Charlotte Bobcats

First up, we have the Bobcats' news conference scheduled at 6 p.m. EST, per Rick Bonnell. They are expected to announce the team's decision to change the franchise's name to the Hornets. Shortly after that, the NBA will have the draft lottery on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. Godspeed, ping-pong balls. The following are the Bobcats' odds for each draft pick: First - 19.9 percent Second - 18.8 percent Third - 17.1 percent Fourth - 31.9 percent Fifth - 12.3 percent

The Charlotte Bobcats will hold a news conference Tuesday evening, where the team is expected to announce it is bringing the Hornets nickname back to the city. Former point guard Muggsy Bogues, arguably the most recognizable person to ever put on a Hornets jersey, said bringing the nickname back to Charlotte is a good move. "I think it's the right decision," he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. Multiple reports say the Bobcats will move ahead with the name change after a three-year grassroots campaign. "It feels good to be able to say Charlotte Hornets," said Scotty Kent, a longtime Hornets fan and member of the Bring Back the Buzz movement. Bogues played for the Hornets for nearly a decade in an era when Charlotte rallied around its first pro sports team. "They knew us," Bogues said. "They knew our families. We were part of the community." The Hornets sold out 364 consecutive games back then. Bogues said bringing the name, logo and colors back to Charlotte could help restore the city's love for basketball. "People remember good times and I think they want to get back to the good times." Supporters of the name change acknowledge ticket sales and a winning team are still top priorities no matter what the front of the jersey says. "The best way to say it is this movement has just started," Kent said. "Now we've got to prove to this team and this city that it was the right move." Bogues agreed. He said the team needs to make the switch carefully, taking care not to alienate existing season ticket holders, who've backed the Bobcats financially for years. "You've got a core base and you've got to make sure they understand that they're a part of the change, they feel good about the change, and it's their franchise." The NBA has to approve any name change, although the league has signaled it would be okay with the switch. Changing nicknames will take at least a year, and will cost the franchise millions of dollars. The Charlotte Bobcats will hold a news conference Tuesday evening, where the team is expected to announce it is bringing the Hornets nickname back to the city. Former point guard Muggsy Bogues, arguably the most recognizable person to ever put on a Hornets jersey, said bringing the nickname back to Charlotte is a good move. "I think it's the right decision," he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. Multiple reports say the Bobcats will move ahead with the name change after a three-year grassroots campaign. "It feels good to be able to say Charlotte Hornets," said Scotty Kent, a longtime Hornets fan and member of the Bring Back the Buzz movement. Bogues played for the Hornets for nearly a decade in an era when Charlotte rallied around its first pro sports team. "They knew us," Bogues said. "They knew our families. We were part of the community." The Hornets sold out 364 consecutive games back then. Bogues said bringing the name, logo and colors back to Charlotte could help restore the city's love for basketball. "People remember good times and I think they want to get back to the good times." Supporters of the name change acknowledge ticket sales and a winning team are still top priorities no matter what the front of the jersey says. "The best way to say it is this movement has just started," Kent said. "Now we've got to prove to this team and this city that it was the right move." Bogues agreed. He said the team needs to make the switch carefully, taking care not to alienate existing season ticket holders, who've backed the Bobcats financially for years. "You've got a core base and you've got to make sure they understand that they're a part of the change, they feel good about the change, and it's their franchise." The NBA has to approve any name change, although the league has signaled it would be okay with the switch. Changing nicknames will take at least a year, and will cost the franchise millions of dollars.

Join us Tuesday night in the chat room ( register to gain access ) for what has become a yearly ritual where Commissioner Stern screws the Charlotte Bobcats fans out of prime draft position. Need a refresher? Over the years, Stern and his clearly rigged lottery have managed to position the Bobcats one slot behind [...]

According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer the Bobcats will announce that they wish to change their name to the Hornets Tuesday. As many know, the Bobcats were originally the Charlotte Hornets throughout the nineties before being moved to New Orleans in 2002. New Orleans changed their name to the Pelicans, giving the Bobcats the opportunity to reclaim the Hornets name. The announcement will take place at Time Warner Cable arena Tuesday at 6 p.m. EST. This does not come as too much of a surprise considering news broke Saturday that the Bobcats started the name-changing process. I do find it weird that the team chose to make the announcement on the same day as the draft lottery, however. Maybe they're looking for some luck. Either way, according to Adam Silver, a name change can't take place for another 18 months which means the Bobcats would not be able to officially adopt the Hornets name until the 2014-2015 season. More: Bobcats begin name-changing process Bobcats statement about name change (Jan. 20)

Charlotte took another step in 2012-13 and the foundation is in place as the Cats look to build into a playoff contender. For now, Matt Rochinski, Steve Martin, Scott Lauer and Ben Swanson give their takes on the Conference Finals.

With the 2013 NBA Draft Lottery approaching, nine teams participating in the lottery collaborated to answer three lottery-related questions about their respective squads.

We obviously need a four and five above all other positions and I think Bennett is the most NBA ready of those positions in the draft. Noel is only 206 pounds, wont play until 2014 and has little offensive skills. I think Bismack is pretty close to him right now, so I dont really want him. McLemore is smaller than thought and does have an offensive game but to me isnt better than Hendo right now and might or might not ever be better. Who else is talked about in the top 2 or 3? People like Burke but to me unless he is going to be a dominant PG in the league, why take him when our best player is our PG? So that leaves Bennett to me. If we do get the top pick, trading back to 4 or 5 and getting another 1st would be perfect. Also somehow convinces Big Al to come here would be amazing but even if those things dont happen, I am throwing my name in the Bennett column. Thoughts or opinions?? We obviously need a four and five above all other positions and I think Bennett is the most NBA ready of those positions in the draft. Noel is only 206 pounds, wont play until 2014 and has little offensive skills. I think Bismack is pretty close to him right now, so I dont really want him. McLemore is smaller than thought and does have an offensive game but to me isnt better than Hendo right now and might or might not ever be better. Who else is talked about in the top 2 or 3? People like Burke but to me unless he is going to be a dominant PG in the league, why take him when our best player is our PG? So that leaves Bennett to me. If we do get the top pick, trading back to 4 or 5 and getting another 1st would be perfect. Also somehow convinces Big Al to come here would be amazing but even if those things dont happen, I am throwing my name in the Bennett column. Thoughts or opinions??

The Bobcats fired rookie head coach Mike Dunlap shortly after the season ended, to the confusion and anger of some, and satisfaction of others. A season after the infamous 7-59 record, he had helped the team win 14 more games this year, though with the benefit of a much better roster with more confident young players and a longer season. The Bobcats front office said that they were looking for something else to build their youth around. And so today, we'll look at how well we think Dunlap did this season. Ben It's tough to grade a coach with only one season under his belt. A complete culture change cannot occur in a single season. Personnel turnover had only begun when Dunlap came in. Only a certain amount of blame can be placed on Dunlap for failing in defense when the team's roster has such limited talent on that side of the court. And yet, Dunlap did fail, especially on defense. His zone defense scheme had neither the talent nor the discipline to work, helping make for one of the worst defenses in the league. The offense was only slightly better, but still lacked discipline and execution. There was a clear lack of off-ball movement and too much reliance on dribble-drive penetration as a result until Josh McRoberts and Gerald Henderson gave the Bobcats and offensive boon late in the season. However, he did get the team to consistently give their full energy every game, which is something I can appreciate. The topic of player rotations was also a point of irritation for some fans, especially with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Dunlap often went away from Kidd-Gilchrist due to offensive deficiencies even though his on/off statistics show a net positive when he's on the court. With all these things considered, I'd have to grade Mike Dunlap's first and last season as Bobcats head coach as a C-. He wasn't dealt good cards, but I thought he did slightly below average for what he had. With another season or two under his belt with a better roster and more experience, who knows how much he could have improved, but clearly the Bobcats felt that his potential improvement could not match the possibility of finding a better coach. Chris I give Dunlap a C- on the season. As many know I'm well documented on supporting Dunlap this season. I feel like with the situation he was given he didn't do as horrible as others may think. He was given a bad roster where he had literally no direction to go but up. He played the young players minutes (probably should have given MKG some more) and the team definitely improved. In January the team was almost unwatchable. Midway through March the Cats looked like an actual basketball team. So the young players grew and the team became watchable. That's about all we wanted or expected from him, right? David I really like that Mike Dunlap is a basketball guy, through and through. At the time of his hiring so long ago, that was the thing I was most excited about and so it probably makes sense that he's no longer the head coach of the Bobcats. For in the NBA, or really at any level, you do have to be more than just a "basketball guy." Everyone at the NBA level is a basketball guy, so you have to be able to relate to your players, work with your players and get them to buy in to what you're trying to do, among other things. But it appears as if that failure to connect was his ultimate downfall. The pundits (pundits being everyone on the internet who LOVES cracking wise about the Bobcats, so...everyone on the internet) scream the what-did-you-expect-of-him line, and with good reason. The Bobcats were so bad the season before that almost any uptick in anything would have been an improvement. It was nice to see Charlotte get more wins, because hey, wins are fun. And Kemba Walker, Byron Mullens, and Bismack Biyombo all improved but those players deserve credit for making strides, it wasn't just Dunlap. The ineffectiveness of the zone defense seemed a fireable offense, but only when the Bobcats were runn

The Charlotte Hornets are on their way back, according to a report from CBSSports.com. The news was later confirmed by Rick Bonnell at The Charlotte Observer. There’s still a lot that’s up in the air. While the league hasn’t officially approved the change yet, that seems like it’ll be a formality. Incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver has previously said that he’s “fine with whatever the Bobcats decide.” It’s likely there won’t be any change until the 2014-2015 season, but no official timetable has been set. While the former New Orleans Hornets were able to fast-track a change to the Pelicans brand, it doesn’t appear that the league will be doing the same for Charlotte. What form the new Hornets will take is also unclear. Bonnell’s source wouldn’t comment on whether the iconic teal-and-purple color scheme would also be returning, but it’s hard to believe ownership would go in a different direction. The Bobcats name wasn’t loved by many in the city, and some of that had to do with the mixed feelings people had about Robert Johnson’s run as owner. I’m happy to see the Hornets return, but I don’t see much point in spitting on the Bobcats’ grave. Despite a rough nine years (and counting), the team brought professional basketball back to Charlotte — and that means more than how little-loved the name might have been.

CBS Sports reports that the Bobcats have begun the process to return the Hornets name back to Charlotte's NBA team, citing a source with knowledge of the process and a website domain ownership change. Honestly, what I write after this doesn't even matter. At this point, everyone's pretty much made up their mind whether they want the name back or don't want it back or don't care if they're called the Charlotte Centipedes. As it seems, a majority undoubtedly wants the name back, but as future NBA commissioner Adam Silver said to season ticket holders in April, such a change would take at least 18 months. The Bobcats have been diligent in trying to judge public opinion with surveys and polling groups since the New Orleans Hornets announced their rebranding to the New Orleans Pelicans. I don't know. Maybe I've just expected this regardless so I'm not excited or anxious for more developments or whatever. Perhaps I've been drained because of how the topic of a name change has been raised every six months for the past few years or how obnoxious some people are about a perceived necessity of a name change while many of us watch a miserable product on the court on a nightly basis. Honestly, I'm much more excited or anxious or whatever for the draft lottery, draft workouts, the draft and, hell, anything that actually has to do with improving the team's future at this point. But by all means, I welcome everyone who wants to celebrate! (sidenote: nbabobcats.com redirects to Lake Norman Real Estate)