No, I don't want the next Bobcats Coach to wear a "?" mask all the time

With apologies to former Boston Celtics coach, Rick Pitino:  ”Bernie Bickerstaff is not coming through that door!  Larry Brown is not going to be walking through that door!  And Sam Vincent isn’t walking through that door!”  Sam can’t walk through that door because he can’t figure out how the handle works, or if it’s a push or a pull.  Actually, the only guy welcome to walk through any door at 333. East Trade is Paul Silas, and that’s because he’s actually still a member of the franchise, in some undefined role.

Paul Silas won’t be coaching the team again next season.  As discussed at length, you can’t keep the CEO of Lehmann Brothers around after the great collapse of 2008 and you can’t keep the head coach of a team that went 7-59 around for another year.  I appreciate what all those names above did for the team in their time.  All, except of course, for Sam “Ham Biscuit” Vincent.  Bernie got things rolling as head coach and general manager and actually never let the team finish in last place.  He was integral to the roots of development that the franchise started out with.  He was around for 4 years, but coached for 3 seasons.  He wasn’t Michael Jordan’s guy, so his contract wasn’t renewed.  He was sent on his way, given a very awkward “retirement” party after the final game of the ’06-’07 season.  Awkward, because he didn’t retire.  He went on to be an assistant coach with both Chicago under Vinny Del Negro and Portland under Nate McMillan and whoever the hell replaced Nate when he got the axe.  

It may seem hard to believe anyone can say this, but I like the Charlotte Bobcats. I think this team has a lot of promise and a whole lot of very young talent. I can see this team along with whoever they get in the coming draft at least being competitive next season.

Keep in mind, I just said competitive in a general sense. It would take the mother of all turnarounds for these guys to become post season bound, but you never know. The Rams were supposed to suck when they won the Super Bowl back in 1999.

The difference maker for the Rams then will be the same for the Bobcats next season—coaching. Paul Silas may have been good at one time, but last year he was awful beyond words. You can blame injuries and a lack of experience, but I think he wanted to win as bad as Kobe Bryant wants to run the Amazing Race with Shaq.

So who’s next?

A veteran head coach would be something the fans would love to see. Last season they had no reason to go see Bobcats home games other than to check out the opposition’s superstars and the Lady Cats (because those ladies have great personalities). A veteran would give the fans reason to believe that the team will improve; it will give them a reason to buy tickets.

"What the hell man? Can't have the worst win % and come back?"

I thought it was strange, early in the year, when there was a meeting that apparently absolved Paul Silas and his coaching staff of all responsibility of the misery heaped upon the franchise through epic losses.  I thought Silas might see the Bobcats through whatever was coming after this horrible season, but I was further confused when I heard Marv Albert and Mike Fratello on the TNT broadcast basically sealing Silas’s fate as Bobcats’ coach.

They said, basically, that Silas could come back to the team, in some aspect, but likely not as the head coach.  This was confirmed today, by Rick Bonnell of the Observer.  For all we know, this could be Paul’s decision.  He has had health issues, some serious and he’s no spring chicken.  If you ask me, however, this was simply a case of not rewarding a guy who led the worst team in NBA history.