Welcome to the third edition of the report card series. Last time we went through Raymond Felton’s season, so I figured today would be a good time to give you DJ Augustin’s portion.

Intro:

Position: Point Guard
Number: 14
HGT/WGT: 6’0, 180
College: Texas
Experience: 2 years
Status: Still on his rookie contract, Bobcats have his rights through 2012/13, makes $2.5 million next year.

In one of the rare things he has in common with fellow point guard Raymond Felton is that he wasn’t the man Bobcats fans wanted in the draft. However, unlike Felton, the target was still on the board when Larry Brown chose Augustin over Brook Lopez. Augustin showed great promise in his rookie season, playing 26.5 minutes per game, averaging 11.8 points and shooting 44% on his three-pointers while starting twelve games. He was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team. Coming into this season, many fans clamored for DJ to be the starting point guard, but after another 80 games, that’s no longer a vocal majority.

Breakdown:

Despite his lack of height and toughness, it’s not hard to see that Augustin is a shooting guard. He’s just trapped in a point guard’s body. Throughout his rookie year, Coach Larry Brown repeatedly asked him to shoot the ball more, even though he was basically the third likeliest to shoot among rotation players on that team, behind just Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton. Yet this season, by that same definition he was just the 8th likliest, out of 11. But that wasn’t the only stat that dropped. His minutes, points, rebounds, field goal percent, three point percent, and even free throw percent dropped, all in significant portions. His win shares/48 and usage rate plummeted. After breaking 20 points ten times his rookie year, he managed to do it just twice this past season. For someone like Augustin, who’s main defensive skill is thievery, John Hollinger’s PER (player efficiency rating) is a good barometer of his success (unlike most Bobcats). PER is set to have a league-wide average of 15, and DJ was just below average in ’08-’09, with a 14.9 PER. Yet this past season, Augustin was only able to put together an 11.2 PER. So why did Augustin fall so far so quickly? Some have blamed it on the signing of Flip Murray, who impacted DJ’s playing time. Yet after Murray departed, DJ immediately embarked on a horrid 2-for-27 stretch. While he was able to finish the season on a good note, hitting at least one three pointed in 9 of his last 12 games, he regressed even farther in the playoffs. While Raymond Felton has been berated for his poor showing and will lose money because of it, Augustin was actually worse. As Felton shot 40%, Augustin was just 29%, the worst of anyone with more than 5 minutes total of playoff action. Using that same definition, only Theo Ratliff and Tyson Chandler scored less. Odds and payoffs vary widely among sports betting establishments. After you choose who you plan to bet on, look at a few different odds-makers before placing the bet. You may find that you can find better odds on the same bet than you originally expected. And though Felton had a sky-high 116 DRTG (points scored against per 100 possesions), Augustin’s was also 106. The difference was Felton’s ORTG (same stat, but for offense) was 105, DJ’s was 88, behind everyone but Stephen Jackson and Theo Ratliff. As I showed in the Raymond Felton report card, Augustin was somehow able to draw a negative win share rating. The only players more detrimental were Jackson and Ratliff. All in all, not a good season.

Future: With Felton’s contract situation unresolved, Augustin is by default the only “point guard” on the roster. But don’t look for it to stay that way. With his performance this season, I doubt anyone in the Bobcats Front Office believes Augustin is ready to start. I don’t know if he’ll ever be an NBA pont guard, unless he advances quickly over the summer. With looming questions over his work ethic and his lack of respect for Coach Brown, it’s likely best for everyone if DJ were able to switch teams. Unfortunately, his trade value is a level above the ball boy, and unless every point guard in the league retired he’s not going to start anywhere. While he has a high ceiling, his potential would likely be reached only in an up-tempo offense where the point guard wasn’t responsible for initiating the offense and there was a high level of help defense to cover his shortcomings. Were LeBron to sign with the Knicks, Augustin would fit perfectly in Mike D’Antoni’s system. However, despite all of this, I’d bet DJ will spend this coming season in Charlotte for Larry Brown. He is a Jordan Brand player, after all, and Michael Jordan is the only reason he wasn’t traded during the season. If he does indeed stay, and Felton leaves, you can expect another season of frustration.

Final Grade:

DJ’s 2009-2010 regular season performance brought home a D+. He showed some flashes of where he should be, but that doesn’t excuse a pitiful season.

DJ’s 2010 Playoff showing is somehow worse. His numbers were bad enough, but he mainly played against the Magic’s second unit, which one would expect to inflate numbers. Since Felton got a D-, DJ earns a flat F. Failure. Pure, epic failure.

DJ does have significant potential. If he’s in the right system, he could even be a fringe All-Star, a la Mo Williams. If he was in the perfect situation, he could even be a mini-Allen Iverson. But I don’t see that happening. DJ’s potential grade is an A, but I don’t expect that to be realized here.

DJ Augustin’s overall grade: D, around a 73. He’s got a lot of work to do.

Welcome back to our report card series. In the first part, I gave a breakdown of the entire team over the course of this past season. Today and over the next month, I’m going to delve into the individual performances for just about everyone you know on the Bobcats payroll. Our first of those is Charlotte’s embattled hometown boy, Raymond Felton.

Intro:

Position: Point Guard
Number: 2
HGT/WGT: 6’1, 198
College: UNC – Chapel Hill
Experience: 5 years
Status: Unrestriced Free Agent, made 5.5 million last season

Many fans consider Ray the sloppy seconds (or thirds) in the 2005 NBA Draft. He was selected 5th overall by the Bobcats, but he happened to go immediately after Deron Williams (Utah) and Chris Paul (New Orleans). Those two are considered the best point guards in the NBA, while Raymond has had to deal with questions about his ability to be a starter. Fair or unfair, those criticisms make him appear far worse than he really is. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not Chris Paul (nor will he be), but he’s capable of running an NBA offense.

Breakdown:

When Raymond came into the NBA, he joined Brevin Knight as potential starter for the ‘Cats. Despite being the high draft pick, Raymond played mostly at shooting guard, while BK got the minutes running the point. In fact, Ray didn’t become the permanent starter at point guard until Larry Brown was brought in as coach. Since LB was hired, Ray has steadily improved, though many fans don’t see it.

While Ray’s points are indeed down since Coach Brown took over, his shooting percentages, blocks, and steals are up. In fact, Ray shot over 38% from long distance ths past season; prior to that his high was below 36% and twice he was below 29%. This past season, Ray had his highest ORTG (Offensive Rating, points produced per 100 possesions) at 107 (his prior high was 104, and twice he was below 100) and his lowest DRTG (points allowed per 100 possesions) at 103 (previous low was 107). He had the best PER (player effiency rating, created by John Hollinger) of his career at 15.2, which means he was an above average player. The PER is designed so that the league average is always 15. However, PER doesn’t measure on-ball defense, one of Ray’s biggest stregths, though you wouldn’t know it by watching the Orlando playoff series. Ray also had the best win shares of his career, at 6.5, whereas prior to Larry Brown his high was 3.4 under Sam Vincent. Win Shares attempts to measure how many wins a player was worth to his team. For comparison, Gerald Wallace was worth 11.5 wins and DJ Augustin, who many believe should start, had 2.4 win shares. However, playing time is factored into win shares, so there is an adjusted amount based on per48 minutes production. The league average is 0.100, but Raymond had 0.118, Wallace 0.177, and Augustin 0.092 Win Shares per 48. For those of you who aren’t statheads, that means Raymond is clearly more valuable to the team as constructed than Augustin, the fan’s choice. What should really surprise you, though, is that Tyson Chandler and Nazr Mohammed joined Wallace as the only players better than Felton, yet Augustin was basically 10th (taking out Raja Bell). Stephen Graham and Derrick Brown were more highly rated. But this isn’t Augustin’s report card, so I’ll stop. In conclusion, Felton has improved greatly under Larry Brown should see that there’s still room for improvement.

Future:

There’s no guarantee Felton will even be on the team next season, as he is an unrestricted free agent and rejected a 6 year, $40 million offer last season. His value was brought down by a relatively horrid performance in the playoffs, and few teams with cap space need a point guard. Miami, New York, and the Los Angeles Lakers are the most mentioned suitors, but the Heat and Knicks both seek marquee free agents which will take up all their available cap space, and the Lakers are well into the luxury tax. This means the most Felton would be able to get on the open market is right around the full Mid-Level exception, which is less than he made this past season. Raymond has repeatedly stated he wants to stay in Charlotte, but the Bobcats are perilously close to the luxury tax mark, which Michael Jordan has stated is not in the team’s immediate future. Thus, the best Ray should hope for in Charlotte is along the lines of a 4 year, $25 million dollar contract. It’d likely benefit both parties to have a shorter, 3 year deal, as that would allow the Bobcats an avenue to pursure Chris Paul, and an opportunity for Felton to drive up his value yet still sign a long term deal before he turns 30. However, this is just my opinion, and we’ll all be waiting to see what happens.

Final Grade:

Ray’s 2009-2010 regular season performance earned him a B. Without Ray, the playoffs would still be out of reach, and his gritty play and toughness have made him a role model to his teammates and embodies the spirit of a Charlotte Bobcat.

Ray’s 2010 Playoff showing, however, is in Jeff McInnis territory. He was never a factor, but he let Jameer Nelson become one. His only saving grace is that somehow, some way, DJ Augustin managed to be twice as bad, which means I can’t give Ray an F. Thus, he’s earned a D-

Ray’s potential grade is quite high, however. We’ve seen how Larry Brown can make a point guard much better than anyone thought. With work, Ray could become a poor man’s Chauncey Billups at best, and he isn’t getting worse anytime soon. So with that, for his potential, he’s got an A-, but like I said, that’s only a best case scenario.

Raymond Felton’s overall grade: B-, maybe an 85. He’s a starter, but not a star.

Now that the Charlotte Bobcats are officially in the offseason, it’s time to grade them. Over the next month, I’ll be giving every player and select non-players their grades for the season. But I’ll start with a general report card for the entire team. Enjoy!

Front Office:
When you can turn an aging, injured shooting guard on an expiring contract (Raja Bell) and a sorely overpaid, worthless, shooter playing power forward (Vladimir Radmonovic) into a Top 10 shooting guard (Stephen Jackson) and another tradeable asset (Acie Law IV), you automatically had an above average season. But Michael Jordan, Rod Higgins, and Larry Brown didn’t stop there. In the offseason, they signed Flip Murray to be a serviceable 6th man for just under $2 million. In essence, a bargain. But he wasn’t the only bargain. Stephen Graham, who filled as a starter 8 times, was signed for the league minimum. Not too shabby. The Bobcats also picked up Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown in the draft. While neither received much playing time, both showed flashes of their talent in limited minutes. When they received over 20 minutes in a game, Henderson averaged 11 points, Brown 9.7 points. But not even a solid draft, free agency, and a great trade to start the year would make the front office lazy. At the trade deadline, they picked up Theo Ratliff for what amounts to nothing and Tyrus Thomas came in for Murray, Law, and a protected 1st. Ratliff started 26 of his 28 games in a Bobcats uniform, and his 1.5 blocks per game in Charlotte helped propel the team to it’s first playoff birth. While the result of the Thomas trade has yet to be discovered, he showed stretches of brilliance on the road to the postseason. Not to mention, Bob Johnson sold the team to Michael Jordan. All in all, a great year in the front office

Final Grade: A

Coaching:
Obviously, if Larry Brown is coaching your team, you’ve got a chance to make some noise. Brown made good on that reputation this past season, turning Gerald Wallace into an All-Star and rebounding machine, keeping Stephen Jackson moderately in check, and improving just about everyone one the roster. And when Brown was ejected (twice in the regular season and once in the preseason), Lead Assistant Dave Hanners capably stepped up. The reason I bring up Hanners is because, unlike Coach Brown, Coach Hanners is aware that there are players sitting next to him who are able to play more than thirty seconds per game. That’s one of Larry’s weaknesses, and it showed. Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson were among the league leaders in minutes, while rookies Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown played a COMBINED 890 minutes. That’s 60% of DeJaun Blair’s playing time. And need I remind you Blair went in the second round (just a few picks before Brown, but well after Henderson, a lottery pick) and was Tim Duncan’s backup? They received just 40% of Jonas Jerebko’s playing time, and he was both suspended for a game and taken after Blair. But, despite his rotation shortcomings, Larry did coach his way to a team record 44 wins. So, everything combined, a solid season for the journeyman coach.

Final Grade: B+

Players:
While this is a very broad grade, and there are underperformers and overperformers, in the end it’s the total sum of how your team plays that matters. While Gerald Wallace played better than just about anyone expected, he was countered by a lazy season from Boris Diaw. Talk all you want about how much Nazr Mohammed improved, but he was countered by the oft-injured Tyson Chandler, who had a horrible start to the season, and Theo Ratliff’s horrific showing in the playoffs. Raymond Felton may have skyrocketed his shooting percentages, but DJ Augustin’s plummeted. While Stephen Jackson stepped in and led the team in scoring, it took heaven and earth moving for 2008 first round pick Alexis Ajinca to even make the active roster. Larry Hughes joined the team to replace Murray, but somehow had a lower shooting percentage (and lower True Shooting for the stat geeks) than Murray, who had the green light from Coach Brown. While Tyrus Thomas had a huge impact on the team’s defense, he actually had a negative win shares on offense. So, if you look deeply, the team was a little bit above average, and it showed in their .536 winning percentage.

Final Grade: C+

Playoffs:
Well, when you’re the only team to get swept, there’s not much good. But the Charlotte community showed up en masse for both of the team’s home games, and enjoyed booing JJ Redick. But outside of that and Tyrus Thomas’ impressive showing, there wasn’t much to like. The Bobcats only really contended in Game 3, and poor decision making doomed them then. A poor showing, and the better team won quickly.

Final Grade: D

Charlotte Bobcats 2009-2010 Season Final Grade: B+

The team accomplished its goal of making the playoffs, but now they have to show it wasn’t a fluke.

In baseball, there’s a man named Jack McKeon. He’s known in baseball circles as “Trader Jack.” He’s a retired manager who is the oldest manager to win a World Series (2003 with the Florida Marlins). He managed 5 different teams for 15 seasons over a period of 32 years; 9 years he spent as the GM of the San Diego Padres. But what does all this have to do with the Bobcats, besides McKeon’s link to the Carolinas (he graduated from Elon and still lives there)? Well, Trader Jack is very similar to Michael Jordan.

Now, anyone who knows baseball knows that Trader Jack’s personality is more like Bobcats coach Larry Brown. Both are journeymen, tend to wear on players, and demand trades like they do a change of clothes. But McKeon has more in common with MJ. You see, both had bad starts by most measures – Jordan’s in Washington and McKeon’s in Kansas City with the Royals. But when you look deeper, you see they weren’t as bad as originally thought. McKeon managed the Royals and A’s in his first two jobs, but was unable to have much success. However, after the Royals fired him, the team he’d put into place made the playoffs 4 of the next 5 seasons. The A’s he managed were mostly intact when they made the ALCS a few years later. Jordan as GM in Washington moved a multitude of bad contracts that were hampering the Wizards flexibility and gave them lots of cap space by the time he was relieved of his job. This allowed the Wizards to form a core in Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison that made the playoffs multiple times. But they also bear similarities in how their next jobs went. McKeon took over as GM of the Padres and promptly built a winner: the team made the World Series in his 4th season on the job. He drafted Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and stars John Kruk and Andy Benes, and also signed stars Benito Santiago and Roberto Alomar as amatuers. He brought in veteran star Steve Garvey and Hall of Famer Rich “Goose” Gossage. Jordan has been on the job for nearly four years now, and has drafted young talent in Ryan Hollins, Jared Dudley (both since traded), DJ Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown. He’s signed diamond in the rough Stevie Graham, and traded for star Stephen Jackson and veterans Theo Ratliff, Boris Diaw, and Nazr Mohammed to go with growing talent Tyrus Thomas. Now, I’m not predicting a trip to the NBA Finals, but Jordan, like McKeon, has reached a desired spot in a short amount of time.

Ok, you say, that’s all well and good, but isn’t MJ the guy who drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison? Sure, he did. No Hall of Famers there. But if you look at the rest of his resume, you’ll find that he’s actually done very well, albeit under the radar. While he did draft Brown #1 overall, one could easily see that 2001 was a poor draft, as only two lottery picks have ever made an All Star team, Pau Gasol (#3) and Joe Johnson (#10). While Jordan could’ve picked Gasol, up to that point no European player had ever had much success in the league, as Dirk Nowtizki was still a young gun. Everyone else in the top 5 (Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, and Jason Richardson) are regarded as overpaid and have never experienced much success in the league, Richardson coming the closest. So we give MJ a pass on that one. What about the next year? Well, MJ had the 11th and 17th picks in the draft. Of the players Mike had to choose from, only 9 are still in the NBA and 5 of those were picked in the second round. MJ happened to select one of the few still around, Jared Jeffries, with the 11th pick. While few would consider Jeffries lottery talent, he’s made a name for himself as a solid defender and likely will continue to play in the League for years to come. MJ also picked Juan Dixon, who had multiple successful seasons before heading to Europe this year. When Jordan arrived in Charlotte, he drafted Morrison, who is a bust (though partly due to injury) and Ryan Hollins. While Hollins is no world-beater, he is the lowest pick from that draft remaining. Jordan also signed Argentinian Walter Herrman, who played well in his short stay in Charlotte before being traded. In 2007, MJ traded his first pick to Golden State for Jason Richardson, who led the team in scoring with 21.8 points, a team record. Richardson later netted Diaw and Raja Bell, but we’ll get there in a minute, back to ’07. With the 22nd pick, Jordan selected Jared Dudley, who was also part of the Diaw/Richardson trade. Dudley is a superb bench player and will likely contend for Sixth man of the Year later in his career. Of those still on the board when Charlotte picked, likely only Aaron Brooks (who wouldn’t have fit on a team with Raymond Felton) has had more success to date. Now to 2008, where we see Jordan hire Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown (who drafted DJ Augustin) and trade for Diaw and Bell. While it was lampooned at the time, the trade for Diaw and Bell made the ‘Cats playoff contenders for the first time, and while they came up short, both had a part in this season’s playoff appearance. Diaw has fit in as the point forward, and Bell was traded for Stephen Jackson this season. Tyson Chandler was added for Emeka Okafor, and while that was also considered lopsided, it’s Chandler’s play that’s made the ‘Cats a solid defensive team in the paint. Tyrus Thomas was also added for merely a proctected first rounder and expiring contracts, and Theo Ratliff and Larry Hughes both came practically free of charge. While Jackson is likely the most responsible for the on-court improvement this year, one can see that the architect of the team isn’t as lazy and irresponsible as the mainstream media portrays him. Sure he’s had help from longtime friend Rod Higgins, but Jordan, just like McKeon, is a skilled manager of personnel, and knows how to make the trade or draft pick that helps the team in both the short run and the long run.

Looking forward, if McKeon’s career arc can be used as a guide, then Jordan will soon be reaching his goal of making the Finals. Hopefully, Trader Mike will also bring home that championship, just like Trader Jack.

It wasn’t nearly that close. Boris Diaw nearly had a triple-double, Gerald Wallace looked like the All-Star he is, and Tyson Chandler was an intimidating prescence against the Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby-less Hawks, who still seek their first 50-win season since 1998. But it was still a historic night, as the Bobcats have now clinched their first non-losing season in franchise history.

That’s right, the Bobcats are losers no more. With their 41st win of the season, (and 30th at home) the Bobcats can do no worse than even for the season, and that would still require losing 6 in a row. In fact, it’s possible that, with an easy schedule ahead (the ‘Cats play just one more playoff contender), Charlotte could win out and move to 47-35, giving Larry Brown an even record over his two seasons in the Queen City. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of Boris Diaw, who put up 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists tonight. He would’ve had the first triple double in franchise history had Gerald Wallace not stolen a rebound from him and Stephen Jackson not missed an easy jumper with just a few minutes left. But I’m sure Boris will settle for the win, as he said postgame: “That’s a great win…at this point in the season, every win is pretty important in the chase to [the] playoffs, and getting as high as possible in the playoffs. We knew we can play [well] against teams that have better records too, so we just proved it tonight.” When asked about the rebound Gerald stole from him, Diaw lightheartedly said “He steals every rebound every time anyway, it’s nothing new.” Speaking of “Crash,” Wallace dominated the first half with 22 points, and finished with a game-high 28 points and 6 rebounds. The 28 points were Crash’s highest total since March 10th in Philadelphia, and just the 4th time he’s passed 25 since the All-Star Game. He was one of six Bobcats in double figures, joined by Diaw, Stephen Jackson (15), Raymond Felton (14), Tyson Chandler (12) and D.J. Augustin (11). Chandler also had 8 rebounds, and continues to improve his game since coming back from multiple foot injuries. Jackson said he’s feeling better after being hurt the last few games, saying “I feel a lot better. The two days I had off to rest helped me out, and I didn’t have to work too hard tonight since, you know, Joe didn’t play…I gotta give a lot of props to Strick (Athletic trainer Steve Stricker) he was doing some type of thing with some metal, and he broke it up a lot and it’s almost gone. I’m almost back healthy.” He also talked about Diaw’s triple-double bid, commenting that “I think Boris is probably one of the guys in the league that could actually average a triple-double if he really put forth the effort to do that, and I wish he would’ve gotten that tonight…Boris is fed up with everybody trying to shoot the ball, he’s starting to be aggressive now, and he’s realizing what we need from him to be successful, and he’s taking on that role and helping us out a lot.”

Notes: Theo Ratliff will not be with the team in New Orleans, as he’s attending his grandmother’s funeral. Coach Brown said that he hopes Theo will be back in time for the Houston game and that until then Nazr Mohammed will be worked into the rotation after missing a month and a half…Michael Jordan was in attendance, as he has been at almost every home game since buying the team…Tyrus Thomas injured his thumb in the second half but is expected to be available for the Hornets game…Hawks coach Mike Woodson is one of many former Larry Brown assistants, and Hawks players Joe Smith and Jamal Crawford have played for Brown…Boris Diaw, Theo Ratliff and Nazr Mohammed are all ex-Hawks.