Charlotte's Front Office Dysfunction

[Proudiddy]

I came close to posting it for discussion twice earlier, but figured it wasn't worth it and decided not to.  Then, CPF96 posted the most recent tweets from Bonnell in the Turner Trade Thread, and I thought it was worthy of discussion now...

So, here is a little piece a reporter did with Gerald Wallace regarding being a player on the trade block come deadline time:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/excerpts-from-the-2014-nba-trade-deadline-guide/

 

How Players Deal With Trades and Rumors | By Jessica Camerato

 

Basketball Insiders talked one-on-one with a number of NBA veterans to find out what goes through a player’s mind as the trade deadline approaches. How do players deal with rumors and trades?

 

Gerald Wallace

 

“I’ve actually been traded one minute before the deadline (in 2011). It was actually kind of crazy for me because of the simple fact that you go through it all day, you hear about the trades, you hear about your name being mentioned in trade talks. I actually was talking to my agent on the way to practice (for the Charlotte Bobcats). I got to the gym, talked to the coaches and the general manager. Everybody assured me, ‘You’re good. You’re not going to be traded and everything was going to be fine.’ Then I went home after practice that day and took a nap. I woke up out of my nap and the trade deadline was 5 p.m. Eastern Time. When I woke up, it was like 4:45, 4:50 and my agent was like, ‘You’re traded to Portland.’ I was like, ‘Wow.’ It was basically right at the deadline. … They never did (tell me what happened). I couldn’t even get an explanation for why the trade went down. They wouldn’t tell me, they wouldn’t talk to me. … I was pissed. Like, I’m still pissed about it. I didn’t want to be traded. I liked Charlotte, being there. I was frustrated and pissed because I wasn’t expecting it. The fact that I had just sat in there and they looked me in my eye and they told me the deal wasn’t going to go through, all that. There was a lot more to it. We had just come off our first playoff appearance in franchise history. I had just come from the All-Star team. And all of a sudden, it’s like you’re tearing the team apart and starting all over again. You don’t get an explanation for it in this league so it’s kind of hard to take. … It makes you realize this is a business. You have to take it for what it is and understand that regardless of what situation you’re in, or the best situation you think you’re in, things could change in a matter of time.”

 

So, basically, there is some really jacked up stuff there.  Personally, I noticed a BIG change in Crash personality-wise after the trade went down.  In Portland, he seemed uber-derpressed, and basically, like he never really got over the trade.  I'm sure it was jarring, especially considering this latest revelation, as he was the face of our franchise at the time.  Then, I don't know how many of you read about it last season, but he was interviewed while with the Nets and unleashed a tirade of F-bombs regarding his own performance, which seemed fiercely out of character from the Crash we all came to love.  So, perhaps it really embittered him? 

As far as our front office goes, I think the Crash deal was the trademark of Higgins' trades, which is why I don't buy Bonnell's bit about Higgins still being in charge of trades and Cho just scouts draft prospects.  There has been a huge change in trades since Cho came on, and I think the Crash deal was the last real trade Higgins pulled off himself - and the indecisive nature in which it happened, as cited by Crash, seems characteristic of Higgins' prior moves before it.  All of his trades seemed to lack direction, and/or a predetermined outcome.  What was the ultimate goal?  Did we want to "win now" or acquire youth and assets?  And more often than not, we seemed to either make lateral moves or take steps back as a result of the indecision.  Most notably, we got taken to the cleaners by the Mavs and the Blazers/Cho, as a result of Higgins lack of direction.  Even looking at when we acquired J-Rich, we did NOT come out better as a result of that move...  It ultimately became a lateral, temporary adjustment.

Then Cho came on, and we have made deals that benefitted us both in the present AND in the future - acquiring contributing players, youth, and numerous assets.  Every deal since Cho has felt like we cheated the system.

 

Sadly though, I'm afraid egotistically-driven dysfunction has crept back into our front office and perhaps Higgins has decided to reassert himself as The Don in the personnel department.  Because looking at what we've done over the most recent offseason and now with the rumors swirling of the potential deals we've been discussing, they seem to follow that same path of dysfunction that left us spinning our wheels as a franchise before Cho got here...  We abandoned any sense of unified direction again, and we're back in Higgins Mode, IMO.  I don't like what I'm hearing...

[CarolinaNCSU]

Fire Higgins/Cho and hire me. Last night on 2k14, I gutted the team outside of Kemba and acquired the Lakers/Magic's 1st rounders. Downloaded the draft class and ended up with Jabari, Wiggins, and Embiid. Then Exum in the 2nd round somehow, and then signed LBJ. Still got around 18 million in cap space as well.

 

Suck it, real life. The dysfunction of this franchise and its FO has led me to be excited about unrealistic video game scenarios. 

[Guest Dark Knight]

You're reading way too much into that. Wallace is just made he keeps getting shipped away. That team was old, expensive, & going nowhere.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Pretty much the same thing that D.J. Augustin said.

[carpanfan96]

You're reading way too much into that. Wallace is just made he keeps getting shipped away. That team was old, expensive, & going nowhere.

 

 

He's mainly talking about reports on trades like Zeller for Bass straight up, Jefferson signing when Cho's team building had so much riding on this draft. Maybe picking up Turner for Gordon and a first. Compounded on how Higgins ran the team before Cho got here. There are some pretty discouraging remarks from some former players about Higgins. Not to mention him trying to get his son a job in the NBA as a player. lmao

 

Also Bonnell saying that Cho's main job is to scout the draft, that most decisions are Higgins to make with some input from Cho. 

 

When the whole point of bringing in Cho was so he could run the personal department, not him being a glorified scout. 

[Proudiddy]

You're reading way too much into that. Wallace is just made he keeps getting shipped away. That team was old, expensive, & going nowhere.

No.  The confusion that led up to the trade is the theme that has repeated itself throughout our history up until Cho got here, and now it seems to be returning.

How often do you hear of an NBA front office telling a player that they absolutely will not be moving him?  And if they do tell a player that, how often have you heard the team moving him anyway?  No less, doing both minutes prior to the deadline?

 

It's unprofessional, and could perhaps be why we've struggled in getting relevant FAs to sign here until Big Al.

[Proudiddy]

Pretty much the same thing that D.J. Augustin said.

 

I don't recall reading anything that D.J. said after leaving here.

 

Although, it wouldn't surprise me, because according to his brother-in-law who frequented Bobcatsplanet, we ALMOST traded D.J. away multiple times over.

[MichaelNewtonII]

Fire Higgins/Cho and hire me. Last night on 2k14, I gutted the team outside of Kemba and acquired the Lakers/Magic's 1st rounders. Downloaded the draft class and ended up with Jabari, Wiggins, and Embiid. Then Exum in the 2nd round somehow, and then signed LBJ. Still got around 18 million in cap space as well.

Suck it, real life. The dysfunction of this franchise and its FO has led me to be excited about unrealistic video game scenarios.

Yeah you have no idea how many times I've done that

Sent from my SGH-T399 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[carpanfan96]

Also word is that the Bobcats are looking to shop MKG hard, probably not during the trade deadline but leading up to the draft. It's the whole point of the team targeting Turner and why the team was willing to offer MKG in the trade for Turner. Philly just wanted expiring's combined with first round picks though. 

 

 

That screams Higgins trying to make a trade just to make a trade. 

[Proudiddy]

Fire Higgins/Cho and hire me. Last night on 2k14, I gutted the team outside of Kemba and acquired the Lakers/Magic's 1st rounders. Downloaded the draft class and ended up with Jabari, Wiggins, and Embiid. Then Exum in the 2nd round somehow, and then signed LBJ. Still got around 18 million in cap space as well.

 

Suck it, real life. The dysfunction of this franchise and its FO has led me to be excited about unrealistic video game scenarios. 

 

Lol, been there and I have the t-shirt.  I basically found a way to acquire half of the first round picks each season.  I missed out on LBJ in FA, but it was cool, I didn't need him.  I lowballed him an offer hoping he'd take it, instead he signed with the Lakers. 

 

I drafted Exum, Randle, Wiggins, and Hairston in my first offseason.  I won the championship in their third year I believe.

 

Needless to say, I quit acquiring that many picks each season because it made for a lot of unhappy prima donnas, lol.

[Guest Dark Knight]

He's mainly talking about reports on trades like Zeller for Bass straight up, Jefferson signing when Cho's team building had so much riding on this draft. Maybe picking up Turner for Gordon and a first. Compounded on how Higgins ran the team before Cho got here. There are some pretty discouraging remarks from some former players about Higgins. Not to mention him trying to get his son a job in the NBA as a player. lmao

Also Bonnell saying that Cho's main job is to scout the draft, that most decisions are Higgins to make with some input from Cho.

When the whole point of bringing in Cho was so he could run the personal department, not him being a glorified scout.

They aren't going to trade Zeller for Bass straight up.

If you would've rather gambled on pick #4-8 than signing Jefferson, who is a monster, you're crazy.

Nobody has even offered Philly a 1st for Turner.

This place is like soap opera digest.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

I don't recall reading anything that D.J. said after leaving here.

 

Although, it wouldn't surprise me, because according to his brother-in-law who frequented Bobcatsplanet, we ALMOST traded D.J. away multiple times over.

 

Augustin said he never felt close to the Bobcats front office and that there wasn't very good communication between the players and coaches.

 

Link: https://betbomb.com/nba/articles/112263/d-j-augustin-i-never-felt-close-to-charlotte-bobcats-front-office

[carpanfan96]

They aren't going to trade Zeller for Bass straight up.

If you would've rather gambled on pick #4-8 than signing Jefferson, who is a monster, you're crazy.

Nobody has even offered Philly a 1st for Turner.

This place is like soap opera digest.

 

 

Yea, actually I would have. I think the next two FA periods are much more interesting and signing Jefferson to go along with Kemba, Hendo and company is only going to lead to the 7th or 8th seed and a first round sweep. That's the max ceiling of this team without a centerpiece superstar. 

 

There's no point in building that again, the Bobcats have already done it. The reason they blew the team up was to build a better team. The point of bringing in Cho was to build the team almost completely through the draft, then complement players once you get a building block. 

 

 

All the Bobcats did by signing Jefferson was commit to being another marginal average team capable of making the playoffs as the 8th seed. 

 

With a top 5 pick, the team at least had the shot of getting a centerpiece to build around. 

 

 

As for the Zeller trade, that's the latest rumor out of Boston and NBA editors. 

[Proudiddy]

They aren't going to trade Zeller for Bass straight up.

If you would've rather gambled on pick #4-8 than signing Jefferson, who is a monster, you're crazy.

Nobody has even offered Philly a 1st for Turner.

This place is like soap opera digest.

 

 

So, you think we came out winners when we traded away Tyson Chandler for Diop, Najera, and Carroll, claiming it was a salary-shedding move, only except we took on more salary over more years in return?

 

Yup, Higgins should be GM of the year, every year.