CHARLOTTE
-- Following the Hornets loss to the Wizards (the only team to lose to
Washington twice this season), coach Paul Silas questioned his teams’ heart.
He questioned their manhood. The normally even-keeled coach tore into his
players like he rarely, if ever, has during his brief tenure as head coach.
“His
thing last (Tuesday) night was that he was as frustrated as we were,” shooting
guard David Wesley said. “Last night, he was like, mad coach. Today he
was more positive coach.”
Silas
went off on his team to the media after the Wizards game – almost as rare
as a Silas locker room tirade.
“I
told the guys that the things I said (in the papers) I meant,” Silas said.
“But I don’t know if any of them read it.”
Evidentially,
a few of the Hornets do read the fish wrap. After getting glad handed for
a half by the bevy of shooting guards otherwise known as the New York Knicks,
Charlotte came out in the second half, Wednesday night and finally did
something they had not done in five basketball games – play defense.
The
Hornets held the Camby-less (five game suspension for throwing a girl punch
at Danny Ferry) Knicks to 33 percent shooting on the game, and snapped
a five game losing streak.
The
team climbing out of its second worst slump of the year made all the local
headlines. That Jamal Mashburn scored 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds
was somewhat lost amid everyone’s relief that the team had pulled out of
its nosedive.
“I
am going to have to talk to him about his assists,” joked Silas after the
Knicks game. “They were down a little bit.”
Evaluating
Charlotte’s nine-player trade with the Miami Heat in the off-season has
been a tricky undertaking. One, because it involved so many players, and
two, because the true impact of trades can take more than one season to
flesh out.
But
the nexus of the trade was this: Charlotte got P.J. Brown and Mashburn.
The Heat got Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason. The rest is extraneous.
Quantitatively,
the Hornets won with the Mash/Jones side of the trade. Jones is having
his typical solid year with the Heat, averaging about 18 points per, adding
some sizzle here and there, and playing tenacious “D”. But Mashburn is
having a career year, and his impact on the team comes in the form of scoring
(20 ppg) rebounding (8 pg) and assists (5pg).
The
Brown/Mason side of the equation, if viewed by the numbers, was a victory
for the Heat. But Silas goes so far as to say that Brown is “…the glue
that holds this team together. He covers up for everybody’s mistakes.”
Strong
words about a guy that is essentially an offensive liability. But every
team should be so lucky as to have one starter who is ego-free enough to
focus on defense and rebounding.
<b>Rumor
Mill:</b> Over weight forward/center Derrick Coleman was being shopped
around by the Bugs last week, but there were no initial takers. New Jersey
expressed an interest, but wanted offer the Hornets two pieces of deadweight
for a player that despite his attitude and weight issues, is extremely
talented. Coleman recently told reporters that he has not asked for a trade.
The
Hornets front office wanted to bring Dell Curry, one of the original Bugs,
back to Charlotte from Toronto via trade. The original deal would have
been a one for one swap – Otis Thorpe for Curry. But Vice President Bob
Bass wanted to throw an extra dead cap weight in the form of Eldridge Recasner,
and the deal was nuked.
Silas,
for one, never supported the trade, saying that the team was already stocked
with shooting guards.
Small
forward Eddie Robinson’s minutes are down – way down – from last season
when the former Central Oklahoma standout emerged as one of the most exciting
young players in the league (well, at least one of the most exciting young
players that you may have never heard of). Robinson recently told reporters
that he is disappointed, but not upset with Silas.
The
truth is, Silas’ execution based offense has exposed E-Rob for what he
is: a totally undeveloped player. Athleticism aside, Robinson lacks mid-range
and long-range jump shot ability. The last time we checked, those attributes
were slightly essential to the shooting guard/small forward position. E-rob
is a mediocre passer, and a horrible defender. Ironically, sources say
that his NBA stock may be at an all-time high. A number of teams have inquired
about him, but Silas for one, hopes that they can keep him around – saying
that he would like a chance to further develop E-Rob’s skills.
ESPN
reported last Thursday that a representative of the Charlotte Hornets ownership
group contacted City of Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy to discuss the possibility
of moving the Hornets to Pittsburgh. The Hornets are yet to reach an agreement
with the City of Charlotte for a new downtown arena. City officials have
gone above and beyond what most cities would do to retain a professional
franchise. They are offering to fund the new arena up front, and lease
it back to the Hornets.
The
impasse between the two parties seems to be the timing – the Hornets want
construction to start this summer, while the city council insists on a
November referendum – and operational rights – the Hornets want to be in
charge of the new arena operations. As one host of a local sports talk
radio show put it, “that is like walking into a car dealership, leasing
a car, and expecting to run the dealership.”
With
the good-faith effort that the City of Charlotte has demonstrated to keep
its team, it would be one of the greatest tragedies in recent NBA history
to have the Hornets leave town.
