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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 14, 2014 16:21:10 GMT -6
 Charlotte Hornets Media Day- After back to back losing seasons, Charlotte hasn't had a lot of optimism to dig themselves out of the cellar of the Central Division. With so much change occurring in the Central Division alone, such as the Cavaliers picking up Muggsy Bogues and Toronto nabbing Pervis Ellison from the Hawks and even the Hawks picking up one time Hornet, Johnny Newman and even Reggie Williams, the competition will be difficult night in and night out in what is believed by many within the division to be the best in the game today. - Out goes Bimbo Coles, George McCloud among others. In coming were sharp shooter, Tim Legler from Toronto and Spud Webb from Minnesota. After training camp, Tom Gugliotta and Sean Elliot look as primed as ever to bring the Hornets back to the playoffs and possibly beyond. - All the Hornets players are sitting along media row including the General Manager, Nick Malone ready and prepared to answer any questions the media may have to begin this next season in play. GM Nick Malone: Ladies and Gentlemen and cats, let me all thank you for participating in our yearly media day. I see a lot of new faces here but ones that I'm sure will ask all the good and hard hitting questions we'll all face here today. The days of toiling around in the basement of the Central Division will hopefully be over when we are in the playoff picture. I believe that this club has the chance to do that this year. The floor is yours. |
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Post by WigNosy on Mar 14, 2014 19:27:02 GMT -6
Most people thought Billy Owens would be your starting Small Forward until that unfortunate incident with three live octopi and a pufferfish in training camp. Do you regret the decision to let McCloud go? Who gets the starting forward job now?
Also, how did you feel about the league's Official Hairless Cat of Record assigning the Hornets a D grade in the offseason for your Free Agency moves?
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kucoach7
Junior Member
Portland Trail Blazers
Posts: 268 
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Post by kucoach7 on Mar 14, 2014 19:58:07 GMT -6
I loved the Gheorghe Muresan pick but, tell me, has he been causing problems in the club house? I mean, the guy is just too big, and he doesn't speak English. Did you have to build a giant locker for him and his interpreter?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 14, 2014 22:49:48 GMT -6
Most people thought Billy Owens would be your starting Small Forward until that unfortunate incident with three live octopi and a pufferfish in training camp. Do you regret the decision to let McCloud go? Who gets the starting forward job now? Also, how did you feel about the league's Official Hairless Cat of Record assigning the Hornets a D grade in the offseason for your Free Agency moves? : I cannot condone his eating habits and his accidents at sea world. That's just unacceptable for any human being to get himself involved in. I will admit that he was going to have a big role before camp starter then it seemed like he cared more about what happened else where outside of anywhere but his game. Yes, very disappointing as he could have really given an impactful punch to the second unit and had garnered quite the consideration around the league. Well, that's not the case now. The starting job will be Sean Elliot's. His ability to penetrate opposing defense with his size and his skill to drill a few threes a game will make him a vital component to our success this season. I guess Charlotte isn't where you'd go then for the best kind of cat-nip. I understand the grade. I do. There's always a great deal of uncertainty but out of every other team in the NBA, I'd say we have a wild card tendancy. We could make the playoffs or play the role of spoiler for much of this season. I expect us to surprise a lot of teams but you can probably question the kind of deals that were given to our two free agent signees. I feel that for Legler's youth and shooting skill and versatility that our deal with him will pay off big time. Spud is a veteran that knows how to play this game and after coming over from Minnesota where it Mr. NR was tearing the walls down and everything else there to improve his draft status, Spud wants to prove that he can still play at a high level. As long as Gugliotta continues to develop and prove that he was the best PF out of his position in last year's draft, everything else is window dressing and there's no question that the D, you scored for us here in Charlotte will be a point of motivation. |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 14, 2014 22:53:53 GMT -6
I loved the Gheorghe Muresan pick but, tell me, has he been causing problems in the club house? I mean, the guy is just too big, and he doesn't speak English. Did you have to build a giant locker for him and his interpreter? : I appreciate your question but we here in Charlotte have no issue dealing with our foreign investments. We've dealt with a 7-7 center before in Manute Bol who had a bad attitude and was and is honestly past his prime. We gave him an opportunity to prove he could play and he was shipped out for a deal we felt we couldn't pass up. With Gheorghe, His skills far supersede what Manute Bol could ever dream of being. His rebounding and defense in the paint will be an anchor for us playing next to Gugs. As I said before, this is how we can bring our game to the next level. Muresan will be a big key to our success as well as he develops his game to the American level and also learns the language. We are already educating him on the difference between Nascar and a car. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 15, 2014 7:12:11 GMT -6
Can you speak to the disrespect being hurled your way or do you see it as something you need to prove wrong?
Upside is, the Bucks blow things up more times than they've made the playoffs. Their spot should be up for grabs soon.
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Post by bowtothebill23 on Mar 15, 2014 7:45:15 GMT -6
Jack Markson, Golden Take. First of all, while you say your goals are playoffs, what would be the minimum that'd have to happen for you to consider this season a success? Also Tom Gugliotta. Can he be a #1 player on a championship team or will you have to find a #1 player so he can be a second or third option?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 11:30:24 GMT -6
Can you speak to the disrespect being hurled your way or do you see it as something you need to prove wrong? Upside is, the Bucks blow things up more times than they've made the playoffs. Their spot should be up for grabs soon. : I think in a way that the rest of the league looked at my moves and saw that there was a moment of short term gain without any long term benefits by literally throwing away top 10 draft picks in a way the last 2 years. Then trading away those benefits for younger improvements that never panned out. I think also that the criticisms are valid in a way but a point of motivation, It drives us to be better always than what we performed the year before and I think we have the people and players in place to do that this upcoming season. |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 12:34:24 GMT -6
Jack Markson, Golden Take. First of all, while you say your goals are playoffs, what would be the minimum that'd have to happen for you to consider this season a success? Also Tom Gugliotta. Can he be a #1 player on a championship team or will you have to find a #1 player so he can be a second or third option? : I definitely think he can be. We wouldn't have drafted him last year if we didn't think he could be. But I'll let him answer that. Nick passes the microphone down the line to his star player.Tom Gugliotta: I know I can be. The Hornets gave me the minutes to prove myself last year and I didn't take that opportunity for granted. Playing with shitty teammates like Sean Elliot last year and Vernon Maxwell and Kevin Edwarda helped me grow as a player and person. Playing my college ball here, I know how appreciative these fans are and can be here in the Carolina's. They deserve a winner on the court and playing with a proven veteran like Spid Webb will only help improve my game in the long run. I'm really looking forward to this season ahead and surprising a lot of people. |
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Post by NOLa. on Mar 15, 2014 13:20:52 GMT -6
Is this the year you break into the playoffs as a full time owner or do you think you're still a couple of pieces away?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2014 13:28:20 GMT -6
We've seen a lot of trades early in your your young GM career. A lot of scrutiny has come from a large portion of those deals. You also were a team that seemed to lack direction a bit. Since then you've seemed to slow down with trades and your team is starting to take shape. Do you attribute that to sheer experience or have you run out of moves ?
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logpmess
Junior Member
Miami Heat
Posts: 557
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Post by logpmess on Mar 15, 2014 13:41:19 GMT -6
You have a good young team this year that has the ability to make a real run, but you seemed to be locked into a salary cap issue come next year. Is this an issue you are looking to deal with during the year, or do you plan to worry about the cap during next offseason?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 14:18:51 GMT -6
Is this the year you break into the playoffs as a full time owner or do you think you're still a couple of pieces away? The moment that you start thinking your team becomes complacent, you've already fallen down the rabbit hole to obscurity. I think this team can compete at a high level. I think as long as we stay healthy too that there is a real shot to make this squad a formidable one amongst the Eastern Conference. The talent is so tough that any of the teams in our division can make the playoffs. With maybe the exception of Milwaukee. Without a draft pick also in next years draft, there's an added goal to make it to the playoffs too. With the players I have around me today, that is the goal we aspire to reach and I think we can do it. |
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Post by Conroy on Mar 15, 2014 14:20:38 GMT -6
Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, can you talk a little bit about the gameplan and rotation? You've got some nice pieces in Gugliotta and Sean Elliot, what's the plan to put them in the best position for success this season?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 14:25:52 GMT -6
We've seen a lot of trades early in your your young GM career. A lot of scrutiny has come from a large portion of those deals. You also were a team that seemed to lack direction a bit. Since then you've seemed to slow down with trades and your team is starting to take shape. Do you attribute that to sheer experience or have you run out of moves ? I think that's a key. We sat down and really looked at our team and had to change up our philosophy a bit and appreciate the the stars that we have instead of the ones we wanted. Gugliotta with really taking over a leadership role this season and being our captain at such a young age will really help out this club a lot. I love what our 2 new draft picks in Muresan and Burrell can do at the next level here and develop into either great role players or beneficial starters with enough Minutes. I'm really trying to slow down on the moves we can make but we are right up against the cap. I will do whatever move I can make at the benefit of our club. |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 14:30:13 GMT -6
You have a good young team this year that has the ability to make a real run, but you seemed to be locked into a salary cap issue come next year. Is this an issue you are looking to deal with during the year, or do you plan to worry about the cap during next offseason? If we can find a willing partner that wants some great role players at a reduced price after 60 days, then maybe something will work out but we will worry about that next year if nothing pops up on the radar this year. Nothing too much to worry about. Thanks though. |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 14:45:08 GMT -6
Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, can you talk a little bit about the gameplan and rotation? You've got some nice pieces in Gugliotta and Sean Elliot, what's the plan to put them in the best position for success this season? Thanks for the question Bill and welcome back. In fact, all these questions have been great so far. You guys and cat are some really smart cookies. Now onto your question, I felt last year we had to play Gugs out of position at the 5 because we had no one there of substance that could fill the role. Now, with this last draft, there was an over abundance of wings and 2 guards but none that answered our issues at the 2 most important positions, pg and center. Now, we really valued what Bimbo did for us for the last few years and for his skill, had a great value contract. But with the pick we had in the draft, we knew we couldn't have gotten the player we wanted most. So we contacted your favorite GM in Boston, Mr. Conroy and we were able to work out a deal that worked out for both parties. We got our center of the future in Mr. Muresan. I'll answer more after a quick phone call. |
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 15, 2014 15:59:50 GMT -6
GM Nick Malone: Sorry about that, just had to call off the Hounds of Justice from going up to Toronto and wrecking the shit out of the Perv and the HIV Magic. Anyways...
With Muresan in the fold now, we saw this free agent pass as being really rich with point guards. While we didn't get our #1 option in free agency, we felt we got a great alternative on a much cheaper deal than what we saw were being given out on the first day of free agency. We needed to over pay though to some extent to get some help to Charlotte because we don't have the advantage of an LA or NY in being a big market. We felt though that these additions will help set the core to build around Gugliotta and Elliot and even Legler for the next few years to come at least.
With Muresan at the center position, we now have Gugliotta back at his normal position at the 4, Elliot as a rich 2 way player that can play the wing. Legler and Webb will also fill most likely the starters slots in the backcourt though there could always be some good competition between Edwards and Mad Max as well to contribute and get minutes at the 2.
Keep it going gang. Loving the questions.
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Post by IamQuailman on Mar 17, 2014 12:00:43 GMT -6
Will Maukie, Milwaukee Tribune.
I feel that you have truly collected some youth and talent on your team finally; however, some may feel that you had slightly overpaid to snag Tim Legler and Spud Webb. Do you agree?
FYI, I loved the Tim Legler signing for you.
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 17, 2014 14:01:07 GMT -6
GM Nick Malone: Hey Will, thanks for the question. When we traded Bimbo Coles, we knew that the free agent pool was rich in the point guard position. We may have maxed out our cap right now for at least this season but the way we looked at it, as good as Spud has been in the past, he's the kind of guy we need right now that isn't on that long term of a deal and we feel like if he can boost his performance as a stop gap, he may be able to resign with us if he chooses too in a year or so but this gives us an alternative possibly depending on how the Warriors go in a year or two, maybe we can find a better cheaper alternative in the future. But for right now, Spud, with his ball handling skills and ability as an athletic 30 year old to find Gugliotta in the right spots and Elliot and Legler is just what we need.
Also, Legler was a guy that approached us and wanted to sign with us. He's young enough to contribute right away and when people are handing out longer term contracts for guys that may have just taken the money and ran, he wanted to further his game and make it a point to the two organizations that gave up on him in New York and Toronto that he can be one of the more underrated shooting guards in the game today. We want to protect our assets now and give them the same value that they saw in us. We feel that the core of this squad is developing nicely in Gugliotta, Elliot and Legler and we will look to challenge some teams in our division this year.
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Post by IamQuailman on Mar 17, 2014 16:53:12 GMT -6
AWARDED 5 POINTS (Count towards your 93-94 media day press release 5-pt accrual)! THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!
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credit loco for photoshop
