Over the years we have all witnessed why Michael Jordan was the greatest player of all time, and not the greatest manager.
In 2001 while with the Wizards, Jordan made probably his biggest blunder by selecting Kwame Brown with the first overall pick of the draft. The selection was the first time ever that a high school player was chosen first. Brown’s career averages are 7.2 PPG and 5.7 RPG.
Later, in 2006 with the Bobcats, Jordan decided to go with Adam Morrison with third overall selection of the draft. Morrison hasn’t done much of anything during his years in the NBA, averaging 8.9 PPG while shooting only 37%. He was traded to the Lakers this season for Vladimir Radmanovic.
Last season MJ went with fellow Tar Heel Brandan Wright, only to ship him to Golden State shortly after for Jason Richardson. During Richardson’s time with the Bobcats the team would post a 39-64 record in just over a season.
However, it looks like Jordan is learning from his mistakes and may be on to something. Trading J-Rich to the Suns for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell has proved to be a wise decision. Diaw is averaging a career high in points during his 51 games with the team (15.0), and Bell brought the same defense he’s known for. The Bobcats are 27-24 since the addition of the two. Diaw and Bell, along with the addition of Radmanovic and the drafting of D.J. Augustin have catapulted the team into the playoff race.
They are currently one game back of the 8th seeded Bulls with 8 games to play. Charlotte is coming off of an impressive 10 point victory over the Lakers and have another tough matchup ahead against the Celtics. Perhaps the most pivotal matchup is the April 11th game in Chicago though. It will be an interesting homestretch that’s for sure. Either way, things are looking up in Charlotte.
Chicago Bulls have been impressive as of late too. I don’t see the Bobcats winning the race, but I do know one thing, which ever team makes it is losing in the first round, unfortunately for me being a Bulls fan. I thought Morrison was a good pick up at the time, but with his crazy shooting and lack of defense he just didn’t cut it like I thought he would. I mean, didn’t even lose the mustache? What was he thinking!?