leak cash just to keep the team above average yet fundamentally flawed (i.e. not contenders). Best case scenario for the 2010 roster is a run to the finals much like LB did with the Pistons. That’s best case, but not a likely outcome.
by Basketball Rambler on Jun 17, 2011 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Hiring Silas was a good move
"I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well." - Malice
by Julius Coxswain on Jun 15, 2011 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions
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