Mike Dunlap will not be back on the Bobcats sideline for the 2013-2014 NBA season, as GM Rich Cho and President Rod Higgins announced earlier today. Dunlap helped triple the Bobcats win total from 7 in the past season to 21 this year.
The goal that the Bobcats, headed by Dunlap, had for this season was the 20 win mark, which is quite modest yet not bad for such a young and, frankly, quite nearly barren team. “I never thought that we were going to blink our eyes and have 35 wins,” Dunlap said last week. “I thought it was always going to be a slog. We’re slowly moving this thing around and again, what’s perspective? The worst team in the history of the NBA (last season), all right, so how do you go from seven wins to, say, 40 wins? That’s pretty tough to do.” With the only true star on the team being Kemba Walker, a big win mark isn’t easily achieved. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the 2nd overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, played well and was a welcome addition, but he was no superstar (yet). Bismack Biyombo played well and has improved in many areas, plus Gerald Henderson’s emergence as a very solid 2 guard was a welcome development. A good trade to essentially bring in Josh Mc(Bob)Roberts for original Bobcat Matt Carroll was a savvy move. Much promise was shown as the Cats started the season at 7-5 and were one of the best stories of the start of the season. But even with these improvements, there wasn’t much hope that the Bobcats would be more than a cellar-dweller.
The decision has been made. There is no way back from this point, and a new coach must be brought in. Phil Jackson had been linked with Cleveland, but news has arisen that the Cavs have very nearly finalized a deal to bring back Mike Brown. Without a doubt, Charlotte will approach Jackson along with many other coaches, and “Since the release, our cellphones have been blowing up,” said Higgins. “It lets you know that there is interest in this job, a high level of interest.” This increased level of interest may allow the Bobcats to find a better, more experienced candidate for the job. But the question remains: Should Dunlap have been fired?
The decision to fire Dunlap was certainly not black and white. The fact that Charlotte went from being by far the worst team in history to a 21 win season, reaching the 20 win mark no less, seems to be enough of a reason to let Dunlap finish his 2 year deal and sort it out after the 2013-2014 season. A team with only one true All-Star caliber player cannot be expected to do great things, and a margin of +14 on wins is a pretty darn good thing, even with such a low mark last season. Dunlap’s start of 7-5 was a great case-maker for his staying on, but the fact that the Cats went 14-56 after that certainly didn’t help. Cho and Higgins had to chose between someone who may or may not be a solid head coach at best, or going after another candidate who may well become, or already be (see Jackson, Phil), better for next season. If the decision were up to me, and it certainly isn’t, I would not have nixed Dunlap yet. Should he have put up anywhere under 30 wins next year, he’d have to be gone for sure, but even through his inconsistency, he showed quite a few signs of promise.
Like it or not, the Bobcats must begin the coaching search for their 6th coach since 2006. The candidates will be looked at, a new player will be drafted, perhaps a few free agents will be signed, and no matter what happens, a new man will be on the bench as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.
By Brandon Garland
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