Panthers GM Dan Morgan traded up to a #1 pick for USC star wide receiver Xavier Legette, Charlotte makes headway vs. Loserville tag. Belief will still take Ws by Canales, and Brandon Miller, JJ Redick are Hornets longshots.
I’m going to do Little League umpiring again in May-June. At 67, I consider it a privilege to have even this much input on youth sports, and appreciate the parents who spend all weekend there – as long as little sisters have enough snacks, all is well. Loved this sign.
Nice try, Hornets
There’s been deserved interest in JJ Redick getting his name tossed into consideration for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching spot, and the notion Brandon Miller might grab some Rookie of the Year votes from Wemby’s huge campaign is nice – he rated ‘best’ three months this year, and 17.3 ppg/4.3 reb/2.4 asst/44% shooting was solid. Wembanyama’s defensive presence is immediately huge in voting, his offensive upside from 21.4 ppg/10.6 rebs means ‘It’s nice to be considered’ time for Miller.
Hornets having a 13.3% chance of getting #1 pick in NBA draft is almost Holy Grail territory for them, haven’t been close to a franchise player in forever. Even a Top Three would mean a very sound additional piece for a new coach to work with, as Steve Clifford moves to another role in the organization.
JJ Redick has no experience at any coaching level, and whether he’s as smart and capable of making changes that a similarly undocumented commentator cum Legend, Pat Riley, accomplished in turning the Los Angeles Lakers into the Showtime! Lakers of the ’80s, you’ll be reading that option more than once before any actual decision gets made.
There’s a decent list of candidates without Redick’s ACC (2x POY) and 15 year pro career resume. Most have the previous assistant experience that Dave Cowens (San Antonio) had when taking reins to 1996-1997 team that swapped out essentially an entire starting team.
’96-’97 Cowens team came from Everywhere
Listening from next table to owner George Shinn and Charlotte magazine editor, who confessed she didn’t have a sports writer that Press Day, became my first sportswriting gig in Charlotte, and honestly, soooo dead on the money. New HC Dave Cowens was spread across a couple folding chairs, he shrugged when I confessed being a Knick fan who hated his guts while he played for Celtics. Yeah yeah, two million and eight…
Dell Curry was still hoisting treys, so was Tom Chambers, Matt Geiger turned out to be a terrific ‘other’ 7-footer, who played to Cowens defense- oriented POV, 6’8″ Glen Rice from the Heat, swooping in from the wings (27 ppg), good-passing center Vlade Divac from Lakers for rights to Kobe, and NBA 6th Man Anthony Mason in trade for Larry Johnson’s absurd contract, it really did have personnel. With tighter defense down to league average, nobody just cha-chaing through the lane, and improved scoring, 52-30 was right on my preseason projection.
Not everybody shot threes either. Geiger wasn’t shy about contact, lots of post fouls to give with 7′ Zidek. Burrell was a physical specimen who didn’t get regular time because of injury, Mugsy was around. ‘Not enough dough, so Zo go’ was start of when Shinn got stupid, he didn’t reward Cowens after two good years either, started making noise about leaving if he didn’t get better stadium deal.
Hornets had been THE Team attendance since the beginning, but when Bob Johnson wondered why he hadn’t gotten the $$$ support from community he’d been lead to consider his due, the fact was, many people still cared more about their college teams, and could watch them for FREE, two or three times a week. The NBA product suffered – HOF Coach Larry Brown once said, “I got 12 guys with guaranteed contracts, and I don’t want any of them!” and there were a significant number of years when the Bugs weren’t hardly significant at all.
In 1999, Dawn Staley, one of the most decorated players https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Staley in women’s basketball history, was selected #9 by the WNBA Charlotte Sting, leading them to the Finals in 2001.
The last season Hornets made the playoffs (48-34) was 2016, with Clifford as coach. Miller’s chances for ROY in Year One of Wemby has a ring of truth, there’s a question of Bridges status (although its an economic wash), and there’s really only one major contract (Bertans, $16M) for consideration. Redick’s ‘Old Man and the Three’ podcast and a strategy podcast with LeBron ‘Mind the Game,’ might be upgrades from Riley’s rep-duties as sidekick to Chick Hearn way back then, so JJ Redick might be a popular mention here, but the new owners have CPA firm seriousness beyond paying $3B to get team from Mike, y’know?
If ever there was an example of ripping off the Band Aid, it was Panthers losing Burns AND Luvu AND Grosse-Matos. If you read the microeconomy of cap finances, top two would’ve sucked a lot of whatever $$ from the room, so management took the hit now. You can’t bedgrudge the Hornets clearing house as well, bringing in 8-9 new guys is a real possibility. Why should it be otherwise?
Back to Panthers and #1 Pick
Time to put away the negative vibes about Fitterer, and lets be satisfied with how Mr. Tepper has handled, or more accurately *not* had any hands seen, in free agent period. I repeat, its time to lay Fitterer years to rest, NOBODY is going to have to sweat Xavier Legett as Panthers initial #1 of Canales-Morgan-Tilis brain trust as flawed.
No predictions on W-L in NFC South either, but yoiks! on Falcons picking 24-year old Penix after they spent $100M on post-Achilles surgery Cousins is a head scratcher. We’ll also see if Tampa Bay replaces the offensive coordination that Canales and Idzik represented with Bucs last year, now working in Charlotte, maybe how well Baker Mayfield does, dragging a big ol’ contract behind him…
Admitting I considered Fitterer had done as requested by bringing in whatever quarterbacks he did, ‘just dropping in a QB’ was never an operational fact. Yes, everyone thought the 2022 rushing attack would make life easy for Young, even if Panthers gave away only deep threat (Moore) to Bears. That deal is also a dead and gone fact, Caleb Williams was indeed the name Chicago used for overall #1, and the gift-wrapped bonus of Moore produced an exceptional year (96 rec./1,364 yds/8 TDs) for the receiver we appreciated while here.
Taking Moore on your fantasy team is fine, just recognize he isn’t going to be All That for us again. XL, that’s a lot of hope.
No doubts isn’t True
It took until the Panthers went 11-0 by thumping the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving that Carolina fans started believing a Super Bowl was possible. Its a time-tested standard that still works. Newton isn’t that 2016 quarterback, Young and Canales won’t be the 2016 team, or 2023 version either.
–Glenn S., 4/26/24 Plenty of leeway between 15-1 and 2-15, right?
So, something a bit higher up the scale from golf applause for the Hornets on a sports weekend that feels pretty decent. I’m going to the Checkers playoff hockey game Saturday afternoon. https://charlottecheckers.com/articles/will-lockwood-scores-late-shorthanded-goal-to-give-checkers-game-1-win-over-hartford I might even put a couple FanDuel bucks on OKC, https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/40020191 but backing LeBron’s Lakers (or a sucker bet on which team might select Bronny in order to gain his favor) ain’t happening.
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