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What I've seen, heard and thought lately about the Charlotte Bobcats:
What's the deal on that espn.com blurb about Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw? Would the Bobcats be interested in adding Stephen Jackson? Sure. Would they give up Diaw to make that happen? Highly unlikely.
Here's the background - Jackson wants out and the Warriors would happily accommodate him. Ideally, they want a taker for his contract (three more seasons at an average cost of over $9.2 million) and something worthwhile in return. In a perfect world, they'd get Diaw from the Bobcats with the hope they could move him back to Phoenix in a secondary deal to acquire Amare Stoudemire.
Are the Bobcats a better team with Jackson, but without Diaw? Nope. Coach Larry Brown diagnosed early last season that this team's biggest problem was ball movement. Diaw improved that dramatically.
Diaw has flaws - his nonchalance is annoying in a sport where intensity counts for plenty - but he's still the most skilled player in franchise history.
Who's this team's best point guard? It gets harder all the time to say Raymond Felton. You extract that New York game (one of Felton's best as a pro) and so far this season has been a throw-away. You know how Panthers fans talk about "Bad Jake'' games? There have been too many "Bad Raymond'' games lately.
His turnovers are constant and teams know to leave him open from the outside. The reason is obvious: Given a choice between running at Diaw or Bell or leaving Felton open for a 3-pointer, who wouldn't take that risk?
D.J. Augustin is more productive, but is he really so much a point guard? He scores a lot, both as a jump-shooter and a driver, but he's the third-best passer, behind Diaw and Felton.
The best point guard on this team might be Diaw, its power forward. Strange but true.
What's with Gerald Wallace's poor shooting? Preposterous, isn't it, that Wallace entered Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls shooting 31 percent from the field.
He takes the bait, putting up too many jump shots early in possessions, but it's more than that. No one in the league gets his shot blocked more (13 times in the first five games).
He's getting frustrated, and admitted Friday his confidence is bruised. But I love how he's adapting. Wallace is telling teammates to take the shots and he'll grab the rebounds. Players who make that statement, and back it up with production, are always keepers.
How will this team finish? I still don't think they make the playoffs, based on collective talent, but I like what I saw Friday against the Hawks. Raja Bell and Flip Murray make a big difference creating spacing.
They'll be in the race into March, but I'm still projecting 35 wins in the end.
