Charlotte Bobcats’ owner Michael Jordan is interviewing
Patrick Ewing for the Bobcats’ head coaching position? Say it ain’t so Patrick!
I know Ewing wants to coach but even he shouldn’t be desperate enough to want
that job.
But if Jordan does offer Ewing the job and he takes it, I
hope he knows what he’s getting into. There is very little talent on this team
and there isn’t a single player in this draft that could single-handedly turn a
franchise around.
This franchise is a few years away from competing and that’s
assuming they make some good selections in the next few drafts and bring in a
few solid free agents. That’s also assuming that Jordan will stop shipping off
his best players and allow the players he does bring in to develop.
Because no amount of coaching is going to turn this team
into a winner anytime soon and that goes for the other three candidates that Jordan
is rumored to be fond of. Rumor has it that Jordan also plans to speak with
Jerry Sloan, Mike Malone and Nate McMillan over the next month or so.
At least Sloan and McMillan have experience with getting
more out of less. Those two would also be more concerned with teaching the
fundamentals with so many young players on the team.
But if the Bobcats are successful in drafting Anthony Davis
out of Kentucky then that may enhance Ewing’s chances of becoming Charlotte’s
next head coach. Ewing has had success in helping to develop Yao Ming in
Houston and Dwight Howard in Orlando so he would be a good mentor for Davis.
Ewing has stated though that he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed
as just a big man’s coach. If he wants to
shed that reputation then he will
have to seriously convince the Bobcats that he knows his X’s and O’s because
the bouncing balls aren’t usually very kind to the team with the worst record.
And that means that Davis may be playing somewhere else next
season but there are a few more big men that could go high enough in the draft
to be selected by Charlotte. Even if the Bobcats bring in Davis or another big
man in the draft Ewing is still an ill fit for this organization.
The problem is that Jordan and Ewing are friends. Jordan
already has a bad reputation for surrounding himself with friends rather than
making decisions that will benefit the team so hiring another friend may be
viewed as another poor decision on his part.
And if Ewing wants to have any other head coaching
opportunities in the future then it’s best he doesn’t take this job. Things will
most definitely go bad for him in Charlotte and when they do most people will
feel he only got the job because he was Jordan’s friend.
And that will make it harder for people to take him
seriously when head coaching vacancies become available in the future. If a
coach with a proven track record like Sloan or McMillan goes there and things
don’t work out then people will put the blame squarely where it belongs; on
Jordan’s head.
But if Ewing goes there and things go wrong then Jordan has
a scapegoat while Ewing’s future coaching prospects will undoubtedly dry up. I
know Ewing wants to coach badly but for his sake I hope not that badly.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
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