Charlotte Bobcats: 30 Teams in 30 Days

2008 Statistics

Finished 35-47, fourth in Southeast Division, tenth in Eastern Conference

Missed Postseason

Key additions

Tyson Chandler via trade, Gerald Henderson via draft, Derrick Brown via draft, Robert Vaden via draft

Key losses

Emeka Okafor via trade, Sean May via free agency

The Charlotte Bobcats, coming off of their fifth year in the league, appeared to be making serious progress as a franchise as they came their closest to a postseason run.

They fell short in the end, but gained experience and came together as team.

One more year together and they might have been in serious contention for a playoff spot.

All the ideas of making a run in the 2009-'10 season came to a halting stop though, as the team traded away its star center Emeka Okafor for oft-injured center Tyson Chandler from the New Orleans Hornets.

Okafor averaged a double-double for his entire career with the team, and only had one injury plagued season, in fact Okafor has not missed a game in two seasons.

Chandler has never been an offensive force, and has trouble creating his own shot. His injuries usually get in the way of his performance.

Chandler has not played a full season in his eight year career and only played 45 games last season.

Tyson averages nine points, eight rebounds and one block per game over his career. His length does cause problems for opponents, but Okafor still exceeds him in blocks per game for his career.

It's a disappointment to see Okafor leave this team after it appeared that Charlotte could become a serious contender for a playoff spot, but because of the trade for Tyson Chandler the plans have changed and it looks like the team might be in a rebuilding stage.

The Bobcats can also expect another last place finish in the Southeast division, with teams like the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards stacking up on talent, Charlotte is going back to a spot it is very accustomed to.

While the team does not look ready to make a playoff run for the 2009-10 season, it still has a lot of young talent it can rely on.

Gerald Wallace has emerged as the team leader after a number of successful seasons with Charlotte. He is coming off of an average of 17 points and eight rebound per game for the season last year, and led the team in points.

Raymond Felton, who is the current starting point guard, is in limbo with the team as no agreement has been met between him and the organization.

If Felton stays, he will remain the teams starting point guard, with second year player DJ Augustin as his backup. Augustin was Charlotte's first round pick of the 2008 draft and had a convincing season, as he averaged 11 points and three assists per game.

If Felton and the Bobcats cannot create a new contract in the future, Augustin would make a suitable starter. Felton has not lived up to his expectations as a number five pick and his shooting has been erratic since his introduction in the league.

One of the most notable pickups this off season was the drafting of former Duke University guard Gerald Henderson.

Henderson was a standout in college and his excellent mid-range game could help the Bobcats in the future. He averaged 17 points per game in his years at Duke and if trained right, could bring a lot of scoring to a Bobcats team that desperately needs it.

Charlotte finished last in the league last year when it came to scoring.

Raja Bell will continue to be in the starting lineup as the team's shooting guard, but that could end if Henderson performs well enough.

In his first year as a part of the Bobcats, Bell averaged 13 points and four rebounds per game. His 3-point shooting touch has been his specialty and hopefully he can bring the totals he put up with the Phoenix Suns to Charlotte.

The Charlotte Bobcats are a team looking for a purpose, looking to emerge out of the basement and join the contenders of the East. While it might appear far fetched for now, if the team's young talent can gain experience and get some leadership, a postseason could be in Charlotte's future.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG-Raymond Felton

SG-Raja Bell

SF-Gerald Wallace

PF-Boris Diaw

C-Tyson Chandler

This is part three of a thirty day series of 2009-10 season previews of each NBA team. My profile will contain every other team that has been previewed before.