The Bobcats Rebuilding Plan: 2012 Edition

The Bobcats are starting year 2 of their rebuilding process. As noted previously, the "tear down to build up" strategy has worked for Memphis and Oklahoma City, only it took 4 years for each team. At the end of year 1, how does the situation look?

• Roster. One year ago, the team had arguably two players that might be starters on a contender: DJ Augustin and Gerald Henderson. Today? The team has four (DJ Augustin, Gerald Henderson, Kemba Walker, and Bismack Biyombo).
• Salary Cap. One year ago, the expiring contracts of note were Boris Diaw ($9 million) and Eduardo Najera ($2.6 million), with $20 million coming in 2013 (Stephen Jackson, Diop, Carroll). Today? The Diaw and Najera contracts are gone, and the same $20 million cap relief is coming in 2013, with the added bonus of moving up 12 spots in the draft (for Biyombo), courtesy of effectively swapping S-Jax for Maggette.

So, year 1 provided some positive steps despite the historically awful record. And, while the #1 pick didn't fall the Bobcats' way, that doesn't knock the plan completely off the rails. With that in mind, here's a few suggested steps that the Bobcats should take in the next two months.

1. Draft Andre Drummond or Thomas Robinson. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I really like both of them as prospects,, and think both offer reasonable risk/reward. I lean slightly toward the former versus the latter (the easy part about being an armchair quarterback: you get to hedge your bets, while the pros have to make a pick. I don't envy you at the moment, Rich Cho).

2. Trade DJ Augustin for the #16 pick. In case you didn't know, the Houston Rockets have some issues at PG. Kyle Lowry wants to be traded, and Goran Dragic is an attractive free agent target. As insurance, they might be persuaded that a one-year insurance policy at point guard is worth their 2nd 1st round pick. So, why should the Bobcats let him go?

First, it gives Kemba Walker the full time point guard role (and rids us of the dreaded 6-foot backcourt). Second, there's a strong possibility that Quincy Miller will be there at #16, a prospect I truly believe has elite NBA scoring potential. He's generally disregarded as a player coming out a year early, but that has little to do with his ultimate NBA value. Definitely worth the pick.

3. Sign Roy Hibbert to an offer sheet. Over the last 4 years, Hibbert has proven to be a durable anchor on the offensive and defensive sides of the floor, in addition to being a great locker room example for younger guys. Market value for his services is probably in the DeAndre Jordan / Marc Gasol range ($11-15 million per year). Signing him to the high end would either 1) convince him to join the Bobcats, or 2) force a conference rival to pay at-or-above market value. (Note: this might work, to a lesser extent, with Brook Lopez).

Why should the Bobcats spend their cap room like this? Well, because they've got a lot of it. Starting with the summer of 2013, the Bobcats will have over $30 million a year in salary cap room with its amnesty still intact (another $8 million if Tyrus is cut loose). Signing Hibbert at a $15 million clip and using the amnesty on Thomas would only use a net $6-7 million of all thet cap room. That means that there'd still be plenty of room to sign a max free agent.
Assuming all this happens, the Bobcats roster would look very different.
PG: Kemba Walker, Cory Higgins
SG: Gerald Henderson, Matt Carroll
SF: Quincy Miller, Corey Maggette
PF: Andre Drummond / Thomas Robinson, Bismack Biyombo
C: Roy Hibbert, BJ Mullens
So, you don't have to be completely depressed that the team lost out on Anthony Davis. The team still needs a teaching head coach and a decent veteran backup at point guard, but there are paths back to relevance that don't involve the 'Brow.

Heat Pacers Summary

Best Player: Lebron James (Individual +39). The best thing about watching Lebron in this series had to be the passing displays he put on the last 3 games. Even as a high schooler, his passing ability stood out as sublime. Well, even if his career's development has been more MJ than Magic, he continues to prove that, when in command of all his abilities, he's a one man wrecking crew.
Worst Player: Leandro Barbosa (Individual -26). This is less a reflection on Leandro, and more likely a reflection of a current chink in the Pacers' collective armor. As a great defensive team, they'll likely be in most games even in the playoffs, but at a certain point, someone has to take the reins and find a bucket in crunch time. When looking at the similar plus/minus numbers for Darren Collison, it's clear that this was a problem, particularly for the 2nd unit.
Most Valuable Player: Roy Hibbert (Net +44). Much like Marc Gasol last year, his seems pre-destined to be the summer contract that raises a few skeptical eyebrows. Well, if you look at Roy's numbers compared to the best centers in the league over the last 3 years (Howard, M. Gasol, Bynum, Chandler), he gives you slightly less production, fewer minutes per game, but more actual games played. And those other 4 guys are currently on contracts that average $15.7 million per year. So a 5 year / $60 million deal ($12 million per) doesn't seem that crazy to me.
Least Valuable Player: Dwyane Wade (Net -20). Whether it was nagging injuries, difficult defensive matchups (like Paul George), or some other reason, this was not D-Wade's best series. One thing I don't understand... with the Thunder, the national media seem to obsess about the shot count of Durant versus Westbrook, presuming that since Durant is the better player, he has to take more shots for the team to play better. Given the utter dominance Lebron is submitting, shouldn't we be doing the same thing for the Heat?
Reverse Jerome James Award: Danny Granger. It feels like Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Danny Granger, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Bosh should start a support group called "I'm Not the Scapegoat Everytime." Is Granger one of the best 15 players in the NBA? No. Is he better than Kevin Durant, Lebron James, or Carmelo Anthony? No. That's because those are arguably the three best scorers in the NBA. The Pacers aren't trying to win a superstar arms race. They're trying to build the Spurs East. You don't hear the Spurs complaining that Tony Parker isn't as good as Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook or Steve Nash. They know he's a cog in a machine, and the machine wins or loses on more than one guy's contribution. Maybe Pacers fans should try that next season.

Thunder Lakers Summary

Best Player: Russell Westbrook (Individual +51). Nevermind that, for two series in a row, the best player in a Lakers series was the opposing point guard (can't blame it on Fisher's defense, either). 2 years ago, it was such a big deal that Kobe Bryant decided to guard Russell, it must have single-handedly swung the series that year... a series that would've gone seven if Pau hadn't tipped in a Bryant airball at the end of Game 6. Fast forward two years, and Westbrook has evolved into the kind of offensive force that cannot be shut down, only contained if his shot is falling. The "if" part of that sentence probably decides the Western Conference finals.

Worst Player: Pau Gasol (Individual -49). Just one year ago, I was staunchly defending the Spaniard, whose plus/minus numbers held up surprisingly well in the 4-0 loss to the Mavericks. That wasn't the case here. With Bynum and Bryant demanding virtually all low post touches, and with Ibaka waiting to send every gentle layup into the upper deck, Gasol had very little chance of positively impacting the series. Although, he did surprisingly little with the 2nd unit as its primary scorer. However, I think there's plenty left in the tank, and some other win-now contenders could easily fit him into their plans (Atlanta, trading Josh Smith or Miami, trading Chris Bosh).

Most Valuable Player: Andrew Bynum (Net +24). The heir apparent of the Lakers handled himself quite well, and aside from motoring down on occasion (and, honestly, what dominant center of the last 20 years didn't have his motor questioned at times), seems to be a very strong future as a franchise player ahead of him. Hard to argue that a roster centered around his talents won't do well for the next 5 years.

Least Valuable Player: Derek Fisher (Net -21). Other than looking a lot fresher in his spot duty relative to his starter days as a Laker, there's just not a lot to say here.

Jerome James Award: Jordan Hill. It's hard to believe that three years ago, the draft world thought more of Jordan Hill than Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, and Ty Lawson. Now, while the other three have had the better careers to this point, has Jordan Hill had the opportunity to show his stuff? Not really. Hopefully, the 2012 playoffs showed GM's enough to give him a shot next year and beyond. But, let's be honest... playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum doesn't give us the best gauge of his game. Hopefully, his market value reflects that.