Hornets (feels good to say that) hire Steve Clifford as coach

[teeray]

CP3 is way better than Kemba, and he always will be.  That's just how it is.  A lot of experts think Kemba would be better off the bench anyway as a high energy guy.  

 

I'm not saying Kemba is better than CP3, but I don't see the sense in having a guy who is 23 years old and just averaged 18ppg and 6 apg (very similar to Paul's stats his second year in the league) that is making @2.6 million and under contract or three more seasons and signing a guy who is 28 years old and averaged 17ppg and 10apg that is going to demand @20 million over 4 seasons.

 

Point being, although I think Chris Paul is better than Kemba right now, I don't think he is 17 million dollars better.  That money can be better spent and would have a bigger impact on actually improving the team as a whole if it is spent elsewhere.

 

That is 17 million additional dollars spent to moderately upgrade one position when that same 20 million could be spent elsewhere to immensely upgrade another position (like center or PF).

[CarolinaNCSU]

"Lies, damn lies, and statistics."

 

People need to take that old quote into account when discussing any Bobcats player.  Somebody has to score the ball.

 

As far as Kemba, he's a solid player who hopefully will one day be good.  That's his ceiling IMO.  Never a Top 10 PG, just good.  Playing out his rookie contract is really valuable.  After that, time will tell.

[OchoNueve]

Anyone else wondering why the Clifford hiring has been in the media for 2-3 days but the Bobcats/Hornets have not made any offical press release as of yet?  Do you think we are having negotiation disputes or do you think another team may have thrown a big offer at him when they heard we were pulling the trigger?  Clifford was scheduled for a second interview on Tuesday that never happened I believe.

[HeatCheck]

Anyone else wondering why the Clifford hiring has been in the media for 2-3 days but the Bobcats/Hornets have not made any offical press release as of yet?  Do you think we are having negotiation disputes or do you think another team may have thrown a big offer at him when they heard we were pulling the trigger?  Clifford was scheduled for a second interview on Tuesday that never happened I believe.

 

Today, Charlotte is going to announce him as the new coach. It will be televised at 2:30 on SportSouth.

[ZB1224]

Kemba is REALLY underrated around here.

 

Anyways, I'm pretty happy with the Clifford hire. He's a solid coach and I hope that he will turn us into a good defensive team. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot be one of the better defensive teams in the NBA. We most certainly should not be the worst defensive team in the NBA.

 

Kemba

Hendo

MKG

Biz

 

Hendo are MKG are both good defenders. MKG has potential to be a great defender (he already ranked in the top 50 for guarding isolation, post up, PnR, and a couple of other offensive plays -- that's versatility!) Kemba got us 2 steals per game this year and Biz has the potential to be a very good defensive player. We just need to add a PF and add a guy like Oladipo and our defensive potential to through the roof.

[HeatCheck]

Tidbits on press conference

 

- Clifford is impressed with young core's competitiveness

- SVG and JVG were a  great influence on him

- His vision: "Balance Wins" (meaning have to be above average on both sides on ball)...he stresses defense and how it has to be constant but offense needs to be there.

- On Patrick Ewing: Not commenting on staff. Wants a "working staff" and building the right culture. Premature to talk about Ewing.

[carpanfan96]

I missed it and the Bobcats are like the slowest NBA team for updates ever. They still haven't posted the video feed of the press conference yet. 

[SOJA]

drawing comparison to thibs is a great thing

[caatfan]

Heard a little bit from Clifford today on a sports radio show. I like what I heard and like his background. I hope he ends up being the coach that long term,  everyone identifies with Charlotte NBA basketball.

[Guest]

I would be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind but I just can't see us in that race.

But just for giggles and daydreaming imagine a defense with Clifford at coach, Kemba, Oladipo, MKG, Biz, and Howard.

Sure we may not ever score more than 80 points but neither would our opponents. Lol

If we could attract Howard then that could be a very good move indeed. If possible I'd like us to keep Henderson at SG to allow us to take Bennett or Zeller to play PF. For me both of those guys could bring better offense, but good defense as well. I think something like - Kemba, Hendo, MKG, Bennett/Zeller, Howard - would be a good line up.

An minor change to your lineup would be McRoberts [if he stays] starting instead of Biyombo. I think he'd bring the defense but also better offense to help the team.

Nice to dream, but I can't see us getting Howard.

[teeray]

If we could attract Howard then that could be a very good move indeed. If possible I'd like us to keep Henderson at SG to allow us to take Bennett or Zeller to play PF. For me both of those guys could bring better offense, but good defense as well. I think something like - Kemba, Hendo, MKG, Bennett/Zeller, Howard - would be a good line up.

An minor change to your lineup would be McRoberts [if he stays] starting instead of Biyombo. I think he'd bring the defense but also better offense to help the team.

Nice to dream, but I can't see us getting Howard.

 

 

Oh I don't think that would be our actual best lineup, i was just talking about a defensive lineup wet dream with Clifford as coach.