Thursday, April 19, 2012

Punish the Bobcats

The Charlatan Bobcats are on pace to set the record for NBA futility. The Charlatan Bobcats have lost 18 games straight.  The Charlatan Bobcats lost 16 games straight.earlier in the season. The Charlatan Bobcats regularly start Byron 'don't call me BJ' Mullens. None of this is news. What is news however, is that the NBA will reward the Bobcats for a season of  awful basketball with the greatest chance at winning the Anthony Davis' sweepstakes. As the organization is intrinsically awful they will naturally have Tyrus Thomas mentor Davis so as to ensure his demise and digression into basketball and personal deviance.

In an ideal world the Bobcats should be demoted. Like not 'ha-ha' how funny/ ironic it is that the Bobcats have to play in the USBL or some Eastern European league. Rather they literally devalue the league and the quality of the NBA product while running the possibility of injuring real basketball players on opposing teams during "games".Consider that if/ when the Charlatan Bobcats lose their next game on Friday they will be over 40 games out of first place in the East in a 66 game season. In this short season they've lost 1 game by 40+ points, 8 games by 30-39 points, 12 games by 20- 29 points, and most other losses were by double digits. This type of ineptitude is so statistically unlikely that it borders on malfeasance, or collusion with Vegas line-makers. But punishment for such failure seems harsh and counter-intuitive to the NBA's goal of a balanced, competitive league, right? Perhaps the question should be: Is the culture of losing reflective of unfortuitous circumstances, like a top pick suffering a career-ending injury (i.e., Greg Oden), or is it self-inflicted?

Since purchasing and taking over the team in 2010 Michael Jordan got rid of Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, and Gerald Wallace. Four players who played or will play an important role on playoff or championship teams at some point over the last two seasons. In their place the Bobcats have added Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Jamario Moon, Corey Maggette, and, yes, Eduardo Najera and Byron 'don't call me BJ' Mullens. So, basically the Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster minus their best players getting called-up (likely Cartier Martin) the year the Vipers made it to the second round of the NBDL tournament.

To compensate Jordan and the Bobcats, the NBA should revoke their first overall pick. Regardless of where it falls they should be eliminated from the first round and each team moves up one in the draft. It's not like the Bobcats are diving at the end of the season to increase their chances in the lottery (i.e., the Golden State Warriors now sitting a healthy Bogut, Lee, Curry, and Biedrinis). Rather they spent an entire season serving as schedule fillers and guaranteed wins (so, turn of the 21st century Duke football). Of course knowing Jordan, he'll probably take Harrison Barnes or an unathletic white with a penchant for a good post-game half-court cry with the top pick, or package Davis and a future first rounder for the life-time rights to one Stephen Jackson.

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