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.

Dear Mr. Jordan,

I just wanted to take the time here to apologize for a past transgression of mine.

Being the loyal reader of Bobcats Planet like I’m sure you are, you had to have seen my post where I called you a royal pain. Although I stand by my analysis at the time, but after some of the moves of the last few weeks I had to reevaluate what I thought of your ability to lead the team from the owner’s chair.

With my tail tucked between my legs I am glad to admit that I was wrong.

Like many fans, I see the potential in some of the young players that you have in Charlotte, but also like many fans I believed the team needed something more to become competitive sooner rather than later (if at all). At the time I didn’t see anything being done to help the team do anything, but fail once again.

I was not on board with your choice of head coaches. I thought we could have done better. With a 4-1 record after Friday’s loss to the Grizzlies in summer league play the man must be doing something right. I know this is only summer league, and that it shouldn’t hold much weight, but in my mind it tells me that with more time under Dunlap the ‘Cats could be alright (key word—could).

As for personnel, I guess I just needed to be patient and see what could happen. You may not have brought a true blue superstar to the roster, but the team is shaping up. Dare I say it, but I think the ‘Cats look pretty competitive. The additions you’ve made have been pretty good.

Yeah, keep the t-shirt Kidd.

If I asked you for your ultimate set of maneuvers that shaped the Bobcats roster the day after the NBA Draft, would Ben Gordon, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor be your additions?  Not many if any would have said “Yes, please!” Incredibly, the second overall pick wasn’t traded, not to any of the 5 teams with standing offers, not to Cleveland for the 4th and 24th or whatever was being offered.  The Bobcats stood pat on both of their picks.  At press time, Adam Silver is still calling names and it remains to be seen if they trade back in for another second rounder, but it’s unlikely.

I’m not as disappointed as many of the regulars to our draft chat.  I don’t think that Rich Cho took the night off or that Michael Jordan had much of anything except to approve what his front office team had come up with.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist isn’t the overall second best player but he might be just what the Bobcats need.  All Chad Ford said in his analysis was “Hardest Worker in the draft.”  He takes pride in his defense and scores enough to seem like he’s got some offensive game.  But no one will accuse the Bobcats of stealing the draft.  This isn’t like a Kevin Durant to Greg Oden’s Anthony Davis, but the Bobcats got a “character,” “motor,” guy to play at small forward, which may be exactly what they wanted all along.

I just finished watching the latest episode of the USA show Royal Pains off my DVR (great show; highly recommend it although they need to put an end to the whole sibling rivalry thing). Afterwards I scanned some of the latest and greatest tidbits on the Charlotte Bobcats (or is it just Cats now?).

In the middle of reading one article about His Airness punching former teammate Steve Kerr at practice back in their playing days I came to a realization.

Michael Jordan is a royal pain.

To be more specific, he is the taller, African-American version of Evan (played by Paulo Costanzo). In the show the two brothers, Evan and Hank, are arguing over the direction of their concierge medical practice. Hank just wants to practice medicine while Evan wants to turn it into a money-making machine.

Separately the two are floundering. Evan knows nothing about medicine while Hank knows even less about business.

It's OK, MJ! It'll be OK!

Can’t win for losing.  I mean seriously, the Hornets?  The Hornets, George Shinn ruined this city for NBA basketball and now, the Hornets get the Number One overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft?

I don’t even want to get into the conspiracy theories, because it’s so simple to look that direction.  I just want to wallow in the misery of losing yet again, in an arena where no one was in control.  The Charlotte Bobcats will select second in the upcoming draft.  Anthony Davis, the unibrow, the consensus player of the year in the NCAA as a freshman, will be a New Orleans Hornet and the Bobcats will have to pick from the rest.

It’s not so much that Davis is that much better, it’s the fact that everyone else is within a whisker of each other.  So from one crap shoot to another.  I still contend, as I would have if the Bobcats had won the lottery, that there is no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to evaluating 19 year olds to play basketball.

So, now it comes down to talent evaluation.  Haha, you see what I did there?  Anyway, I feel like the Bobcats have a great team in place to select exactly what they need.  Hell, Rich Cho and Rod Higgins could come up with a guy they like better than the prohibitive favorite, in the goofy-lookin’ Davis.  (I will continue to bash him, until he’s out of the league in 3 years)

If you look back in NBA history, we can recall many hmmm moments in the NBA Lottery. Remember when Patrick Ewing became the saviour of the Big Apple? I’m also sure you remember Tim Duncan going to San Antonio to be one of the Twin Towers when the Admiral was near the end of his career. How about Lebron James going home to Cleveland, then Derrick Rose going home to Chicago? Then we have the most recent, when Lebron James took his talents to South Beach and the next thing you know, the #1 Pick goes to Cleveland?

Maybe these Cinderella stories are just coincidences, or maybe there is a little more to them than we will ever know. Either way, they happened and there is no turning back now. So let’s just focus on tonight and hope that we get the #1 pick.

If a hmmm moment happens tonight and goes in the Bobcats favor, I can give you 5 reasons why I think it might have happened.