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• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  @JCS - I was referring to draft standings. We're a half game "behind" the Bulls for the 11th pick right now (assuming that neither us nor them win the lottery).
  
  We unfortunately can't really move up any higher than 11 because the next team (Clippers) is a full 5 or 6 games worse than us. But we need to keep losing because if we somehow went on a meaningless 10-5 run to finish the season we could fall as far back as the 14th pick.
  
  Some people seem to think there's not much difference between drafting 14 and drafting 11th, but at 11 we would have a real shot at a polished front court player like Monroe or Aldrich falling to us. Go back to 14 and you start hitting the second tier where adjectives like "project" are used to describe the guys. #

• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  Schwan, I'm no more repetitive than many of the other posters on here. The main difference is that you disagree with my views and not theirs.
  
  I think I'm clearly a knowledgeable poster who understand how the NBA works, who understands the local market, and who correctly and boldly predicted the direction this franchise was headed in well over a year ago while you (and many others) predicted playoffs, etc.
  
  If I was just spouting idiotic nonsense I'd understand your frustration but I think I'm one of the better posters on this site and I think it's a lot more entertaining to read because of my contributions.
  
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• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  Two things:
  
  We used our draft pick before the first season in New Orleans for Courtney Alexander. It was the 17th overall pick. That's why I listed it under "draft picks", because we essentially drafted Alexander that year.
  
  Also, on my Jeff Bower recap I completely left out the signing of James Posey. That was a horrible signing that even the defending Champ Celtics (who have much more lucrative television and marketing contracts, and who sell out every game they play at home with much more pricey tickets) couldn't come close to justifying on a cost basis. We had to overpay out of the nose to get him (4 years $25MM) and commit to an extra 4th year, as he'd have much rather stayed in Boston all things being equal.
  
  That probably brings Bower's GM grade down to a D+ at best from any objective observer.
  
  Literally the only GOOD moves Bower has made in his tenure as GM were the original Chandler from Chicago trade and the Collison and Thornton draft picks. Everything else was a bad move. Even when allowing that I'm using 20/20 hindsight and that's a pretty brutal measuring stick..... his track record is awful.
  
  
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• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  :( Bulls lose tonight so we can't move up to 11th place.
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• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  Wanted to clarify - The asterisk next to Okafor (top 5 worst contract) is indicating that best-selling NBA author Bill Simmons (who nailed the Hornets dysfunctionality as early as November 2008) has ranked his 5 remaining years at $63MM as the 3rd worst contract in the league (better than only Elton Brand and Gilbert Arenas).
  
  In fact, Bower is singlehandedly responsible for the 3rd and 21st worst contracts in the NBA according to the Sportsguy. Throw in Mo Pete's abortion of a contract and....... Did someone say "small-market franchise killer?"
  
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• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  It's a key point that needs to be cleared up IMHO. I'm tired of Bower getting credit for moves that he wasn't responsible for. It's important because people who defend Bower often claim that he was GM for the good drafts (he wasn't).
  
  So just to clarify (please correct me if I'm wrong) the drafts during the late Charlotte and full New Orleans eras:
  
  Bob Bass: Baron Davis, Jamal Magliore, David West, Courtney Alexander (A-)
  Alan Bristow: JR Smith, Chris Paul, Brandon Bass (A)
  Jeff Bower: Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, Julian Wright, Trade for Cash, Collison, Thornton (C+)
  
  Bower's drafts aren't as impressive as people make them out to be. Let's look at his FA maneuvers:
  
  Sign Peja to huge long-term deal (understandable at the time perhaps)
  Sign MoPete to rather large long-term deal (understandable at the time perhaps)
  Trade JR and PJ for Tyson Chandler (good move)
  Trade Nachbar for Marc Jackson/Johnson (bad move)
  Trade Bobby Jackson (expiring) for Bonzi and James (bad move)
  Trade Tyson (soon to be expiring) for Okafor (top 5 worst contract in NBA*)
  
  Overall, I don't see how any objective person could give Bower's overall GM decisions anything above a C-. I'd personally give him a D+.
  
  If you inherit 2 multiple-time All Stars (West and Chris Paul) and one of them is the best PG of his generation, you'd have to really make some crap moves to be in the dire straights the Hornets currently find themselves in. #

• Game On: Nuggets @ Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  I know CP3 is ultra competitive, but unless we're trying to increase his trade value for the offseason it's stupid to let him play again this year.
  
  This is another example of Bower's goals (finish strong to try and salvage at least 1 of his 2 jobs) being completely opposite from the best interests of the franchise (ensure CP3's health at all costs and don't get meaningless wins at the end of the season when you still have a shot at the 10th or 11th pick in a LOADED draft). #

• Who to watch in March Madness - Part 2 - Small Forwards

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  I like these draft columns. The Hornets FO seems to think outside the box and our Mock Draft projections are rarely on the money.
  
  Collison was projected early 2nd round by a LOT of sites last year but the Hornets apparently had him pegged as early as March (according to a poster on HR.com who said DC Sniper was the pick weeks out and NAILED it).
  
  So it's good to see some of the names that we're likely to look at. The good thing about having 60% of your starting 5 available for new guys (3,4,5) is that there's a lot of options to choose from. #

• The Thunder beat the Hornets

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  Posey is an over the hill scrub who loafs at least 50% of his time on the floor.
  
  This was evident last season as soon as we ceased being serious contenders. His energy and outlook changed.
  
  If people are STILL not seeing this over a year later there's pretty much nothing you can say or do to change their mind. They will excuse Posey and defend his horrible play and lack of effort because he takes a charge and tries 40% of the time he's out there.
  
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• Game On: Hornets @ Thunder

  Blog comment - 2 days ago

  Joe - I bet you a ham sandwich Bower won't finish the season above .500 which was my point. You and I - we don't mesh well here do we? #