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| Monday, September 10 Updated: September 11, 12:10 PM ET Users: Future star Davis at heart of Hornets ESPN.com |
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The Hornets have been successful in the last few years, but the franchise's efforts to focus on the court have been clouded by off-court issues, such as the death of a player, the owner being accused of sexual assault and the possible relocation of the team. The Hornets have had All-Star players in the past, and now they have a potential one on point guard Baron Davis. According to our users, better to focus on Davis than the other issues.
In discussing the Summer Spotlight on the Hornets, we posed this question: What's the big story with the Hornets: a possible playoff berth, the emergence of Baron Davis or the relocation/arena talk?:
Your Hornets Feedback Big story has to be the arena, and the team's future in Charlotte. This city, as well as this franchise, has been dealt far too many blows -- between Bobby Phills' untimely death to our unsuccessful bouts with free agency -- but they still manage to compete year after year. When will the locals realize that this city would not be better off without an NBA franchise, and that if in fact the Hornets do leave, we'll never convince another major league team (yes, I mean baseball, folks) to move here.
Sean
Unfortunately the big story here in Charlotte will be the arena issue. For the record, the arena deal was killed due to dirty political tricks trying to bundle arts and cultural projects together. The arena was never voted on by itself. The people of Charlotte were disgusted by their city council, and therefore rejected the whole package seemingly out of spite. Apathy in Charlotte is a major problem, but it is due to a total lack of team marketing, off-court problems, local contempt for George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge, and the fact that Charlotte is a transplant city where a good proportion of the population has moved here from somewhere else, bringing their former team loyalties with them. Plus, local corporations buy all the lower bowl arena seats but no one uses them. All of this is a shame, because the Bugs are fun and exciting to watch, but the franchise has disgusted the people of Charlotte, and the people are responding by not attending games.
Matt Caporale
Well, personally I am one of those people who likes to look at the good and not the bad, and right now there is very little "bad" to look at in my mind. I have loved Baron Davis' game since I saw him play at UCLA. He is a point guard who plays above the rim and that should prove well for the Hornets this year. He now has the experience in the playoffs that most guys his age don't have and that should play out very well also for the organization. Sure, as long as Derrick Coleman is around, there may be some problems but in my mind as long as he is on the injured list, it's smooth sailing. With guys like Stacey Augmon and Bryce Drew coming in, the team should get to 50-plus wins this year easily. And with the East being so weak, I think they have a legitimate chance at the Eastern conference or NBA Finals.
Matt
Playoffs? The Hornets are a lock. Relocation? Possibly, but it probably won't change the franchise much. The real story here is the emergence of point guard Baron Davis. After a somewhat quiet rookie year Baron's sophomore season was truly a breakout one establishing him as arguably the franchise's most important player. He can penetrate, shoot outside, and pass with great skill. He is also a dedicated player and a real student of the game, which shows in his talent for stealing as well as rebounding. He is definitely deserving of All-Star status and should be the second-most well rounded player in the East behind Jason Kidd. Although a championship may not be in sight now, someday a great team built around Baron could be contenders, and that would be a really big story for the Hornets.
Tom Holowka
Baron Davis is the big story of the Hornets. This guy has great ability and could potentially carry this team wherever he wants to. But can management keep him in Charlotte? Charlotte needs a franchise player badly. Do I need to list the ones they have let go? Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Glen Rice and Eddie Jones. This team will go where Davis leads them.
KJ Kelly
All three of the issues are big in the Charlotte area, but I think that the emergence of Baron Davis and the possibility of the Hornets contending in the Eastern Conference go hand in hand. And, two of those things could possibly play a major role in the team's future in Charlotte, but that's beyond what needs to be seen here. The Hornets have talent offensively and defensively in both the starting lineup (Mashburn, Wesley, Davis, and Campbell on offense, and Brown, Wesley, Davis, and Campbell on defense) and on the bench (Drew, Coleman sometimes, Bullard, and rookie Kirk Haston from Indiana on offense, and Augmon and Magliore on defense). And we know this team can rebound with the best of them. Add to that the best coach that this team has ever had in Paul Silas, and Charlotte fans could be very excited come April of next year. The series with the Bucks last year proves that this team is a serious contender, and that experience from last year should benefit this team mightily as they make a playoff run this year. The Hornets are among the top teams in the East, along with the Sixers, Knicks, Bucks, Raptors, Magic and Heat, and could be playing in June next year. Don't be shocked when the city of Charlotte packs out the arena for what could be the last playoff run in the city of Charlotte. And don't be shocked if that playoff run ends with the Hornets on top of the East (but losing to the Lakers or Kings in the Finals). GO HORNETS!!!
Allen Kamp
You can't really blame the Charlotte fans for declining the new arena. How can you ask the fans to financially support a team that the owners won't financially support? Take a gander at the free agents that Charlotte has failed to sign ... Kobe Bryant, Alonzo Mourning, Eddie Jones, Glen Rice (he WAS an All-Star in Charlotte), Vlade Divac just to name the ones off the top of my head. Then there is the issue of Baron Davis. Yes, he is definitely showing All-Star potential, but if past practices are any indication, the Hornets won't pay him what he's worth and he'll bolt for greener pastures as soon as he can. Speaking of greener pastures, let's not forget that Charlotte management created the skyrocketing salaries with the Larry Johnson contract extension. Charlotte has been the poster organization for mismanagement since their third year in existence. The team overachieved last year because they played like a team and had a great coach, but in the end they are just a bunch of unwanted rejects from the teams that we gave our All-Stars to. Let's see if Mr. Shinn will keep a coach around and a decent core of players together long enough to let the taxpayers regain their foregone confidence and love for the team.
Matt
In my opinion, Baron Davis is the big story here. He has the potential to put up Jason Kidd-like numbers and is a much better athlete. I traded Terrell Brandon for Davis in my fantasy league last year and everyone thought I was crazy. If he keeps developing like he has been, he's more worthy than Kidd as starting PG on the East All-Star team. He's a lot more fun to watch and can throw down some nasty dunks. The only thing he has to do is improve his 3-point shot and be willing to be a little more selfish, then he can be a 20 ppg, 9 apg, 6 rpg point guard.
Matthew Lobacz
I think the emergence of Baron Davis will be one of the deciding factors for the Hornets future. If Davis doesn't keep on improving and making his game bigger and better, the Hornets are really stuck. That said, it's also important that David Wesley and Jamal Mashburn keep playing at the level they were at last year. Big things can't come from Elden Campbell and P.J. Brown, but they should do as well as last year, and the bench is looking great. I definitely think the Drew trade is a bigger move than most people think, and Augmon should do some great things of the bench, with more minutes than he saw in Portland.
Chris Philpott
The big story with the Hornets is definitely the emergence of Baron Davis. Have you seen him lately in the Goodwill Games? He's on fire! After last season he already proved that he is a star of the future, but this season if he puts up better numbers, he could have a shot for the All-Star Game. If Davis can lead Team USA to gold, imagine what he could do with the Hornets. He'll lead them to the playoffs and with guys like David Wesley and Jamal Mashburn there alongside him, they can make some serious noise in the postseason. But I don't know how they let Eddie Robinson leave town; they both wanted each other but yet they still couldn't come to terms with one another. He would have been a huge help off the bench, as he showed late last season. With the franchise on its way up, why would the Hornets even think about relocating?
Simon
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