02-14-2012, 08:13 PM
How Michael Jordan Destroyed The Bobcats
1. MJ's first mistake was letting Raymond Felton escape via free agency, going to the New York Knicks on July 12, 2010 for only a 3-year, $25 million contract. My Victory Value numbers say Felton is a $12 million point guard, so letting him go at that cheap a price was a costly mistake that hurt the Bobcats significantly in 2010-11, when Charlotte dropped from a 44-38 team to a 34-48 team. D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston were fine role players at point guard last season, but they aren't the Top 10 talent that Felton is in the league. And that drop-off affected Charlotte in 2010-11. Jordan was gun-shy at the time to make a move because he simultaneously was working to get under the luxury-tax threshold of $70.3 million.
2. The second mistake was the horrendous trade of Tyson Chandler to Dallas. I understand the center was an injury risk at the time, only playing 51 games and earning $11.9 million in 2009-10. But Jordan traded Chandler and Alexis Ajinca to Mark Cuban's Mavs and actually took on more salary risk in later seasons, while receiving roster filler in return. The Bobcats received third-stringers Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera in the deal, and they were able to cut the $13 million non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier, which allowed Charlotte to get $5 million under the luxury tax. That said, they were now forced to pay Carroll and Najera $7.3 million in 2010-11, $6.7 million in 2011-12 and $3.5 million next season for just Carroll. Meanwhile, Chandler helped the Dallas Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship, providing great bang for the buck. And the Mavs were no longer on the hook to paying Carroll and Najera $14 million this year and next.
3. The biggest blunder took place February 24, 2011, when Jordan traded Gerald Wallace away to then-Blazer GM Rich Cho for Dante Cunningham, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, a 2011 first-round pick that turned into Tobias Harris and a 2013 first-round pick. That move sent Charlotte into a free-fall, where the 25-32 Bobcats (.439) would finish the season 9-16 (.360). To this date, Charlotte has still not replaced its most valuable player on the roster, maintaining a team salary cap of $57.9 million in 2011-12.
4. The strangest maneuver occurred June 23, 2011, when the Bobcats clearly showed they did not know what they were doing, trading salary-for-salary in a three-team deal when it dealt Stephen Jackson, Livingston and Harris for Corey Maggette and Bismack Biyombo. If the Bobcats were doing moves to get under the salary cap, then the Gerald Wallace trade could be understood better. It would still be a huge mistake--letting a $9.5 million All-Star get away (my VV numbers value Wallace at $16 million)--but at least you could see the intended strategy there. By taking on
http://www.nba.com/hoop/how_michael_jord...02_13.html
1. MJ's first mistake was letting Raymond Felton escape via free agency, going to the New York Knicks on July 12, 2010 for only a 3-year, $25 million contract. My Victory Value numbers say Felton is a $12 million point guard, so letting him go at that cheap a price was a costly mistake that hurt the Bobcats significantly in 2010-11, when Charlotte dropped from a 44-38 team to a 34-48 team. D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston were fine role players at point guard last season, but they aren't the Top 10 talent that Felton is in the league. And that drop-off affected Charlotte in 2010-11. Jordan was gun-shy at the time to make a move because he simultaneously was working to get under the luxury-tax threshold of $70.3 million.
2. The second mistake was the horrendous trade of Tyson Chandler to Dallas. I understand the center was an injury risk at the time, only playing 51 games and earning $11.9 million in 2009-10. But Jordan traded Chandler and Alexis Ajinca to Mark Cuban's Mavs and actually took on more salary risk in later seasons, while receiving roster filler in return. The Bobcats received third-stringers Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera in the deal, and they were able to cut the $13 million non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier, which allowed Charlotte to get $5 million under the luxury tax. That said, they were now forced to pay Carroll and Najera $7.3 million in 2010-11, $6.7 million in 2011-12 and $3.5 million next season for just Carroll. Meanwhile, Chandler helped the Dallas Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship, providing great bang for the buck. And the Mavs were no longer on the hook to paying Carroll and Najera $14 million this year and next.
3. The biggest blunder took place February 24, 2011, when Jordan traded Gerald Wallace away to then-Blazer GM Rich Cho for Dante Cunningham, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, a 2011 first-round pick that turned into Tobias Harris and a 2013 first-round pick. That move sent Charlotte into a free-fall, where the 25-32 Bobcats (.439) would finish the season 9-16 (.360). To this date, Charlotte has still not replaced its most valuable player on the roster, maintaining a team salary cap of $57.9 million in 2011-12.
4. The strangest maneuver occurred June 23, 2011, when the Bobcats clearly showed they did not know what they were doing, trading salary-for-salary in a three-team deal when it dealt Stephen Jackson, Livingston and Harris for Corey Maggette and Bismack Biyombo. If the Bobcats were doing moves to get under the salary cap, then the Gerald Wallace trade could be understood better. It would still be a huge mistake--letting a $9.5 million All-Star get away (my VV numbers value Wallace at $16 million)--but at least you could see the intended strategy there. By taking on
http://www.nba.com/hoop/how_michael_jord...02_13.html
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