2009-10 NBA preview: Charlotte Bobcats

The are at least three questions that will define the Charlotte Bobcats season. The first is how long can Head Coach Larry Brown control in wanderlust? The second is, can this rebuilt team finally start to win? The last question will how the proposed sale of this team will distract it during the season. This will be Brown’s second season with the Bobcats, but he return with only four players who began the 2008-09 season with him. This team has undergone a major roster overhaul that has many feeling optimistic for the coming NBA season.

For Brown, and General Manager Michael Jordan, the Bobcats need to get more versatile. Since they do not have the depth of more established teams they went looking for players who can play multiple positions. To accomplish that they traded away their first ever draft pick, Emeka Okafor, to the New Orleans Hornets for Tyson Chandler. Brown is betting that his athleticism and length will allow him to play power forward and center.

This is a team that finished last in scoring, and missed the playoffs for the fifth time in their five years of existence. Brown is betting that Chandler will help this team run a little more and push the play at their opponents. This is the fourth major trade the club has made since hiring Brown and Chandler joins mid season replacements Boris Diaw and Raja Bell.

This is a team built of many different parts without a major one to focus the offense through, however they were much improved in 2008 and it would not be a total surprise if they snuck into the NBA post season as a 7th or 8th seed. They will also be looking continually to add talent to this tem via free agency or through trades meant to restock a depleted roster.