Did Michael Jordan Hire the Best Coach Available or Just the Cheapest?

The Charlotte Bobcats turned heads with the decision to hire St. John's assistant coach Mike Dunlap to take on the organization's vacant head-coaching position, but not in the way Carolina fans might have hoped.

Dunlap hardly qualified as the biggest name on the market, and it's impossible to acknowledge the move without recognizing the possible financial motivations behind it (via Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski):

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Also, Michael Jordan doesn't want to pay for a basketball coach. And clearly that's part of hiring Mike Dunlap, a Big East assistant coach.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 19, 2012"

Still, Wojnarowski believes that Dunlap has the pedigree to be well worth the risk:

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Dunlap's considered an excellent X's and O's coach on college level, well-respected in profession. Still, a huge gamble for Michael Jordan.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 19, 2012"

Chances are that Jordan's decision will ultimately prove to be a wise basketball move.

Dunlap has the kind of down-to-business mentality that should help turn a struggling young club around. He also prefers an up-tempo approach that could make the most of those youthful legs, including still-developing pieces like Kemba Walker, Bismack Biyombo and whomever the Bobcats wind up taking in June 28's draft.

Even if Dunlap wasn't on your map when the offseason search commenced, that doesn't mean it was the wrong decision. In fact, the willingness to take someone so under-the-radar may be one of the decision's great merits.

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl certainly thinks so:

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Elated about Mike Dunlap going toCharlotte! To hire a guy of knowledge and character more than spin and perception makes me feel great.

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) June 19, 2012"

Given Karl's long history of success in the profession, he might just know a thing or two about why Dunlap will make a good fit for the job.

Dunlap will be asked first and foremost to mentor the nascent roster and help it develop into something that actually resembles a professional basketball team.

Don't be surprised to see the Bobcats make some strides defensively and play with a maturity level that was woefully absent in the club's embarrassing 7-59 2011-12 campaign. It would be hard not to improve upon such a disaster.

That won't stop scrutiny of Jordan's ever-frugal spending habits, though.

Dunlap has never been a head coach in the NBA, nor has he even assumed that role at the Division I level. That certainly shouldn't disqualify him, but it will feed already existing perceptions that MJ is as cheap as owners come.

There's still a very good case to be made that Jordan is just that, but there's a better case to be made that a low-profile name like Dunlap is just what this club needs. The less attention, the better—at least until Charlotte extricates itself from the basement of the NBA standings.

If and when it does so, bringing Dunlap aboard could do wonders for MJ's Bobcats legacy.