Some of you may have read part 1 of mine and Christian “Bodin” Norway’s Q & A session earlier in the week. However, the response was great the only way we could answer all the question in the detail they deserve was to split the article in two, so here it is. Part 2.

1) Isguros: What’s your opinion about not re-signing Derrick Brown, was it to clear cap space in order to sign a big free agent or do the bobcats think Jeff Taylor will be a better player this season?

James Plowright:  One thing Cho has repeatedly emphasized is he wants is flexibility, this is why he was rescinded rather than going for a big FA signing. I think just having the roster spots open and saving 3 million on CAP space is the reason. Derrick Brown was never going to be the make or break of this franchise, I mean as much as like his pre game dancing and his highlight dunks he is a rotation player. I actually think he made quite a few strides last year, he started rebounding at a better rate and began to hit the midrange jumper. But, you can see the roster changes we have made this offseason, it has been close to a total overhaul and for that to happen you need flexibility. We had not drafted Jeff Taylor (28^th June) when we rescinded Derrick Brown’s QA (18^th June). So it is not like the front office picked Taylor over Brown. However, in answer to your questions, yes I think Jeff Taylor will be a better player this season and throughout his career. Taylor is a much better defensive player, can guard 1-4, is a better shooter and is still pretty athletic.

Christian “Norway” Bodin: I’m not sure I like it really. He is showed a lot of promise last year and could be a valuable rotation player this season, especially if injury strikes either MKG (which is likely with his slim body at this point) or Jeff Taylor. I personally think Jeff Taylor could come in and do as well a job, if not better than Derrick Brown, but Brown is bigger and better inside, where he could play some 4 when going small. I thought we would keep him to play the scrap minutes at the three. As far as clearing cap-space, he would still be in his rookie contract if he resigned. It was a qualifying option, and it doesn’t seem like a lot of teams are willing to pay a significant amount of money on him. It might have been that they were trying to negotiate for someone, but failed to get it through, and maybe they will invite him to training camp and give him a new contract, who knows. Either way, I think giving him a final year would benefit us so I didn’t really get it.

So you may have seen the post on the forum about a question and answer session with me and Christian “Norway” Bobcats. We got a bunch of questions, so we decided to do it in two parts. If you have any questions reading it please post them on the forum

Part 1

1) SJackson1: Has MKG got the ability to be an All-Star?

James Plowright: Ability is an interesting word to choose here, has he got the drive? Definitely, but players need more than drive to be an all star. Many compared MKG to Gerald Wallace due to his athleticism, motor and inconsistent jump shot! Now, Gerald Wallace as we all know did become an all star and remains the only Bobcat in history to do so. However, I would argue that MKG has a higher ceiling than GW due to where he is in his development in relative terms to GW. MKG is just 18 and is way ahead of where Gerald Wallace was at that stage in his career and like I said before has the a similar if not even better work ethic than GW. So overall yes, MKG does have the ability to be an all star, but not right now. If MKG does have all star potential, I can assure you with his drive he will fill it to the max.

Christian “Norway” Bodin: It’s hard to tell whether or not MKG’s game transitions well into the NBA. A lot of times players struggle to do the things they did so easily in college, in the NBA. Also there is something to consider, which is the fact that most of his style of play doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. He was drafted out of college as a utility guy, the player who did a little bit of everything. He reminds me a little of a young Shawn Marion who never really did one thing in particular, but was decent at pretty much every aspect of the game, and he is a four time all-star. Another all-star is our very own Gerald Wallace, who did pretty much exactly what MKG was brought in to do. MKG has similar size; similar playing style, is hard on defense, a decent scorer, a good rebounder and a reckless hustler. Not to mention that MKG is better at his craft now, than both Marion and Wallace were at the same age. He also played on a stacked team in Kentucky, where he pretty much only did what the rest of the team didn’t, he was never asked to be the leading scorer, but was asked to help the team in every aspect of the game, which he did, and it led him to an NCAA championship.

So to answer your question; Yes, he has the POTENTIAL to be an all-star. I think one day he could be, if he is ready to take every aspect of his game with him to the next level. “Hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard”. He is crafty and with the right attitude, a good coach and hard work he should be.

Last year the Charlotte Bobcats were the laughing stock of the NBA, which was fair enough as they were the worst team in NBA history. Since then we have drafted MKG and Jeff Taylor, and brought in Haywood, Gordon and Sessions through FA and waivers. This team is now a lot deeper and is going to win more games and gain some respect back. However, there is a disturbing trend that I am seeing throughout this organisation.

Earlier this week it broke over twitter that Scoop Jardine may get an invite to the Bobcats training camp. At first, I had to Google this guys name (and what a name it is) to find out who he was, but then shortly after those faithful members of BCP actually pointed to him being the boyfriend of MJ’s daughter Jasmine. This to me is an insult to the organization and to players everywhere. We are doing other players an injustice by not giving them the opportunity. Scoop Jardine will not make an NBA team, the Bobcats giving him a place at training camp is all because of MJ. Now in the past I have supported the front office even in times of mass condemnation. However, this greatly bothers me as the Bobcats have a history of letting friends and family into the organization.

Quite a lot it seems. When it was announced Derrick Brown (UPS) was coming back to the Bobcats it was met with much joy from the fans as many were sad to see him leave. UPS was a fan and player favourite who we never planned to lose as we were going to claim resign him. However, the Knicks claimed him off waivers at the last minute and he was lost. After doing nothing in NY he came back to the Cats this summer to fill the role left by Dante “weed” Cunningham who left forMemphis.

When Derrick came back many expected the same player. Someone who can’t really shoot and isn’t a great defender or rebounder but can make a good highlight play such as this:

However UPS has been much more than just a highlight player this year, he has evolved his game to where he is effective on both ends of the floor.

Brown has brought great energy off the bench this year, but along with that has come production which he lacked in the past. His rebounding numbers are at a career high both defensively and offensively, and if you watch the games you can see how much he tries to get those offensive boards. Rebounding is definitely a skill in the NBA and UPS is beginning to realize that and is using his athleticism to become more active. UPS never had a quick release on his jumper and it was always fairly unreliable, the slow release is still there but I he has become more reliable in that mid range region this year and has shot it when open. His field goal percentage may not be as good as it was in his first few years but that is because he didn’t do anything but dunk. However, even with adding that mid range jumper his FG% is still at a very respectable .515%. UPS is a great example of a guy who knows what he can do and knows his role he doesn’t try things he shouldn’t and most of the time makes the right decision.

Hello Bobcats fans! I know I haven’t written for a long time, no it is nothing to do with me feeling too Depressed during this emphatic losing streak. I have had University exams for the last month which have been long and hard, a bit like the bobcats season.
I believe Reggie Williams deserves some LOVE right now from me, you and all the Bobcats fans. In a stretch where we have very few bright spots this guy has given me a reason to watch the games. However, I think he has been underappreciated by the BCP faithful, yeah I said it! Reggie Williams was undrafted in 2008 but was picked up by the warriors in 2010 as they looked for some offensive punch off their bench. Reggie delivered this, and much more. Reggie quickly became known for his 3 point shooting (44% last season); this is why the bobcats picked him up. Improvement in 3 point shooters was one of Silas’s top requests for the offseason, after missing out on Mike Dunleavy the Bobcats landed Reggie for a staggering 2.5 million over 2 years. Now in the NBA there are not many instances of pure value for money, but I believe this to be pretty close!
Unfortunately, Reggie has been out with the injury that seems to plague this team. As Ziggy’s caption says, “the Charlotte Bobcats: Where torn meniscuses happen”. This injury seems ever more prevalent in the NBA today, it is for this reason that I believe we should speak of torn meniscuses like harry Potter speaks of Voldermort in an effort to keep these injuries away. From now on it will be called “the you know what” instead of torn meniscus. But anyway, back to the point.