Rufus on Fire: FanPosts

Potential Draft Selections, Trades, and Future of Charlotte

2013-05-24T00:24:50Z

As we all probably know, the soon to be Charlotte Hornets will make the 4th pick in this year's draft. With that said, I would like to present what I think will happen on June 27.

Cleveland - Nerlens Noel

Orlando - Trey Burke

Washington - Otto Porter

Charlotte - Ben Mclemore

This in my opinion would benefit the Hornets a lot obviously because of the explosiveness and immediate impact Mclemore would bring. He can shoot the three just as good or better than anyone in the draft, and he flies in transition. He had a 42" vertical leap at the combine and showed in his lone season at Kansas that he can finish strong at the rim. While at Kansas, his team ran several plays where Mclemore was given the chance to dunk an alley oop. He has everything we would want in a two guard.

Another Possible Situation:

Cleveland - Nerlens Noel

Orlando - Ben Mclemore

Washington - Otto Porter

Charlotte - Anthony Bennett

Anthony Bennett is a player that has an incredible offensive skill set. He can work in the post, step out for a mid range jumper, and even hit the three. He also plays the pick and roll very well and would work very well with Kemba Walker. I've heard that he needs to work on his defense but clearly, with his athleticism he will blossom into a solid defender.

Another guy that I would love to see Charlotte get is Victor Oladipo. He is the best wing defender in the draft and has no ceiling to his athleticism. His pairing with MKG on the wings would be one of the best duos in the league. Oladipo showed that he can be a dependable shooter as well. It's looking like Henderson won't be back for next year so filling the shooting guard position is a priority.

Charlotte should draft Mclemore or Bennett, whoever is there for the taking. If neither of the are available, Oladipo is the obvious choice. I don't think drafting a big is the right thing to do in this draft although a lot of people have said that Alex Len would be a good fit in Charlotte and could be the best player out of this draft.

The only trade I would like to see is a trade with the Timberwolves

Charlotte gets: Derrick Williams, Minnesota's 9th and 26th picks in the first round of this years draft

Minnesota gets: Charlotte's 4th pick

In this case Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the ideal selection at the ninth pick. He can score from anywhere on the floor and has an explosive side to him. He has a huge range from behind the arc. Derrick Williams can score from anywhere on the floor as well and can defend a 4. He would be a great backup forward for the future.

With Wiggins, Parker, Randle, and many other franchise players in next years draft, Charlotte is in a position to make some easy decisions and become a team to fear in years to come.

As we all probably know, the soon to be Charlotte Hornets will make the 4th pick in this year's draft. With that said, I would like to present what I think will happen on June 27.

Cleveland - Nerlens Noel

Orlando - Trey Burke

Washington - Otto Porter

Charlotte - Ben Mclemore

Another Possible Situation:

Cleveland - Nerlens Noel

Orlando - Ben Mclemore

Washington - Otto Porter

Charlotte - Anthony Bennett

The only trade I would like to see is a trade with the Timberwolves

Charlotte gets: Derrick Williams, Minnesota's 9th and 26th picks in the first round of this years draft

Minnesota gets: Charlotte's 4th pick

With Wiggins, Parker, Randle, and many other franchise players in next years draft, Charlotte is in a position to make some easy decisions and become a team to fear in years to come.

Poll

Who do you think Charlotte will do with the 4th pick in this year's draft?

The Tier System and A FTW Mock Draft

2013-05-22T06:00:01Z

I remember the 2011 draft very fondly, but one article stood out above all the others that has helped create the lenses in which I evaluate prospects at the top of the draft. It was this article by Chad Ford and I'd like to use that as a reference so we can quickly establish what "Tiers" are.

I talk with NBA scouts and executives to get a sense of:

A. Which teams like which players (mock draft).

B. What the consensus is among all 30 NBA teams about who the best players in the draft are (Top 100).

I use the word "consensus" lightly. Often, even GMs and scouts employed by the same team can't agree on rankings of players.

Obviously, I can't do that kind of thing, as I have no NBA connections and therefore no way to get any sort of consensus. One thing I can do however, is make up these tiers all by myself! So, let's get started shall we?

The First Tier: Franchise Pieces - I hesitate to put Noel here. I'm not going to get into any sort of length, as it's pretty irrelevant to Bobcat fans now, but I will relent and place him here for no reason other than convenience. I guess we can consider this tier graded on a curve, as this draft (appears) weak when compared to its predecessors. Anyway, he's here because he's the clear head-honcho of the draft. Despite some naysayers (like Jay Bilas) who like Ben McLemore, the overwhelming consensus is Noel will be the No1 pick in the draft. So, he fits the bill.
The Second Tier: The Next Best - These are the guys who, for whatever reason, have some glaring weakness that keeps them from being percieved as a true "franchise piece" and are as thus relegated to this tier. My person ranking (in this tier): 2) Ben McLemore - There are enough people who hold the belief that McLemore has the highest upside of this bunch, so I don't see why he shouldn't be given 2nd billing to Noel. He has something all Tier 2 prospects have, an elite tool. That tool is shooting; shooting so good that I've seen comparisons as lofty as Ray Allen. He's got plenty to work on, but you have to love kids that have an elite tool.
3) Anthony Bennett - If you know anything about me on here, you know I'm a sucker for Bennett. He's got elite athleticism (the best of this PF crop), which ticks off that box. He's got SF speed with the power of a PF, making him the ideal offensive prospect, only matched by McLemore in this crew. However, his fatal flaw is his size, in which he is undersized (PG Micheal Carter Williams is close to him in height) and that, matched with subpar defensive effort during his freshman season at UNLV), that generates a lot of questions about his defense.
4) Victor Oladipo - A defensive tour-du-force. While not having the height to actually play SF, he has the outstanding defensive ability to matchup with anyone from 1 through 3 (and his strength isn't bad either; he could probably handle some 4s). His intangibles are so outstanding that it led to incredibly outlandish comparisons to our very own Micheal Jordan, but you don't get people talking about you without doing something right. That elite defensive tool lands him on this second tier, because his offense is nothing to write home about. He's almost the exact offensive player as Bobcat Gerald Henderson's senior year at Duke, which is to say he's an above-average slasher but below average everything else.
5) Cody Zeller - I'm strongly considering him as a Tier 3 prospect, but statements from resident commenter PoAshton made me reconsider my stance that Cody Zeller is not an elite athlete (you can get a good here in the comment section). Among C prospects, his eye-popping combine numbers show that he has elite athleticism for a C. Here's the rub though, his ranking on this Tier in contingent on him predominately playing Center at the next level. I see him more as a PF personally, but I don't like pidgeonholing players before seeing how they play.
The Third Tier: Significant Upside - These guys have a good shot of contributing at the next level, and have the potential to be even more, but for various reasons are just a longer shot of ever reaching that ceiling. Either that or their floor is great but their ceiling is limited. Maybe its because of the weakness of the top, but this draft seems to be chock full of Tier 3 guys. More than I can remember, comparative to the last two years at least. Anyway, for the sake of brevity, I'll simply list these guys: 6) Otto Porter 7) Trey Burke 8) Alex Len 9) Shabazz Mohammad 10) Rudy Gobert 11) Michael Carter Williams 12) CJ McCollum 13) Steven Adams 14) Dennis Schroder

There are 3 more Tiers (mid-late first, second round, undrafted), but those are unimportant to our purposes. Please, in the comment section, create your own Tiers! Where do you differ? Do you agree? I'd love to see what you guys came up with.

Moving on... Here's a really quick mock of the lottery. I'll keep it devoid of any explanation, as it's merely my assumptions and beliefs based on my initial reactions. They are subject to change as new information arises. If this piece is well enough received, I'll gladly elaborate in a future post, and this would be as good a version as any. Please also leave me your thoughts on my mock draft, and if you're so inclined, you can make a mock draft instead of Tier.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers - C Nerlens Noel 2. Orlando Magic - SG Ben McLemore 3. Washington Wizards - PF Anthony Bennett 4. Charlotte Bobcats - SG Victor Oladipo 5. Phoenix Suns - SF Otto Porter 6. New Orleans Pelicans (lol) - PG Trey Burke 7. Sacramento Kings - PF/C Cody Zeller 8. Detroit Pistons - SF Shabazz Muhammad 9. Minnesota Timberwolves - C Alex Len 10. Portland TrailBlazers - SG C.J. McCollum 11. Philadelphia 76ers - C Rudy Gobert 12. Oklahoma City Thunder - PG Michael Carter Williams 13. Dallas Mavericks - C Steven Adams 14. Utah Jazz - C Mason Plumlee

I talk with NBA scouts and executives to get a sense of:

A. Which teams like which players (mock draft).

B. What the consensus is among all 30 NBA teams about who the best players in the draft are (Top 100).

I use the word "consensus" lightly. Often, even GMs and scouts employed by the same team can't agree on rankings of players.

The First Tier: Franchise Pieces - I hesitate to put Noel here. I'm not going to get into any sort of length, as it's pretty irrelevant to Bobcat fans now, but I will relent and place him here for no reason other than convenience. I guess we can consider this tier graded on a curve, as this draft (appears) weak when compared to its predecessors. Anyway, he's here because he's the clear head-honcho of the draft. Despite some naysayers (like Jay Bilas) who like Ben McLemore, the overwhelming consensus is Noel will be the No1 pick in the draft. So, he fits the bill.
The Second Tier: The Next Best - These are the guys who, for whatever reason, have some glaring weakness that keeps them from being percieved as a true "franchise piece" and are as thus relegated to this tier. My person ranking (in this tier): 2) Ben McLemore - There are enough people who hold the belief that McLemore has the highest upside of this bunch, so I don't see why he shouldn't be given 2nd billing to Noel. He has something all Tier 2 prospects have, an elite tool. That tool is shooting; shooting so good that I've seen comparisons as lofty as Ray Allen. He's got plenty to work on, but you have to love kids that have an elite tool.
3) Anthony Bennett - If you know anything about me on here, you know I'm a sucker for Bennett. He's got elite athleticism (the best of this PF crop), which ticks off that box. He's got SF speed with the power of a PF, making him the ideal offensive prospect, only matched by McLemore in this crew. However, his fatal flaw is his size, in which he is undersized (PG Micheal Carter Williams is close to him in height) and that, matched with subpar defensive effort during his freshman season at UNLV), that generates a lot of questions about his defense.
4) Victor Oladipo - A defensive tour-du-force. While not having the height to actually play SF, he has the outstanding defensive ability to matchup with anyone from 1 through 3 (and his strength isn't bad either; he could probably handle some 4s). His intangibles are so outstanding that it led to incredibly outlandish comparisons to our very own Micheal Jordan, but you don't get people talking about you without doing something right. That elite defensive tool lands him on this second tier, because his offense is nothing to write home about. He's almost the exact offensive player as Bobcat Gerald Henderson's senior year at Duke, which is to say he's an above-average slasher but below average everything else.
5) Cody Zeller - I'm strongly considering him as a Tier 3 prospect, but statements from resident commenter PoAshton made me reconsider my stance that Cody Zeller is not an elite athlete (you can get a good here in the comment section). Among C prospects, his eye-popping combine numbers show that he has elite athleticism for a C. Here's the rub though, his ranking on this Tier in contingent on him predominately playing Center at the next level. I see him more as a PF personally, but I don't like pidgeonholing players before seeing how they play.
The Third Tier: Significant Upside - These guys have a good shot of contributing at the next level, and have the potential to be even more, but for various reasons are just a longer shot of ever reaching that ceiling. Either that or their floor is great but their ceiling is limited. Maybe its because of the weakness of the top, but this draft seems to be chock full of Tier 3 guys. More than I can remember, comparative to the last two years at least. Anyway, for the sake of brevity, I'll simply list these guys: 6) Otto Porter 7) Trey Burke 8) Alex Len 9) Shabazz Mohammad 10) Rudy Gobert 11) Michael Carter Williams 12) CJ McCollum 13) Steven Adams 14) Dennis Schroder

Poll

Who Do You Want The Bobcats To Pick At Number 4?

Fans Are Excited About The Name Change

2013-05-21T14:50:50Z

The Charlotte Bobcats will hold a news conference Tuesday evening, where the team is expected to announce it is bringing the Hornets nickname back to the city.

Former point guard Muggsy Bogues, arguably the most recognizable person to ever put on a Hornets jersey, said bringing the nickname back to Charlotte is a good move.

"I think it's the right decision," he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

Multiple reports say the Bobcats will move ahead with the name change after a three-year grassroots campaign.

"It feels good to be able to say Charlotte Hornets," said Scotty Kent, a longtime Hornets fan and member of the Bring Back the Buzz movement.

Bogues played for the Hornets for nearly a decade in an era when Charlotte rallied around its first pro sports team.

"They knew us," Bogues said. "They knew our families. We were part of the community."

The Hornets sold out 364 consecutive games back then. Bogues said bringing the name, logo and colors back to Charlotte could help restore the city's love for basketball.

"People remember good times and I think they want to get back to the good times."

Supporters of the name change acknowledge ticket sales and a winning team are still top priorities no matter what the front of the jersey says.

"The best way to say it is this movement has just started," Kent said. "Now we've got to prove to this team and this city that it was the right move."

Bogues agreed. He said the team needs to make the switch carefully, taking care not to alienate existing season ticket holders, who've backed the Bobcats financially for years.

"You've got a core base and you've got to make sure they understand that they're a part of the change, they feel good about the change, and it's their franchise."

The NBA has to approve any name change, although the league has signaled it would be okay with the switch. Changing nicknames will take at least a year, and will cost the franchise millions of dollars.