What are the chances that at the end of this season Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the player that is awarded the 2013 NBA rookie of the year award. I think it is much, much better than people realize for a number of reasons.

• His energetic style of play is a style that will catch the voters’ eye
• The small forward position is wide open for him. He should get all the minutes that he can handle from day one
• Mike Dunlap’s defensive minded approach should fit him perfectly
• The Charlotte Bobcats have the biggest room for improvement. A 20+ jump in the win column is not something that is very far fetched. In fact even if they could improve by 25 wins they would still only go 32-50.

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.

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.

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.

What a great time to be a Bobcats fan!  Exciting trades, fresh new faces, and no 30-point losses to remind you of how catastrophically disastrous it was to choose this team to root for—one of many ill-fated decisions you’ve made in your troubled existence that will haunt you night and day, with the only relief being your own inevitable death.  It’s great!  With that in mind, I’ve created my own Summer League Awards:

Best Coaching Move: Mike Dunlap’s 2-2-1 press.

Coach Dunlap believez in the trap, be-lievez in the trap.  And at least for the Summer League, I was totally with him.  The biggest reason for the Bobcats’ 4-1 record in Vegas was because their defense harassed more than Clarence Thomas, forcing 113turnovers in five games.  I understand the importance of developing players in a more realistic defense rather than coaching for wins, and 99 out of 100 times I would argue the same thing.  But coming off a 7-win season is that 100th time.  Besides, even Dunlap doesn’t argue that they’re going with this look full-time when the regular season starts. “When you get into the season, we can take it off; we can do it at times versus certain teams,” he said in Friday’s ESPN Daily Dime.  So long as he can switch defenses as nimbly as he switches speaking in the second person to the first person, we’re all set.

Biggest Bummer: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s injury.

So hero-starved are Bobcats fans that Kidd-Gilchrist’s bravura debut against the Kings was borderline sexually arousing.  18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 8 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, +28 for the night.  And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…it didn’t, because he tweaked his knee and we never saw him again!  Still, I don’t care if it’s Summer League, I’m anointing Jesus Gilchrist as my personal savior.