Finalized this morning, press conference at 1pm this afternoon.
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now letās clean FO house.
Welcome indeed!
We should have some kind of resolution for PJ w/in days. If not, then that will be a bad sign. Hopefully we can sign Theo too!
I hope that MJ holds on to his large minority stake. He has already made is money back in spades. It would be a d@mn shame if the greatest didnāt hold a prominent position in the league.
That was a d@mn good letter!
Unlike most, I was not happy or excited about the ownership change. After listening to their introductory press conference, I feel better about it. Not that it revealed a great deal about them or their approach, but it finally gave some sense of knowledge of who/what they are about.
I know a lot of people want Mitch in particular and Cliff gone and want to āDo Somethingā (i.e. major trades or major free agent signings) and want to Win Now. But I think Mitch, while not perfect as no GM is, is on the right track and has set this team up for a bright future with the young talented core weāre building and cap flexibility for the future. I like his draft evaluations/decisions for the most part and I donāt think it has been the right time to go into āDo Somethingā major mode thus far. Everyone has automatically written Mitch and Cliff off with the change in ownership and that could be the case by the end of the season but Iām not so sure.
I liked that the new owners seem to be taking a measured approach with no immediate plans to change leadership. They also hinted at a measured approach to attracting free agents as Plotkin emphasized developing the youth, building a winning culture, building world class facilities which will all attract the best players via free agency in time. Could be first day lip service but I got the initial impression that they donāt plan to rush the process or make rash changes before evaluating things. Obviously they are smart, calculated, analytical and savvy business men so I think/hope theyāll apply that to their Hornets ownership.
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Plotkin mentioned him and Cliff were from the same place, so seems like thereās a relationship there.
Liked that they mentioned investing in the franchise and analytics/metrics. Those have been criticisms of the previous regime.
The piece about rotating primary governorship with the NBA every five years was interesting between Schnall/Plotkin. Gives me the impression they intend on being around for a while which is great.
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Definitely appreciate the comments of the new ownership group. I am curious if they end up being more accommodating of playersā needs than Jordan just because Jordan had a career early on that involved a lot less glamorous amenities than now, which he may even see as being soft. I have no idea, but I do wonder if for thing like the new practice facility the new ownership will raise the bar substantially.
It was an encouraging press conference. There was a clear identification of areas in which the franchise lacks, from a facility point of view. Also, an accurate acceptance of where weāre at and the avenue to get better ā¦ not panic/ego free agent acquisition, but improving facilities and building on our young players. This has always been the approach I think fits us best ā¦ build the foundation of a franchise that is attractive to free agents, rather than throwing money at over the hill, injury prone mercenary free agents.
Nice to hear the discussions for a practise facility included a commitment to staying to 2045(?). It does seem that the new ownership group have bought the Hornets, not āanā NBA franchise. Local ownership within the new group, and MJ still owning a good chunk of the Hornets, certainly lend further credence to this.
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I think this tweet from @Plowright sums things up rather well, as he is prone to doing:
Count me on board 100% with this approach. Now, please let it become a reality.
Are you sure that you are on board w the āAnalyticsā part?
I ask that question of the entire board.
Analytics are what Mavs management and Mark Cuban are known for and beyond Dirk and Luka (more recently Kyrie) they are not into paying big names. When I think of analytics, I also think of small ball baseball. All of this tells me that they are not looking to spend big and we will see more business as usual.
Analytics told me that Brandon was a better prospect than Scoot and look at how that thinking went over on the board.
Mavs Examples dating back 10 years ago:
Analytics are another tool. You canāt rely solely on one thing such as the eye test or gut. Each tool is useful and has itās function.
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It was good to hear the new owners saying all the nice, encouraging things. I do agree with their approach to the coaching and GM position. Especially considering both their contract status (statuses? statusi? Iād really like it to be statusi), and more importantly, how close the season is to starting.
What I would like to see next is action towards those words. Doesnāt mean cleaning house in the front office right away, but improving the spending reputation of the organization (training/medical staffs, hotel accommodations, etc) - no secret theyāve had the reputation of being cheap. I would hope they can take some immediate steps in areas like that.
Then later things that effect the on court product. Because while I do like what they said, I also have nearly 20 years of āless than optimalā (to be kind) on-court performance that has started with words from management about high-strung goals.
Hopefully these guys will be different, and I sincerely hope they are, but Iām going to need to both hear and see it.
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FOUNDING HORNET do you have a read on the new owners yet?
For now w the signing of Frank, it looks like business as usual and heck yeah this looks like an analytics signing w a guy from the premier NBA analytics team - the Mavs! Analytics all the way down to the cheap @ss short term contract!
Are we sure that we are on board w the analytics approach? I am if this means more money to sign Miles later.
So far these guys have hired RJ Hunter and Frank Ntilikina on short term deals.
Our new two dads! I wonder which is the nicer one to buy us shiny new things, and which is the strict disciplinarian that says no to fun.
Schnall seems more personable, but they both seem bought in to the Charlotte market for basketball as well as the business side. It feels like they actually want to be successful rather than just have a team as a trophy, so I donāt think weāll be stagnant as much as weāve been for the last 20 years. Definitely are interested in spending money to bring our facilities and amenities closer to the what most NBA teams have.
Just need to find a young GM with modernized vision and drive for todays game. I know they canāt really comment on PJ since his not a signed member of the team, but the way they mentioned Miles as part of the young talent we have, it feels theyāre hedging their bets that heād be the priority to keep as a core member over PJ, and probably easier to sign if all things go right.
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Responding to the Analytics question. Iām on board.
Analytics are just a tool. Another way of getting perspective. Ignoring them is like driving with one eye closed. You might be just fine on any given trip doing it that way ā¦ and you might still get in a wreck with both eyes open ā¦ but generally itās better than not to use both eyes if you can.
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The new owners havenāt shown much urgency to fix the roster since taking over. In fact they have been pretty cautious. Itās all adding up:
No real roster moves
Keeping Coach Steve
No front office move
Humble press conference
Low workman like profile
Compare tha to what Mat Ishbia did in Phoenix. That guy went out and got KD right away and said that heās building a champion.
We are in full assessment mode with likely colossal disruption coming next April.
I would assume that Ishbia took over earlier in the offseason and, therefore, had the time to make trades etc. Not to mention, pretty much all trades are on hold waiting to see how the Dame situation plays out and if their franchise is going to be part of it.
Agree completely. Both with your assessment and the idea that we should be. My wish is to invest in infrastructure improvements asap and asses everything personal wise.
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