Bobcats start over. Again.

The Charlotte Bobcats are looking for their 5th Head Coach in franchise history.  Not surprising after a 7-59 campaign, that led them into the record books as the team that recorded the worst winning percentage in an NBA season.

What is surprising is the way that it is being perceived.  Here are the facts.

Paul Silas' contract was up at the end of the year.  He took the job with the Bobcats, knowing it was the only coaching job he would take.  After a year that saw the Bobcats go through a slew of injuries to their top players, Silas being let go was inevitable.  It's not that HE did a bad job, it's that the roster was so poorly pieced together, that Silas had no chance to succeed once the injuries started to pile up.  Remember, it was a 66 game schedule, in a compressed amount of time.  An injury that might have cost a player 5 games, ended up costing more than that.

I feel a little bad for Silas, as he won't have the chance to redeem himself as the coach.  He deserved a better fate than the hand he was dealt, but he also showed how to handle the mess with class, and grace.  He'll always be admired for that, at least in my eyes.

The blame falls at the feet of those that put the team together.  Those that signed the players, and pieced the roster together.  The Bobcats front office knew it would be a bad year, however, not in their wildest dreams (or nightmares) could they have envisioned what the 2011-12 season would become.

Now, they have to execute step 2 of the plan.  That means, building a team through free agency and the draft.  They have the cap space.  They will have a top 4 draft pick.  And they will have a new Head Coach to mold the players into his style.  The Bobcats haven't drafted well, historically. That has to change, and if they get the top overall pick, it likely will.

The Bobcats are at a point where every decision they make will be the most important one in franchise history.  It starts with their new bench boss.

Mike Solarte