Season Highlight

For the 2013-14 Charlotte Bobcats, the highlight for the Charlotte Bobcats was just to compete - and they did. The Bobcats just fell short of ninth place in the super competitive Eastern Conference, which is a great effort. When you take into account the fact that they had the second-worst record in the NLL last season, it shows a huge amount of growth and progression, and indicates that the team is heading in the right direction. They could have tried to tank, but admirably they climbed out of the dungeon. This record was achieved even though they suffered a lot from injuries throughout the entire season. The buzz (no pun intended) is due to a new, active, capable general manager for the Bobcats, Digeze. He replaced a former GM who was just going through the processes and doing the bare minimum. As soon as he took the reins, the vibe began to change down ol' Charlotte way. Can they win 13 more games next season and make the jump to the playoffs?

P.S. - even though it wasn't technically during the season, you can't overlook how great the name change will be for the franchise. During the 90s, the Hornets were one of the most popular teams and had playoff success. The Bobcats have been cursed since day one. Hornets, FTW!


Season Lowlight

With all the trade drama surrounding Omer Asik, the very talented rebounder was held out of half of the seasons games. This was due to Omer being disgruntled with his role. He also missed significant time due to injury, as well, but there's a lot of pundits who may tell you that this injury wasn't real. 41 is a huge number of games to miss, and considering the dominance he shows on the glass, his absence was likely the difference between making the playoffs and ultimately missing out on them (which they did). He has a clean slate next season, so look for Asik to repay the Hornets.


Best Trade

The Charlotte Bobcats send Anthony Bennett to the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls send Kemba Walker to the Charlotte Bobcats.


While the jury is still out on whether Bennett can play or not, he had one of the worst rookie seasons in history, not hitting a shot in his first handful of games. Undersized, slow. Kemba Walker has proven himself as a capable, athletic point guard, and with 2k's propensity to be guard-orientated, this was a very positive move for Charlotte.


Worst Trade

The Charlotte Bobcats send CJ Miles to the Denver Nuggets. The Denver Nuggets send Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Charlotte Bobcats send a 1st-Rounder (Cha) to the Denver Nuggets. The Denver Nuggets send a 2nd-Rounder (Den) to the Charlotte Bobcats.


Charlotte didn't make a lot of big moves, so this would likely be their 'worst' move. At the time, this trade was openly bashed by most other managers, as not only were Charlotte among the worst teams the seasons before, MKG was also really struggling. Giving up their first rounder was extremely risky, but they negated that risk by almost making the playoffs. They still lost a high draft pick in one of the deepest draft and gave up great 2k guard CJ Miles. Jury is still out on whether MKG can score at all.


Other Notable Trades

The Charlotte Bobcats send Kemba Walker to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send Trey Burke to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Orlando Magic send a 1st-Rounder (Bkn) to the Charlotte Bobcats.


The 'Cats did pretty well out of this one, receiving a similar guard (just younger) in Trey Burke as well as a promising first round pick (which ended up being a top 11 pick). So effectively they traded Anthony Bennett for Trey Burke and a first rounder.


The Charlotte Bobcats send Trey Burke to the Detroit Pistons. The Detroit Pistons send Sergey Karasev to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Detroit Pistons send a 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Charlotte Bobcats.


They also got Elfrid Payton out of the deal, who is a much-hyped rookie point guard. Sergey Karasev is a young player and might turn out to be something in the future. They moved Burke on but kept the Brookly first-rounder. Good couple of deals for new GM, Digeze.


Best Free Agent Signing

Charlotte barely made any free agent signings during the off-season, with just Carl Landry, Lou Williams joining the team. Lou Williams was easily the best signing for the team, with Williams playing a crucial sixth-man role for them all season. He just missed four games, scoring 15.4 points per game in just 22 minutes! In a team devoid of offense, his play was crucial to the Cats mediocre-success of the regular season.


Worst Free Agent Signing

As I mentioned before, there were very few free agent signings for Charlotte. Carl Landry, a capable player when healthy, missed all but 19 games last season. Considering his contract was for around $7 million, he gets the worst free agent signing nod. He took up close to an 1/8 of the salary cap and did almost nothing.


Star

Eric Gordon

Gordon was the leading scorer for the Bobcats, scoring just over 20 points per game. He appeared in 65 games, which is an improvement over previous seasons. He also provided 1.1 steals per game, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. His input, whether as a starter or off the bench, was invaluable to the team. Without his scoring ability they may have struggled to win thirty games. He is still young enough to improve, but he needs to stay healthy. He is slated as the starting shooting guard in 14-15.


Surprise

Lou Williams

As mentioned previously, Williams surprised everyone and scored over 15 points per game to go along with three boards and three assists. He did this all in just 22 minutes, coming off major knee surgery to repair a torn ACL. Williams has proven he is an able scorer in the league, and the Hornets will have themselves a sixth-man candidate in 2014-15.



GOAT

Matt Bonner

The Charlotte Bobcats were a very balanced team. I mean this in the sense that each player contributed to the team, or had periods of decent play that helped make the team more capable. However, Matt Bonner (who was signed during the season) averaged one point per game in over 12 minutes! Yes, just one point! He also got a mention as the worst free agent signing for another team, so it was only fitting that he received more accolades this time as well.


Draft Report Card

[ A ]

Two first round picks.

The picks were Elfrid Payton and Gary Harris. Both were touted prospects coming out of college. Payton is the wiry, speedy guard with size and great instincts for the game, but cannot shoot a lick. Harris is a two-way player, with great hustling defense and a nice shot. Both players can be legitimate pro players, and I have to applaud the HornCats on a very nice draft. Payton could start for the team as early as next season (if they lose Kendall Marshall), whereas Harris has a much tougher road to minutes. Still, great selections.


Looking To The Future


Digeze has this team moving in the right direction. A healthy Asik and Landry, plus Payton and Harris, could push this team to 40 wins, which might be enough to get them into the playoffs. The core remains almost entirely intact, which bodes well for continuity. Gordon must stay healthy, which has proven to be a tough ask in the past. Asik has been monstering the glass in the off-season, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him lead the league in rebounds. MKG can improve, and has been working on his shot all off-season. Is this the year he blows up? GM Digeze has done a great job of getting in young talent to fill the roster out. To go along with Payton and Harris, the team can boast a bench of fellow youngsters Shumpert, Karasev to go along with Williams' gunning. They need another bench big man, but other than that, this team could fight for the lower seeds in the playoffs.

An old team battling to make the playoffs is a bad thing. A young team battling to make the playoffs is a great thing - and that's what this is.



Upcoming Free Agents


Kendall Marshall - Showed some promise last year as a playmaker and passer. Has received interest from other teams.


Matt Bonner - Might stick with a veterans minimum deal, but won't make much of a difference to the team if he stays or goes. Is loyal.


Hilton Armstrong - Played extremely sparingly. Roster filler. Most likely won't be around next season.


Joel Freeland - Has a contract on the table for next year. Is young, fights hard and has showed from promise. Will be around in 14-15.


Anthony Randolph - Signed a deal in Europe. Does have an out clause, but the disappointing Randolph is unlikely to be back at Charlotte next season.