In this edition of the NBA PM: Michael Jordan approved for Bobcats…A different look at John Wall…Tiago Splitter could come, but probably won't…Final Four picks…HOOPSWORLD Chats.
Jordan Approved: In a move that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats by NBA legend Michael Jordan. He was already a minority owner in the team, but purchased the controlling interest from Bob Johnson, who brought the NBA back to Charlotte via expansion after the Hornets moved to New Orleans.
"We are pleased that Michael Jordan's purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion," said NBA Commissioner David Stern. "We look forward to the continued growth of the Bobcats, on and off the court, under his leadership."
While it's no surprise Jordan was approved, it sure seemed to happen pretty fast (and no, that's not an assessment from data I've tracked from when agreements have been announced to approval, just a feeling). Of course, why wouldn't it be? Having one of the greatest players in NBA history as a team owner is something that helps the entire league – and for Jordan it's a dream finally realized after being involved with the Washington Wizards and rumored to be interested at one point in headlining a group to buy the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise. I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina," said Jordan. "I plan to make this franchise an organization that Charlotte can be proud of, and I am committed to doing all that I can to achieve this goal."
Johnson had nothing but kind words for Jordan.
"The best decision I made since acquiring the Bobcats was to convince my friend Michael to become an investor in the Bobcats and to appoint him as Managing Member of Basketball Operations. He has always been committed in his work to promote and develop the team and has extended his expertise to Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, including his recommendation that I hire Larry Brown as head coach," said Johnson. "As the new majority owner of the Bobcats, his dedication will be stronger now more than ever. Today's announcement is great news for the Bobcats, the City of Charlotte, the fans and the NBA. I am confident that Michael's leadership will bring success to the Bobcats whether it's measured by on the court performance, success as a business, or making a positive impact in the Charlotte community. I look forward to continuing to work with Michael as an owner."
Today the Bobcats sit at 34-32 on the season, currently ahead of the Miami HEAT for sixth in the Eastern Conference by 0.04 percentage points. If the Bobcats hold on to make the playoffs it will be their first appearance in team history.
A Different Look at John Wall: Who doesn't like playing with numbers? Our friends at Basketball Prospectus do an awesome job of breaking down the numbers and today's entry is no different. Kevin Pelton, based on ESPN's John Hollinger's findings when calculating the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) for college players, wanted to find out why consensus number one pick John Wall of Kentucky wasn't even in the top 100 in Hollinger's PER calculations.
Pelton's research is pretty interesting as to why it worked out that way in Hollinger's ratings. Turnovers and outside shooting hurt Wall in the PER rating, even though he has been a dominant and explosive player for the Wildcats.
Pelton then went on to compare Wall's college season to the freshman seasons of Derrick Rose at Memphis (the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year with the Chicago Bulls) and Tyreke Evans, also at Memphis (the leader for the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year with the Sacramento Kings).
The results are pretty interesting – I won't give you the exact findings because if you are interested, I know you are clicking through to Pelton's article anyway. Let's just say Pelton's data finds Wall likely is better than his PER calculation. As always, great work by Pelton and Basketball Prospectus.
Finally Splitter? There is a little known rule that players who are drafted in the first-round of the NBA Draft but then play three years for non-NBA teams can be treated like free agents. This means that if a player is drafted by a team, then plays in Europe for three years, he can be signed by the team who drafted him for more than his rookie scale contract. In fact, he can be signed for whatever amount that team could give to any other free agent.
If the team is $10 million under the cap, they can offer a contract starting at $10 million. If they are over the cap, they can use up to the full Mid-Level Exception, which will be a little over $5 million for 2010-11 (a drop from recent years, just like with the cap number).
How is that relevant? Well, the San Antonio Spurs drafted big man Tiago Splitter in the first round back in 2007, but one of the reasons he never has jumped the Atlantic Ocean is he makes a heck of a lot more playing there than he would on a rookie scale contract.
Will a MLE deal be enough to convince Splitter to opt out of his contract with Tau Ceramica in Spain this summer? He has the ability, but $5 million may not be enough money to get him to come to the NBA people are telling Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
The potential lockout in 2011 could play into the situation as well.
"That's why they're probably not going to get him, even for the full mid-level," said one NBA executive. "If you've got a nice, guaranteed deal over in Europe, why would you sign over here and face a lockout? I'm telling you, the full mid-level probably isn't going to get it done."
If Splitter came and signed a contract, he would be stuck not getting paid next year just like any other player. He wouldn't be able to sign a deal in Europe because FIBA teams will honor the fact he (and anyone else) has a contract with a NBA team, even if they are not getting paid.
Looking at it from Splitter's point of view, he could come to the NBA, make $5 million, then not be making anything…or he could stay in Spain, make more than that, and not have to deal with any kind of lockout.
Spurs fans may not want to hear it, but Splitter may not be coming at least until the labor situation here works itself out. And even then, the money still has to be right.
Final Four Picks: Time to go on record… My Final Four bracket has Kansas coming out of the Midwest, Kansas State from the West, New Mexico from the East, and Baylor from the South. Yeah, not sure how that happened either. Duke actually goes down to Cal in my second round and then manages to make the Elite Eight. Likely? Not real sure how I feel about how that worked out, but I wrote it in red ink, so there you go. As far as good upset picks in the first round, I have San Diego State over Tennessee, Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State, UTEP over Butler, Murray State over Vanderbilt, Siena over Purdue, Missouri over Clemson, and Washington over Marquette.
In case you are wondering, I've only won a bracket challenge once in my life, so take that for what it's worth.
HOOPSWORLD Chats: Yannis Koutroupis, one of our NCAA experts who also covers the San Antonio Spurs, will kick things off Thursday at 11am Eastern Time – he'll be ready for all your NCAA Tournament questions. Joel Brigham, based in Chicago, is next at 1pm Eastern Time and yours truly will round out the day at 8pm Eastern Time. Remember - get your questions in early for the best shot at getting them answered! For all the complete chat wraps and upcoming schedule, click here!
And, if you so desire, you can follow me on Twitter here.
Also, check out HOOPSWORLD's new and improved message board system! Check it out and create a profile to begin posting, and our experts will drop by as often as possible to answer questions and give opinions.
