Yesterday on CBS Sports, a source revealed that “The Charlotte Bobcats are in the process of changing their name back to the Hornets”. There have been other reports and sources indicating a name change, but all have been quickly silenced by the Bobcats organization, however as of yet, we have heard nothing from the Bobcats on this most recent news. This suggests that a name change could be on the way. The Bobcats have been researching throughout the season with two different surveys sent out to season ticket holders and residents of the Charlotte area to see if a name change would be favorable. Jordan estimates the price of the name change to cost about $3 million. If he is willing to make this investment, it would be a strong indication that Jordan is willing to invest in the Bobcats organization long term. This should go someway to silencing his critics who believed that the team’s Gerald Wallace and Eric Dampier trades were simple money saving moves.
Fans in the Charlotte area may not be all that surprised by this decision as there have been various clues throughout the season suggesting a name change. The new Jordan brand shoe which was recently launched, the “V Grapes”, have a distinct color scheme which matches the old Charlotte Hornets teal and green colors.
Soon-to-be NBA commissioner Adam Silver also recently visited the Bobcats organization, apparently for no specific reason, but many fans speculated he was discussing the potential name change. Silver did reveal that any name change would take a little while however, and Bobcats beat reporter Rick Bonnell reported the potential time frame below:
Rick Bonnell @rick_bonnell 2m
Incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver: Any Bobcats potential name change would take at least 18 months to implement., this obviously seems peculiar considering the New Orleans Pelicans were able to change immediately, he said this was because of the unique ownership circumstances.
Another Bobcats fan who was able to speak to Silver at a town meeting reported to The Lottery Mafia: “I spoke with Silver and asked him about the 18 month timeline and why it was expedited for Nola. Silver responded that Tom Benson knew from day 1 what he wanted (he actually told me the Arch Bishop told Benson he should pick Pelicans), and the Bobcats still haven’t officially applied for the name change.”
However, what does this mean for the Bobcats? If the process does take at least 18 months, surely this will affect the team’s merchandise sales. It will be interesting to see how the Bobcats organization does eventually react to this news. One movement which will be happy to hear this news is “Bring Back The Buzz” who have been actively campaigning for the last few years to try and get the Hornets name back in Charlotte. One question that still seems unanswered is if the Bobcats will be able to get their history back off the Hornets, but this will most likely be answered within the next few days.
Make sure you check back for more name change news!
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