After the Bill Simmons Podcast hosted a hypothetical NBA expansion draft, Walker and Doug chose 8 players they would protect in such a scenario. Who would you protect? Finally the guys get to their “Top 35” lists.
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What eight players would the Charlotte Hornets protect and a potential Expansion draft we give our choices then We give our list top 35 nicknames top 35 Players of all time coming up today Locked on Hornets we're locked on Hornets part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day in America We live It's locked on Hornet it's part of the Locked on podcast Network it's your team Every day thanks for making us your First listen we're free and available Anywhere you get your pods and that does Include YouTube We Appreciate everybody Hopping on and check and making us your First listen that's Doug Branson you can Find his work on his sub stack every Hornetsboxcore.com I'm Walker mail Listen to me on WFNZ every single Weekday from 12 to 3 P.M Doug I'd seen This question post to us a couple of Times I know P1 Jimmy shout out to Jimmy On Twitter for hopping in the old DMS For some content suggestions I Appreciate it and I had just listened to This episode from Bill Simmons so this Content idea right you see it right There on the tag board boom baby be Emoji expansion draft protection Bill Simmons and Ryan Russillo hosted a pod On the Bill Simmons podcast and they Discussed what eight players they would Protect for each team that would be
Vulnerable giving up players in a Potential expansion draft and of course This all started with the Bobcats Because that was the last time we had an Expansion draft the Charlotte Bobcats Came into town after the previous Hornets regime heads to New Orleans We're all devastated and now we have Tamar slay on our team that's kind of How it works so when you look at the Players they protected they protected a Lot of teams and then you boom then you Get to the Charlotte Hornets last and That nice little 15 second 22nd dig from Bill Simmons because that's how it has To go he says yeah the Charlotte Hornets Are going to get their player taken last Whoever it is come on unnecessary it's Always unnecessary with Bill Simmons but Hey you know what I say you know what I Say it's better to be a joke than to be Completely irrelevant had they forgotten To even mention the Charlotte Hornets That may have been even worse but only One degree slider as being a joke you Know it's up to this organization now How do you how do you get Bill Simmons To stop joking about the Charlotte Hornets and the only way you do that is To win to be on National Television Decision to win playoff series that's The way that's the way it has to happen 100 uh hopefully they can do that And I don't know what top eight players
They would protect Doug off the top of My head so we're going to do this Exercise together kind of like my top 35 Hornets players of all time list just Something that's free-flowing back and Forth that we try to figure out as we Move along we're all having fun it's all A good time we're gonna try to figure Out the top eight players that we would Protect so Doug I don't know because You're you and you did a lot of research For the nickname list did you do any Research on the Bobcats and what their Expansion draft looked like or did you Just want to get right into it with this Current roster and protect players Already I think we Listen if given the choice between Talking about the Bobcats expansion Draft and literally any other topic I'm Going to select I mean I don't know I Don't know if you could creatively if You want to think about this for the Next segment if you want to come up with A topic that I would rather talk about Less than the Bobcats expansion draft I Challenge you I challenge the listeners The viewers the YouTube commenters go Ahead and comment on this video of Things you think that I or anyone would Want to talk about less than the Bobcats Expansion draft so to answer your Question Walker yes I would love to just Go ahead and dig into this but first I
Want to ask you a question why do you Think that this because I got several Solicitations as well to talk about this Topic and I'm interested I don't really Know that I have an answer I'm Interested in why people are so Interested in this particular topic I think it's really fun to be honest With you and it's summer season and it's Draft and I just think people heard it And they want to apply it to their team And hear it a little more in depth as to Okay here we are talking about not Necessarily phenomenal depth but we are Talking about some people that would be Hard to choose between right if you were To protect top eight guys so maybe That's why but I think it's just more of The fun let me tell you as far as a Radio host in the summer goes love me Some drafts doesn't matter what you're Drafting you can do an expansion draft You can do a fast food Burger draft you Can do Fry's draft we just did that a Lot of it's surrounding food a lot of The time yeah so I think when drafts and Sports can meet one another yeah people Are going to eat it well I think I think You're right there I think there is an Element of like picking the pickup Basketball team you know you are like Picking players that you're going to Keep and picking players that you're not Going to keep there's a fantasy draft
Element to it I also think that this is A particularly interesting topic and Probably why it was a topic on this Bill Simmons podcast Is that it's going to be reality at some Point probably not next season and That's how we're framing this particular Discussion we're going to do this as if It's going to happen next off-season and So all the players at the Hornets are Have drafted already will be available In this in this pick em I think Bill Simmons did it like pre this draft I Think maybe but anyway so it could be Reality a couple of seasons from now When the NBA ushers in you know two new Franchises could be Vegas could be Seattle I'm still keeping my fingers Crossed for Nashville but it's looking Like Vegas in Seattle but this is Reality I mean we could actually be Discussing this a couple of seasons from Now and so might as well do it now and Go ahead and get some of these guys into Certain lists so I've got a spreadsheet Here up on the screen I've got all of The names of the players that would be Available I even put PJ Washington in There even though PJ Washington still a Restricted free agent Teo maladone as Well we're just going to assume that the Hornets find some way to bring these two In individuals back so we're going to Add them to the list and we get to
Protect eight I've got a maybe list here That we can and then you know maybe just Set them free I'm just going to name This uh this column set them free so if We have someone that we want to put in That list so I say we just go down the Line here and and we just start putting People into these buckets the one rule I Wanted to make clear at least they did This with the Bill Simmons pod they did Not include rookies so Brandon Miller He's already protected and does not Count against your eight total slots Well that's no fun yeah we would that's No fun I wanna I wanna include him Because again I would like to play this Game as if okay it actually could happen And it could happen in maybe like two a Couple of Seasons when Brandon Miller Wouldn't be protected so and the Hornets Okay you know it's not like crazy to Think that this could be the same list Of players two or three seasons from now Because even though the Hornets are Changing uh you know ownership they've Been talking about being patient and not Making crazy moves so who knows they Could still have this same roster of Players so I think we play the game with The rookies Okay that's fair Um I think so if we just want to get Started right away there are three must Lamello ball is an immediate protect
Okay Mark Williams is an immediate protection I agree And Brandon Miller those are your three Immediate I you don't have to have one Single IQ point to protect those three Players And there are a lot there's some easier Calls as well but I think those are the Three you have to start with first and Foremost nobody is more valuable than Those three players on the roster I I Like that I'm not going to disagree with Any of those selections you know I I Think if if we were completely taking Context out of it if we weren't Considering you know the fact that he'll Be an unrestricted free agent next Season and the domestic violence charges And the what ifs can you know will will He be able to rehabilitate His Image I Think he would also consider putting Miles bridges into the protect category But I don't know if that's going to Affect things if it makes him if it puts Him in the maybe category I'll tell you Two guys that you you probably throw in The maybe category but but would look at Possibly setting them free would be Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier what do You think about that Yeah the the thing the reason I'd keep Gordon Hayward is because you're going To get maybe category is totally fine
They can move left or right at that Point we can we can move them back but I Just think for the sure Well my my case for keeping Gordon Hayward is that he's going to come off Of the books after this season you know So so the reason it doesn't do you any Good to not protect him right he's gonna Help you when he's on the floor if he's Hurt okay you live with it and he's Going to come off of the books this Season anyway there's a team that might Want to trade for Gordon Hayward so they Can free up 30 million dollars in cap Space I think Gordon Hayward to me it's Actually a pretty easy protect and Everybody's Gonna Act Like Gordon Hayward oh no we need to let him free Who cares well you're about to set him Free anyway wait one more season and Then you can create 30 million dollars In cap space now I guess you could do it By somebody else taking him but then you Wouldn't have any trade asset I just Find the value in keeping them on the Roster I think you protect PJ Washington As well because we're going to assume Here that they've given him a longer Term contract I think you know why would You do that and then do you want to go Like three 15 million a year so like a Three year 45 mil sure yeah I mean if They come to a deal that's going to be In favor of the Hornets I'm just going
To tell you that right now it's not Going to be in favor of P.J Washington's 18th qualifying offer yeah or the Qualifying offer so I think you protect PJ Washington let's go let's get some Guys in the set of free bucket I mean I Think book Night Kai Jones Frank uh Nilaquina you know I think I think Tayo JT Thor I mean I think all those guys Can go over here into the set'em free Bucket Um any any disagreements there no zero Disagreements and then we're going to Get into the rookies which I know is not The way that Bill Simmons played it but I think it makes this conversation a Little bit more interesting because now We have five slots in the protect I mean I think we're setting Terry Rozier free Right I mean that if somebody wants to Take that contract on you know I think It would ultimately help the Hornets It's the hardest decision to for me but But also also maybe not I mean because You're you're trying to trade them last Year reports were that you wanted to Find a deal at the deadline you couldn't Do it and now Terry Rozier is is you Know come back still multiple deals this Is not uh multiple years it's not a Gordon Hayward thing where he's going to Be off the books after this season Yeah I'd probably lean more towards Terry Rozier gone is there any lamella
Factor that you care about bringing Terry back and helping him out in the Backcourt because you you're not I mean Who are you starting right you're going With Cody Martin you're well you Accelerate you accelerate Brandon Miller Starting at the two I think I mean I Think that's where you you ultimately Land at that point and you then you Protect miles Bridges and you play him At the third you're gonna protect miles Right so now we've got six protects Lamello ball Gordon Hayward markway I Think people are going to disagree with Your Hayward attack about protective I Get the you know it comes off the books Pretty quickly I think you know Um if you did if it meant because here's Here's the situation we find ourselves In now we have three spots left for six Players Cody Martin Nick Richards Bryce McGowan Nick Smith Jr Amari Bailey James Naji So at that point you know you now you've Got to protect three players if it meant Protecting four players and leaving Gordon Hayward out there it doesn't mean That Gordon Hayward is going to get Selected Um I don't know how tempting he would be To a team because you're not he is older You know these expansion drafts tend to Target uh some you know more younger Players on favorable contracts guys that
You know you have a chance of keeping Later on so I don't know that Gordon Hayward would necessarily be all that Attractive but anyway so the the reason You would do it is because if you're an Expansion team then you would just be an Asset collection mode yeah so if you if You think Gordon Hayward is an asset and Then yeah it's not like you have a ton Of I you know I the cap space would be Interesting for the expansion team but Then you could just move off of Gordon After a year anyway like that's the Appeal and and let's talk about this Aspect too you know the actual Basketball part of this field a team the Hornets still have to protect the guys That would actually get minutes and help Them out right now in the set them free Category Terry Rozier is the only one That would help your team right now that Is gone I I like Teo I like Jake Thor we Get the idea they're lower rotation Minute type of guys except for Terry Rozier so if Gordon hayward's gone then You're I guess you could open up the Door for Brandon Miller if another team Takes him and then you would keep Terry Yeah I just like Gordon because of the One you're left on the deal anyway okay I say we we take a quick break we come Back we've got six players left Cody Martin Nick Racers Bryce McGowan Nick Smith Jr Amari Bailey and James Nashi
Who will be the three suck American Idol Who will be the final three protected by The lockdown Hornets podcast Do that diesel text your winners I'm Still voting for Clay Aiken I still Believe that he can win Oh yeah I'll never stop believing I'm Going to text a text loh to 555 CLT All right coming up next lockdown Hornets Don't go to sleep on the Hornets just Yet Play American Idol expansion draft Edition and then we start to get into The list top 35 nicknames gonna come up In the second segment now before I talk To you about FanDuel though football Season it's about to kick off and FanDuel is giving you the chance to win All season long it's why this episode is Brought to you by FanDuel right now when You bet on a Super Bowl winner you can Get bonus bets every time they win in The regular season every single time They win in the regular season you get Bonus bets just pick any team to win the Super Bowl and you'll get bonus bets for Every single Victory you can use your Bonus bets on spreads player props over Unders and even more than that visit Fanduel.com locked on and start earning Bonus bats with America's number one Sportsbook that's fanduel.com locked on
Fanduel.com locked on more lockdown Hornets coming up next Okay Doug so we have six protected and We have six guys on the loose no more no Longer protected they could come back as A member of the team right I'm just yeah I'm just now realizing that my math was Wrong so we because I I think I still Had Gordon Hayward in the maybe category So we can protect two out of these six I Think I said three out of the six I was Promised there would be no math I didn't Take any math in college because I was Okay at it but I didn't want to do it And so here we are I'm paying for it now It was two we've got two left not three That's okay all right so who are the Guys that you're looking to protect out Of the rest of the six honestly that we Have 666 baby it's a healthy number who Are you picking out of the six that we Have still to choose from well I'm going To eliminate Cody Martin and Nick Richards from my considerations because Cody Martin weird Health stuff going on Is he 100 healthy you know will will he Not will he not be the wrong twin Eventually I think there are enough Question marks out there that I don't Feel the need to protect that player Nick Richards you just signed him to the Extension it is he is at a valuable he's Valuable in that he's your backup center At a position that you don't have a ton
Of depth in you're already not Protecting Kai Jones But I I don't know how valuable Nick Richards would be to an expansion team Only because he Certainly is is an athletic big but but Not somebody that can shoot or at least Hasn't shown that we think he's hiding It under a bushel we think he can shoot But other teams won't know that because There hasn't been any evidence of it so I'm confident that Nick Richards would Come back anyhow so I don't feel the Need to protect there so I'm looking at Bryce McGowan's I think I would protect Bryce McGowan's and I would protect Nick Smith Jr those would be my two Amari Bailey James Naji I'm not sure that Those two players would be entirely Attractive to a Vegas or a Seattle I Would be confident those guys would come Back but Nick Smith Jr has enough tape High School tape you know of explosive Offense that I think a team would take a Bet on him and then Bryce mcgowans I Just think generally because of his Versatility because of his potential Offensively for this team is too Valuable not to protect So you just gave him a contract and you Know it changes two-way last year to a Longer term deal I think I'm with you on Bryce and Nick Smith Jr it's I well look the agreement
I agree with you I don't think anybody's Going to take James Naji Cody Martin uh Cody Martin and Nick Richards like the Reason I like Nick Richard's deal is you Know he's a good enough backup center But also he could be a a nice sweetener In any potential trade you were looking To make because he's only making five Million dollars a season and so Nick Richards would make some sense to keep But not not really I think that's a guy That you would probably set free and so Yeah I think that's that's the list the Terry Rozier thing I mean I don't know it feels wrong right It just it feels wrong to not protect Him but I'm I'm with you on an expansion Team If they wanted to draft him then it Would mean they want a 20-point a game Uh score to come in and help put butts In the Seas seeds to have like an actual Watchable product yeah in a scenario Where we didn't do rookies because we Only protected two of the rookies Miller And Nick Smith Jr your two first-round Selections this season so in that Scenario where we didn't do rookies I Think I'm probably just protecting Nick Richards and Cody Martin the last two That we set free because to your point You still have to field a team and Nick Richards and Cody Martin are due to play A not the most significant but a
Significant role in the rotation next Season so you would want to make sure That you had both of those players Available because the rep well the wing Position is is somewhat deep so if you Lost Cody Martin you know you there Would be some way to replace that but if You lost Nick Richards then all of a Sudden that's the one that I have them That I'm probably most questioning Myself on setting free is Nick Richards Because your backup is Kai Jones and and You might have to go now fishing at the Bottom of the barrel for a true backup Center So JT Thor I might keep before both of them Um JT Thor is someone that Steve Clifford Likes a lot JT does have a nice defensive potential Yeah that one's tough I think JT Thor's Is someone we're not talking about as Much but that's somebody that I would Really consider I get what you're saying About Nick Richards is who's easier to Find in free agency to be a backup is it Somebody like JT or is it somebody like Nick Richards I might say Nick Richards Is a little easier to find well I'd Would say it would be more difficult to Find a Nick Richards but JT Thor I'm President of the more Thor movement so I Think a lot of people are surprised that
I haven't put up I think he lost that Title No no no no there are no coups there are No coups allowed in the more Thor Movement I have my Fortress is extremely Fortified I have the military on my side The more Thor movement is alive and well And I'm the head of it but here's why I Think if he goes to another team he's Going to have more minutes he might have More of a role on an expansion team than He would with the Charlotte Hornets this Season unless us they were to move Gordon Hayward if they were to move but Which I don't think they're going to do By the way I think Gordon Hayward ends Up playing out his contract and then That comes off the books and gives the Team more flexibility but I think that Thor is going to get more minutes on Another team so that's why I didn't Protect him I want to set him if you Love something sometimes if you love Something you have to set it free it's a Good spin do you want to do your Nicknames right now yeah let's do it all Right so top 35 nicknames we did 35 Through 31. I'm so excited I don't think This show is any better than when uh we Do these kinds of lists and less people Are watching and I'm not saying that's a Great thing I think this show is at its Best you know in the Silly Season uh When when fewer people are watching but
That's okay because you're the few the Proud the sickos that watch this uh when No one else is all right so number 30 You're gonna hate this one I'm gonna Tell you right now you're going to be Upset that this is so low on on my list But number 30 is Glenn rice his nickname G money You're right I hate it All right so I G money great uh I think Great 90s nickname he got it when he was A member of the Miami Heat the uh the G Is for guarantee that's the quote from John Sally he told the Orlando Sentinel In 1994 when he shoots it you just know It's going in rice earned that nickname G money from his teammates because of That smooth jump shot that was on Display when he played for the Charlotte Hornets as well and he got the All-Star MVP did a lot for the Charlotte Hornets Especially because you know you trade Alonso morning And I think a lot of people were Thinking apocalyptically about the Charlotte Hornets who had just started To become Irrelevant in the Eastern Conference you know they get the playoff Series when and it looked like wow They've got it they've got a core here This is going to go well and then it all Falls apart with Alonso and so you trade For Glenn rice and it goes poorly in That 95-96 season but then they get rid
Of LJ and they bring in Anthony Mason And things start to really gel and they Win 50 games a couple of times so Glenn Rice a big part of Hornet's history I Docked it a little bit because it just Feels a little too easy G money the shot Is Money G money but it is a good 90s Nickname and that's why it's number 30. Um man and so the Simplicity you don't Think it's very creative and that's why You think it's this low on the list okay I still top 35 out of 258 players that's The thing even when you're 30 it might Be low relative to the list but it's not Low it's an honor just to be on the list And G money makes the list well we can Workshop it it's totally fine I'm not Changing this list this list is in stone Tablets all right number 29 this is a Good one Ricky Pierce whose nickname was Big paper daddy Oh that's pretty good big paper daddy This was that's like the long form That's the written out version Of g money it's big paper right yeah That's what I'm saying if Glenn rice had Been a big paper daddy that would have That would have because of Glenn Rice's Contributions to the Hornets would have Shot big paper daddy probably up into The top ten the only thing that holds Big paper daddy down this list is the Fact that Ricky Pierce uh made a bigger Impact with Seattle and some other teams
Than he did was Charlotte but this uh Nickname came to him via the SuperSonics Dana Barros uh called Ricky Pierce under His breath he said Big paper Daddy when Ricky Pierce hit a Mid-court shot just said big paper Daddy And then a Sonic's play-by-play Announcer pick that up heard that and Started calling it calling Ricky Pierce Big paper Daddy because he heard Dana Barros say under his breath oh big paper Daddy that's very good it's really good So okay I'm a little less mad myself see This is the problem with these lists When we get mad before we hear the next Thing that it's that we get mad without Knowing what's coming next and so I Apologize paper Daddy is very good all Right I don't want to eat into your list So I'm going to go a little faster here Number 28 Kurt Rambis Rambo What do you think Rambo If we think G money is too easy do we Not think Rambo is too easy here's why I Like Rambo a little bit better because If you look at so his other nickname was Superman given to him by chick Hearn Because he looks like Clark Kent and so When he would go off in a game for the Lakers then they would call him Superman But I like Rambo better because when you Look at Kurt Rambis just a body type the Glad the thick black rim glasses this is Not a man that you look at and go that
Sylvester Stallone holding a Gatling gun Or whatever the kind of gun he was Holding in that Rambo movie this is not A Rambo body figure but when he got into The post and he did this for the Hornets When they beat the Chicago Bulls he had The game-winning buzzer beater in the Coliseum in 1988. uh this is this is the guy that You look at and go when he gets in the Post he goes Rambo and so I like it okay Rambis Rambo okay what's your next one Number 27 Dell Wardell Stephen Curry Dell oh this one is gonna need some Explanation okay look I guess it's Technically a nickname Steph technically A nickname go ahead wise Dell on the List at this spot because Wardell Curry Never wins Sixth Man of the Year if you Come into the league as Wardell Curry I'm sorry you're never winning Sixth Man Of the Year you are not becoming Ambassador to this team do you think so Do you think Wardell Curry is ever Winning an NBA award But you could also have a really cool Nickname if you Incorporated the war Part of it more I mean war is it you got So many different things there you could Be a star then you could be a star war That'd be excellent boom that's right Off the top of the Dome it'd be great You could have your war cry anytime that You hit a three-point shot I don't know
Doug I like the war part of Dell Curry Well here's something interesting what If he goes by his middle name you know How do you think Stephen Curry would Have done in the NBA That's I think Steph Steph doesn't have The same ring to it as Adele I don't Think Steph Curry would be very good hey Did you know that the Hornets were not Very they were very close to not getting Dell Curry there's a big like what if in Terms of the expansion draft we've Already talked about expansion draft but That 88 expansion draft uh they they Came into the league the Charlotte Hornets did with Miami the Hornets won The coin toss that they do for the Expansion Draft when multiple teams are In it the Hornets won and they took the Better of the two picks it was eight or Nine they took the eight pick they used That on Rex Chapman but they got the Worst pick the second pick in the Expansion drought and so Dell was Considered one of the better players Available and Miami could have easily Taken him Um but the heat made a deal with the Dallas Mavericks to not take Bill Whittington a center and so uh Miami got A pick out of that they got Dallas's First round pick and a center from the Dallas Mavericks and that gave the Charlotte Hornets the Opera opportunity
With the second overall pick in the Expansion draft to take Dell Curry Another really quick interesting fact That Miami also made a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers not to take Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and got a pick out of that That's a big one if right if the Hornets Get Kareem That had been fantastic oh yeah that'd Been very good final one final one Number 26 Armin Gilliam the black hole Oh different all right the hammer was Coming up the hammer is going to be Further up the list the black hole is a Bad nickname though wow really well Because it indicates that he doesn't Pass that's why I got the black hole Because I did this whole you know Rabbit Hole thing when we were discussing on Every Hornet's box score right that's What I thought anyway so I knew you were Going to say that I anticipated that and I'll tell you I'm gonna flip it and say It was actually a good nickname at the Time Because it would be a bad nickname now Because the league is not centered Around the center position anymore and It's a more free-flowing offensive game In general than it was back when Armand Gilliam was playing and so it it's all Right to be a black hole when you're at 20 points per game score which he was For the Charlotte Hornets he put up like
20 and nine like he was a really good Score when you threw the ball down to Him yes it didn't come back out but more Likely than not it was gonna go in the Basket and so in that way I like the Black hole as a nickname okay very good I got 25 more but that's it for now okay That's good I like the nicknames are fun I'm trying to think I really like big Paper daddy that's my favorite one that I've heard so far it's a good one when I Stumbled upon that Um it needed to make the list that's Just how it is okay coming up next Lockdown Hornets Don't go to sleep on the Hornets just Yet you heard the nicknames now it's Time for the top 35 players in franchise History we end on a good note and we're Just having fun we're testing things out We're workshopping ideas coming up next Lockdown Hornets all right Doug it's Time the top 35 Hornets of all time list Okay you're still mad at me because I Made not only one change but you talked Me into another one and then we move on From that section and then we go to a Different one and then we Workshop this Idea because we're doing it in sections I know you're a big fan of that well I'm Trying to put this thing online but it's Like trying to hit a moving Target at This point I mean I can't I can't get a Beat on it you know I need you to just
Give me the list so that I can tell People this is the list the list keeps Changing so so 35 through 31 set in Stone we we're moved on from it we've Already talked about it it's gone no More talking about it Hornets scoring it Scoring it arm and Gilliam Cody Zeller Gordon Hayward Jason Richardson Terry Rozier Terry Rozier comes in at 31. you Convinced me to move him above Jason Richardson 30-25 I'm gonna go with six players Today because it fits the category The category today is the Power Hour the Power Hour hits in a couple of different Ways Okay the Power Hour got some power Forwards on this list okay you got some Brutes of human beings And there's one guy that may have played In the backcourt but you'll get the idea On why he might be a Power Hour member In the backcourt once we get to him so Number 30 on the list a big old drop From the top 30 list here Doug after you Know I'm I'm Wiser I'm more mature Matt Geiger number 30. on Believable where was he on the top 30 List The top 30 list I knew you would ask That what just get general just give me A ballpark just kid you don't have to Give me the exact answers give me a Ballpark no 21. again how does he draw
How does Mac it's only been five years And somehow do you have how can you have In five years I mean Max you would add Five players that weren't on the Previous list to this list like how does He drop nine spots because I'm older and Wiser now doug because I realize the Mistakes I'm sorry do you not have any Regrets yeah it makes sense Matt Geiger Comes in at number 30. doing this list That's my biggest number 29. The Gap man Kenny gadison The fact that he's on this list is okay With me I don't really I don't really And the fact that he's still top 30. uh You know that's I'm not gonna be mad at That I love the Gap man it deserves it And it's because of things like that That matters that emotion that you feel The reason that I actually saw a Kenny Gadison shirt sold in the team store Because they're selling enough of them For a power forward that average double Digits like one time in his career yeah That love matters when we do this stuff Well I'm gonna break down Matt Geiger And Kenny gadison or do you want to keep Going well I'll just say on the Kenny Gaddison fronts Um early Hornets Kenny gadison was a Major Major minor contributor like I mean Obviously he wasn't like putting up big Stats
Um but he was you know janitorial duty All the way and Larry Johnson fought to Keep Kenny gadison on the team when he Heard the team this would be the first Of many uh disputes that Larry Johnson Would get into with management over Players being traded ultimately it Resulted in Larry Johnson himself being Traded because uh he often uh you know Locked horns with George shin and Company but Larry Johnson fought via the Media and directly with management to Keep Kenny gadison on the squad because Of the value that he saw so if you like Larry Johnson if you adore that era of Hornets basketball then you also must Adore the Gap man Kenny gaddison well so Another thing is people think about that Era with Kenny gadison played in two so He played six years with the Charlotte Hornets he averaged double-digit points Per game one time when he averaged 12.7 But that was on a bad Hornet's team and He started 71 games so he got to see a Couple of different uh success stories With this Hornets team where you didn't Have very much but when you did have Zoe When you did have LJ you still were a Six-man you were the first guy off of The bench or you were starting and you Were helping contribute for six straight Seasons in a couple of different eras Right the Charlotte Hornets are measured Excuse me are measured in many eras so
When you go because Not many m-a-n-y they haven't had many Eras but they've had a little more they Have compared to other I guess they've Had what two and if you want to talk About ownership eras but you're right Yes many eras m-i-n-i like mini mini Eras yes Kenny gadison played in a Couple of them so loved player Matt Geiger the reason he's at 30. so pretty Big contributor for the best Hornets Teams that we've ever seen as far as the Win loss column comes and six man Off The Bench same thing started quite a few Games in his three years here with the Charlotte Hornets uh you know was a part Of the 54 win Club if I'm not mistaken So Matt Geiger comes in at 30. felt like The longevity and the love for Kenny Gaddison pushed Kenny above Matt Geiger Let's move on this one's going to be Controversial are you ready for it go Ahead Another big fall Derrick Coleman 28. you Know the bigger they are the bigger they Are the Harder They Fall so yeah I Thought Derek Coleman above Kenny Gaddison everybody loves Kenny gaddison More there's no question you love the Gap man more sure dare Coleman was a Better player now he's more talented for Sure right now this is something that I Found in a who wore it best Rod Boone Athletic article by the way so he wrote
An article on who wore the jersey number The best when did he write this Let me get I need I need a date line on That one because you know I I want to Have a conversation with our guy Rod if He uh stole our ideas right so this is What he wrote about Derek Coleman who he Says wore it best with the number 44 and Kenny gaddison Derek Coleman they both Wore number 44. so no one ever Questioned Coleman's knack for putting The ball in the bucket his hat his Attitude and his Carefree nature were Though case in point there was a stretch The Hornets were 34 and 14 without Derrick Coleman and 12 and 22 with Derek Coleman A character even with his Infamous quote Whoopty damn do line even if it didn't Come with the Charlotte Hornets it's Still worth mentioning well just because So Derek Coleman also had a pretty big Offensive Series in a playoff series Loss against Philadelphia in 2000 but in The one they actually win and then they Compete against Milwaukee he was Non-existent like so Coleman kind of an Empty stats guy but also we one-time All-Star And an empty calories guy yeah big time Empty calories so I have Derek Coleman One spot ahead of Kenny gaddison don't Feel great about it sure the fans don't Either I just feel like the talent was
Enough to surpass somebody that we love So much in Kenny it's fine I mean you Know I just think I I have too many Disappointing memories of Derek Coleman Because There have been if you look back at the First run of the Charlotte Hornets there Were just these seasons and Mom moments And injuries and things that would crop Up that would keep Charlotte from Reaching their full potential it was Just it felt like it was always Something it was the injury to Mashburn It was the injury to Mason it was LJ's Uh you know the LJ Glenn rice year that Things didn't match which Mugsy was also Injured for and then you look at Derek Coleman during that era too coming in And not living up to really what I think Charlotte was bargaining for when they Acquired Derek Coleman and it's just one Of many where you go man there were so Many almost and why it hurts so much is Because if one of those almost Isn't almost and they make an Eastern Conference Finals which was certainly The potential was there even if you get Because really if you start to zero in On the post-jordan era you know that's When you look at it in in the couple of Years they that he took a break and then Right after he retired those were Moments when the Hornets were good and They could have done it and they didn't
And if one of those hits You and I are doing locked on Hornets Where we're also covering hornets from 2002 until 2014 where they're also the Charlotte Hornets there's no Bobcats they don't Exist because they never move and that's What hurts um and last thing about Derek Is he averaged close to 17 points on a Team that won 49 games it was the fourth Best record the Hornets have still ever Posted I yeah big big part of one of the Best teams in franchise history let's Move on number 27 A part of the Power Hour Raymond Felton He's a bowling ball by the end yeah Himself Raymond Felton played you know Quite a bit for the Bobcats actually as We came across when we were discussing Who wore it best Raven Felton his last Year with the Bobcats started and had a Good year on a playoff team so finally The culmination of very very bad Bobcats Basketball in part because Rey didn't Hit his potential as much as we all Thought he would early enough but still Got a lot of minutes because you were Fielding a pretty bad team he did put Together a nice stretch of his career And it started with his last season in Charlotte eventually played with carmelo Had some nice seasons in New York and so It got it was a late launch but we got
To launch it a little bit I like Ray I Think most people do Um I've got him at number 27 ahead of Derrick Coleman it felt like the right Spot for me well we should have we Should have finished the launch I mean We should have watched Raymond Felton Continue to play for the Bobcats but it Was because of because Larry Brown fell In love with DJ Augustine I mean there Are a lot of Ripple effects of that love Affair yeah one of them was you know Felton leaving uh the other is not Selecting or not having Brooke Lopez on The team uh you know so like Yeah I mean that's that's a difficult One Raymond Felton uh but big Contributor for the Bobcats uh was Definitely a popular pick because he was From UNC and you know stayed on the team Unlike Sean May so yeah a lot a lot of Love for Raymond I think he deserves to Be on the top 30 list for his Contributions in in an era that was very Difficult for fans Towards the top-end assist yeah so Raymond Felton you know maybe compiling But still 27th on the list not like We're putting in top 20. Um next two I'll go quick but these were The guys that I had a hard time going Back and forth between Marvin Williams Comes in at number 26. wow too low Okay
I thought that too but I don't think I'm Gonna be changing this one 25 on the list PJ Brown the big cats so Mar this is another this is going to be A constant theme longevity versus impact Marvin Williams you know good player Three-point specialist media award Member still with the organization Because he is a phenomenal ambassador of Basketball and now the Charlotte Hornets That matters when we're ranking what he Can do was never on any team better than The first round playoff exit that they Had so I think that's something that Might be a point against him and he Still wasn't even you know a top two Three player on that team PJ Brown Doug If you want to go to the last two Members of an all-defensive team in the NBA Gerald Wallace you would hit before you Get back to that era and then it's PJ Brown who is a three-time member of the All NBA defensive team once with the Charlotte Hornets PJ Brown played like Almost 40 minutes a game against Milwaukee in the most competitive series That meant anything to this franchise Defensive stalwart mobile like ahead of His time to some degree when you're Talking about 610 listed at 6 11 on Basketball reference could absolutely go Out there on the perimeter but also Challenge at The Rim had some offensive
Knife where he wasn't yeah he's not Going to destroy you and take you off The dribble offensively I I measured PJ Brown's impact right I thought this was Someone that was a really important Player like really important to a to a Team that got the furthest in the Postseason this franchise has still ever Been and I'm rewarding defense Marvin Was a good Defender but he won PJ Brown The quarterback of the defense according To Steve Clifford Total it led the team in win shares That Season that they got that got to the Second round and lost to Milwaukee Marvin Williams 26 love him to death PJ Brown at 25. That's The Power Hour Concluded well and look Power Players Like yeah PJ Brown was the power player Marvin uh you would not want he was our Like captain of the back alley team like He definitely could throw down Um but yeah beefy in terms of beef in Terms of just like grade a beef that's Going to go to PJ Brown a fun nickname Thing for PJ Brown he was known as the Big cat a lot of players have been known As the big cat he's not the most famous Big cat but what's interesting is that The Hornets uh drafted Jamal mcgloor And and Jamal mcloor was a center but Ultimately would kind of replace PJ Brown in the lineup when they moved to New Orleans and mcgloor also known as
The big cat so they drafted a big cat to Take over for the big cat while they Were in Charlotte wasn't uh wasn't Jerry Richardson I mean wasn't he known as the Big guy yes he was there were a lot of In 2001 and 2002 there were a lot of big Cats roaming around Uptown Charlotte uh Who do you yeah I think of Andres Galaraga that's the first big yeah I Think yeah I think a lot of folks here In in Charlotte would think of Andrea Scalarraga uh because he was an Atlanta Brave and there were a lot of Braves Fans in Charlotte but yes a couple of Guys named the big cat I don't think PJ Brown was the most famous one but then You draft Jamal McClure too many cats Too many cats in the old Cat house meow I don't know where do cats live I guess So so the power hour 30 Matt Geiger 29 Kenny gadison 28 Derrick Coleman 27 Raven Felton 26 Marvin Williams 25 PJ Brown did you still have Marvin above PJ After you heard my case I think you have to because P you know The tough thing even though my heart is With Marvin the tough thing is that when You talk about a player that contributed Significantly to a team that had Eastern Conference Finals potential it would be Ridiculous to get up here and try to Make an argument from Arvin Williams Love them I mean how can you not if you
Don't like Marvin you're the problem Should be higher I got to hear the rest Of your list but my instinct is to make Marvin and PJ Brown look this is a list That's going to have to hinge on these Role players because the Hornets don't You know the Hornets roster the 285 Players don't feature a lot of like Superstars in their Prime so you know It's these little it's these sicko Brigade type of players that we got to Talk about Um that's fair because this one was a Tough section for me to rank and so We'll see hey I'm sticking with it not making any Changes We got a lot you know we'll see next Episode if you come back it's saying Flip Marvin and PJ we'll find out uh You're right Derek Coleman's off the List that'll do it for lockdown Hornets Thanks for making us your first listen We're free and available anywhere you Get your pod that includes YouTube make Your second listen game to game NBA Especially in the middle of the Season Every moment every top performance every Result locked on game to game has you Covered for every contest uh every Contest across the country a contest Crouton don't know where I was going With that that's how we're going to end It though have a great weekend we'll be
Back with you next week contest sometime
The Perks of Living in Charlotte, North Carolina
Events, Life, Sports, Weather
One of the best things about living in Charlotte is the abundance of fun activities. From the awe-inspiring skyline to unique niche festivals, the city is home to a wealth of entertaining events year-round. The temperate climate is ideal for outdoor sports, while the local music scene includes a broad range of venues. From the Tremont Music Hall where fans can get up close and personal with major touring acts, to the Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts which offers a high-culture fix, there are plenty of ways to spend your leisure time in Charlotte.
When it comes to sports, the city is a hotspot for basketball fans. Charlotte is the home of two NBA teams, the Hornets and the Panthers. The area is also a hub for golf, with many of the top clubs located within the city limits.
Another perk of living in the city is the affordable cost of living compared to other major cities. While housing prices are still on the rise, they are significantly lower than New York or San Francisco. Besides the low cost of living, Charlotte residents also pay some of the lowest income taxes in the country. Depending on how much you make, you can expect to pay between 4% and 5% of your income in state tax. This is a significant savings compared to the national average of 10%. The city is also a popular destination for retirees, with many of its attractions offering discounts to senior citizens.