The biggest reason why I think the Bobcats will get better is because they are rebranding themselves. Growing up in the 90s there was one team that was everyone's second favorite team; these guys.
The Charlotte Hornets were just the coolest team. They had Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and the ever famous Mugsy Bogues. They were fun to watch, fun to root for and best of all, they had the coolest jerseys, hats and apparel. That purple and teal looked good on just about everybody.
To sum it up, THE HORNETS WERE COOL.
The Bobcats, however, are not as cool. They have been synonymous with losing, bad draft picks and the inability to attract any real free agents (minus Al Jefferson this season.) With the name change, the Bobcats are not only changing the colors of their jerseys, they are changing the attitude of the fan base, NBA world and in my opinion free agents to be.
The soon the be Charlotte Hornets play in Charlotte, North Carolina. North Carolina, for those of you that don't know, is home to some of the biggest basketball fans and most successful basketball programs in the country. Duke, UNC, Wake Forest & North Carolina State are all in North Carolina. Much like Oklahoma, this State is dying for a professional team that they can root for. We all see it, the Thunder have some of the most die hard fans in the league. The Hornets will be no different.
Why will free agents come?
There are several things that would attract free agents to any team.
1) Money
2) A chance to win a ring
3) Weather
4) Influence by people associated with the team.
plus.....
RICH CHO
Money
With the leagues new Salary Cap Restrictions, being a big market, richer team does not have the same impact that it used to. Charlotte should be able to keep up with the rest of the teams in the league, especially since their owner happens to be pretty wealthy himself.
A chance to win a ring
Just by simply being in the Eastern Conference, Charlotte will have a exponentially better shot at making the playoffs and making it further into the playoffs, thats just the unfortunate truth about the Eastern Conference. Will they win a ring, potentially, but realistically there are usually only about 6-8 teams each season that have a real shot of winning, and those are the big city teams.
Weather
North Carolina has an upside that much of the Eastern Conference teams do not have, pretty good weather. Here is the Average weather for Charlotte vs New York vs Los Angeles. (credit weather.com)
Influence by people associated with the team
The Charlotte Hornets have a wild card. That wild card?
This guy.
Its Michael Freaking Jordan.
Why does that matter? For several reasons. One, for the remainder of our lives, or at least for the next 20 years, Michael Jordan will be known as the greatest player of all time. Players still love this guy, they still want to wear his shoes, they still emulate his play. Can't you see a young shooting guard or Small forward wanting to learn from this guy?
Michael Jordan has relinquished control of the team, which means he wont be making any bad picks, but he will still be there to be, well Michael Jordan.
You would be naive to think that Michael Jordan has no influence. His Shoes company makes over 1.25 billion yes BILLION dollars a year.
He will grab someone big and get them to come to the Hornets.
Rich Cho
For those of you who don't know, Rich Cho is a basketball genius. He was the assistant GM during OKC's rise to the top and he will bring the same thing to the Hornets, he has already started.
My prediction, The Hornets will make the ECF in the next 6 years or less. Next Season they will have some money to play with and in 2015 they will be real players in the FA market.
About me: My name is Steven and I love Basketball. I have recently changed careers and am hoping one day to produce a TV Show on NBATV and a Sports Magazine with a twist.
Follow me at @FunnyNBAGuy
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