#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

-- Step right up and feast your eyes on the buzz of the NBA, the Charlotte Hornets! We've got fun and games and even a dunk tank for those that date to try and dunk on Hugo the Hornet! We've also gathered the entire roster of the 1999-2000 Charlotte Hornets here for those that dare to be bold enough to ask the tough questions. General Manager, Nick Malone is also here to address what has gone done since we last spoke 1 year ago. Please take your complimentary grab bag after you've had your fill of all the festivities!



-- Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my! Let's hand off the master of today's ceremony and circus to the general manager of our fine organization, Nick Malone!



-- That's the wrong slide and the wrong guy, let's load a proper picture...



-- Ok, our projector must be broken or its a sign of the Y2J appocalyspe. Regardless, here's our general manager...

Malone: Thanks everyone for attending. We will have to have a talk with our tech department on the malfunctions. Our owner was nice enough despite our underwhelming record last season. We admit that our expectations starting out were a bit more than what we ended up achieving. We played hard the entire season and up until the final few months of the season, we still had a shot to make the postseason. Our 30-52 mark and with every projection landed us with the 7th pick in this past June and we ended up selection Ron Artest. Ron is a phenomenal talent that can play effective defense from multiple positions on the court and could very well be our best defender in crunch time. Also, when he came in for workouts, we were really impressed with his work ethic and his drive to improve. He's happy to have a new home here in Charlotte.

In the background, Hugo is passing around Hornet stickers and taking picture with fans outside of the conference room. Nick is observing some of the writers in the room taking down notes.

Malone: We also made a draft day deal with our friends in the Orlando Magic in dealing away Reggie Miller and Charlie Ward and what turned out to be Jeff Foster in exchange for a a small ball 4 and athletic wing player in Laphonso Ellis and with the 26th pick, we selected prospect, Kenny Thomas. We are going to allow Kenny the time to fully take in the NBA game from the bench and when the time calls for it, he could be thrown into the game but he'll be given the time to grow within our organization. We targeted Laphonso for a few seasons now going back to his days playing with the Detroit Pistons and we look at him as our anchor to score on the second unit. The next few moves were crucial to shaping our depth and building our club beyond what you see on the surface.

Nick looks at a determined Rasheed Wallace examining headband sizes while Allan Houston is practicing his shooting skill.

Malone: We have every intention on making the playoffs and giving the people of Charlotte and the Carolinas an improved basketball product they deserve. We looked at this Free Agency period as a critical time to address our needs. We were having about 10 million dollars come off the books, allowing us to spend and make the necessary moves to try and improve this club. We saw San Antonios limitations and the regression of their talented forward of Rasheed Wallace. They have their own issues to deal with and we structured a deal that wasn't so much of an overreach as much of a talented reward for the kind of talent Rasheed truly is and can be when given the opportunity to succeed. His minutes were getting crunched with the talent that was coming in and taking his minutes. He is an enigma of a talent that possess great skills around the basket. He will have to work hard to improve in these areas but paired with a proven defensive and rebounding veteran like Jayson Williams, he'll get the time to play solid basketball and be a leader on the court for us. But this is a process that takes time and we want him to truly make Charlote HIS home. We struck out on the first few rounds on some of the targets that were around and fell flat on a few offers where guys simply wanted more money but for guys like Greg Graham and Kenny Smith, this will be their time to play important minutes for us off the bench. Even last year, our jumbled cast was still a top 10 defensive club. With a full offseason with the club we have, we are hoping the talent will take the necessary steps to improve.

Fun. It's what the experience is supposed to be but there was a motive to win. Nobody likes a losing season but it takes time to grow and rebuild no matter how long it takes to improve.

Malone: We've noticed that much of our division has improved. We are cautiously optimistic that we can grow with our roster mix of savvy veterans and younger guys that can play a cohesive brand of basketball that will yield the best results. I'll make this promise that if we don't make the playoffs every writer that asks a question today will get a chance to dunk me in the dunk tank this time next year. Have fun and the floor is yours.

Random Reporter: You mentioned Jayson Williams earlier. He's on an expiring deal, right along with starting point guard David Wesley. What's the status on those two going forward? Are you looking to work out an extension, or will you shop around for younger legs?

Jack Markson here. Where do you see the biggest weakness on this team, and how do you plan to address it?

Is Ron Artest the next Tom Gugliotta?

Xist2Inspire wrote:Random Reporter: You mentioned Jayson Williams earlier. He's on an expiring deal, right along with starting point guard David Wesley. What's the status on those two going forward? Are you looking to work out an extension, or will you shop around for younger legs?

Malone: Thank you whoever you are. We look at Jayson and David Wesley as important and valuable members to leading this team for this season. We would like to keep them around for the foreseeable future here in Charlotte but if an opportunity presented itself that would improve this club, we will examine all possibilities.

Bowtothebill23 wrote:Jack Markson here. Where do you see the biggest weakness on this team, and how do you plan to address it?

Malone: Great question Jack. I think identifying our greatest weakness would present us with our strongest strength. I see a solid enough team that when they can work together, can defeat any team in this league. But probably our biggest weakness is probably in our wing spot. We are gonna throw our top draft pick, Ron Artest into the fire, right away and see what he can handle at the 3. He may be our most talented player in a year or so but we will look at seeing what our best options are at least early on in the season and see what Ron Ron can handle.

WigNosy wrote:Is Ron Artest the next Tom Gugliotta?

Malone: We aren't sure yet but we hope he can be that in the future and then some. Tom was a great prospect coming out of NC State and already had well defined traits that were NBA ready once he hit the court. Ron is such an enigma and an intense defender that I think he will be the best defender in his position in a few years and be an all star. He has a lot of work to do but I look forward to seeing him grow as a player here in Charlotte.

Jon Snow, WSN. Rasheed has been one of the biggest busts in league history so what prompted you to believe he was going to come in and make a big impact on your team?

Malone: Great question Jon. I'm of the belief that Rasheed wanted to be a primary focus of his clu. But there were others that prevented him from taking those opportunities from him. He's a very raw talent and a lot of the words I heard from other GMs is that he is an enigma. We made him a priority and an investment into him and we are hoping that he can develop into the kind of force in the paint that we can expect him to become. Getting to play with vets like Jayson Williams and David Wesley and Allan Houston will also keep him in check as well. We are hoping for great things to come from Rasheed.

Nick Jackleson, LA Times. Your team has been on a bit of a roller coaster the last few seasons, but most of the time you manage to do things a little differently than the rest of the league. Is this on purpose or do you just like walking your own path and blazing your own trail?

ballsohard wrote:Nick Jackleson, LA Times. Your team has been on a bit of a roller coaster the last few seasons, but most of the time you manage to do things a little differently than the rest of the league. Is this on purpose or do you just like walking your own path and blazing your own trail?

Malone: Over these last 9 or 10 seasons, there have definitely been some bumps in the roads while also climbing up to some great peaks. I've always tried to relieve to these people the best kind of basketball that these people here in Charlotte deserve. Sometimes it takes longer and requires the use of patience which I'll admit I haven't always used myself which I think lends into this question. The fans want to see someone that is always active and looking around the league. It's about communication and also a bit of luck to sometimes navigate through dangerous waters. I think it's also a good thing to learn from your mistakes as most know, I've made my fair share of them. I'm hoping this team can succeed in the East and make a charge but I'll always do things that I see are best for this club.