The Bobcats opened the season with a record of 7-5, and were exciting to watch on both ends of the floor. Kemba Walker was spectacular at times, and the team’s energy was enough to guide them to some early-season success.
Since then, however, Charlotte has put together a dismal record of just three wins against 25 losses. There is young talent there that needs to develop, but at some point you can’t continue to take chances through the draft without surrounding the youth movement with some more established players.
The team’s brain trust seems to be aware of this, and Michael Jordan has instructed his president and GM to work the phones to try to improve the roster before the upcoming trade deadline passes.
From Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer:While [president of basketball operations Rod Higgins] isn’t predicting a screech of the brakes and a yank on the steering wheel, his tone sounded different Thursday: The Bobcats are definitely in the market for some kind of change.
“We’re very active – our owner wants us to be active,’’ Higgins told the Observer in regard to the Feb. 21 trade deadline.
Higgins said owner Michael Jordan has given Higgins and general manager Rich Cho “the green light to go out and make this team better…I don’t think there’s any limits to what we’d try to do.’’
Ben Gordon might be the player the Bobcats would like to move in exchange for some additional talent. He can still score when given the opportunity, but is the fourth guard on the team in terms of minutes distribution behind Walker, Gerald Henderson, and Ramon Sessions.
Gordon’s contract, however, will make him tough to deal; he’s on the books for over $12 million this season, and has a player option for more than $13 million next season. But without a lot of other assets on the roster that the Bobcats would consider parting with, a midseason trade might be tough to come by, despite the organization’s best efforts.
