Never, let me repeat, NEVER, have I been this optimistic before the NBA training camp started. Honestly, I don’t know where to start. Well, let’s just start at the top. Micheal Jordan, hey what can I say? He truly made several outstanding decisions this offseason. Here’s the top four in my book:

1. Signed Coach Dunlap – I haven’t had the priviledge of meeting him yet, but I can already tell you, this guy is the real deal folks. He’s a runner and in great shape, so he leads by example, not with his chops. He has that Drill Sergeant look and demeanour, but is a people person at the same time. He will fire up the troops, and get them ready for battle!
2.  Great Draft  (even if it wasn’t his pick) he still allowed Cho to draft Kidd- Gilcrest and Taylor, arguably, our best 1+2 picks in any draft we’ve ever entered. (No knock on Kemba and Bismack, these are two future “very good” players, I just think these 2 guys will have a larger impact their rookie seasons than they did. Seeing all 4 of them on the court at one time during some game is something I’m really looking foward to. That’s when I’ll know, we are on our way!)

It may seem a little strange, but the basketball season is not that far away folks. Training camp is right around the corner (early October I believe). First up for our Bobcats in the preseason will be the Washington Wizards. We open the regular season at home against the Indiana Pacers on November 2.

That’s not a whole lot of time.

Now the NFL has been kind enough to play some games of their own leading up to the beginning of the season to keep us occupied (thanks guys!) so before you know it will be time for tip-off!

Personally, I can’t wait for that first game to start for a couple different reasons. First and foremost so we can officially put that dreadful 2011-12 season behind us for good. I guess technically it already is, but I think we will not really be able to put it out of sight and completely out of mind until the new Charlotte Bobcats step on the court for the first time.

We’ve got reason to be a little excited this year folks. It would be pretty difficult for the team to match last season’s record so we can only get better. Like you I’m not looking to except a slew of 10 point losses over the 20 point ones, but I don’t think we are going to be that bad this year.

I think we can surprise some folks.

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.

Can a full changeover in culture come to the team who put up the worst winning percentage in NBA history?  One season removed, will things just get gradually better or is there a sea change coming?

I wonder who the first guy to say “Oh, we are bringing in a culture change.”  Or “What we really need to do is completely change the culture.”  It must have been a new coach somewhere who came in and he was asked “Well coach, what do you bring to the team.”  It’s a great way of saying “Everything you didn’t have before.”

If you think about it, it’s a really great way to put how big of a change you want to make.  The key word there of course is “want” because cultures aren’t things that are moved or just changed.  They are built and influenced and steered but never just changed.  If you think about cultures in general, you think of nations or ethnicities but cultures are so diverse you might say that families or even individuals have cultures all to their own.

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.

I am a Bismack Biyombo fan. I didn’t know much about him when he got drafted, but when I read about how he was willing to pay a cool million of his own so that he can come to the U.S. and play in the NBA I couldn’t help but like the guy. It’s not too common in professional sports these days to see someone that eager and excited to play.

There were times that we were able to catch glimpses of the guy that His Airness was hoping to see when the team made him a lottery pick in the ’11 draft. If you’re the type that likes statistics just take a look at his block numbers. He ties Josh Smith for No 8 in the league with 115 (giving him a per game average of 1.83—good enough for No 9 on the season list).

Yes, I know it’s only blocks and there is a lot more to the game than that, but the fact that he was as high up on the list while playing far fewer minutes than every player above him speaks for his raw talents. With the right coaching and guidance the sky could be the limit for this young man. He could be getting both in new head coach Mike Dunlap and recently added veteran big man Brendan Haywood.