I plan to write more extensively about this in tomorrow's Observer, but here's a quick impression of Bernie Bickerstaff's tenure with the Bobcats:
He's a man of exceptional integrity and candor. And the Bobcats will be worse for his absence from the decision-making process.
Bickerstaff is leaving -- the story broke on charlotte.com earlier today -- and I think it's sad the organization is losing his wisdom. Bickerstaff was patient and sensible; he understood that rushing the expansion process would never lead to lasting success.
(The Carolina Panthers missed that point; they reached the NFC Championship Game their second season, but it was a mirage. The hangover from that party strung up the Panthers' salary cap with a bunch of aging, expensive veterans too close to retirement.)
Bernie left Michael Jordan with the cap room to make that Jason Richardson trade. The Golden State Warriors weren't looking for Brandan Wright so much as they were determined to fix their bloated payroll. Absorbing Richardson's salary, without sending much salary obligation to the Warriors, made the Bobcats an ideal trade partner.
I hope the restraint Bernie exercised -- not wasting big money on mediocre veterans -- is a lesson learned by Jordan and general manager Rod Higgins.
Sure, Bernie made mistakes -- he should have given up the 5th and 13th picks in 2005 to draft Chris Paul -- but his body of work as general manager and coach here was laudable.
Some other franchise should gobble him up, because he has plenty left to offer, either in a front office or mentoring a young head coach.
