After the worst season in NBA history, the Charlotte Bobcats don’t have people busting down their door wanting to be the next head coach. In fact, they may not be able to fill that position for a while, because they may not even want to right now. The Bobcats have a lot of potential to make themselves better in the offseason, which could help attract a better coach.
Charlotte’s general manager Rick Cho wants their new coach to see the rebuilding as an opportunity and not a burden. They clearly want someone who is in it for the long haul, someone who wants to take potential and turn it into talent.
That will start with this year’s draft. Charlotte has a 25% to land the number one overall pick this year, which will most likely be Kentucky star Anthony Davis. Obviously the odds are with the field but they have the best chance out of anyone, and if you believe the hype, Davis is a player you can build a franchise around.
The Bobcats also have some cap space to work with this offseason. It will be tough to convince anyone to come to Charlotte, but if they land the first pick in the draft, maybe that will entice some decent players to come play alongside Davis.
Then maybe with some new talent they can focus on finding a good coach to lead them. For the Bobcats, if one thing falls into place, there’s no reason everything else can’t follow.
Of course, this all hinges on them winning the lottery and getting the first pick. The results could be far different if they fall down to say… fourth. The fourth pick in this year’s draft obviously is still going to be very talented, but they’re not going to command the type of attention that Davis will be getting.
I would say the Bobcats have two very different possible futures ahead of them. One that lands them the first pick in the draft and starts them on the path to having a mildly successful team and maybe more down the line, and one that has them drafting a decent player a few picks later that keeps them in the basement until the possibility of someone else comes along in next year’s draft.
May 30th is the night of the draft lottery, the night the Bobcats will see what their future holds. But no matter what the result, there’s only one direction they can go, and that’s up, because they sure can’t get any worse.
