Charlotte hasn't been well run in close to 30 years, and on top of that they are the losingest franchise in the NBA's history; the only franchise to never make a conference finals...
Charlotte's not gonna get a chance until, and unless, they prove they can build a competent team with consistency. They need multiple draft picks to hit and they need smart basketball operations...
Until then the Hornets are gonna remain what they pretty much always have been outside of their first 13 years or so...
Charlotte is not a basketball city. Its a football and racing city. The Hornets are not popular there, I'm sure people would show up if they ever start winning bit people only go to games now because the tickets are cheap and its a big deal to have an NBA game 41 nights per year for them...
There are very few diehard Hornets fans in the city, and once you leave and go throughout Carolina, the team just isn't popular at all...
They were super popular when they first started............because they were the first major league team in Carolina. They had the Carolinas to themselves for awhile, and they were good when they started...
The Panthers shut that shyt down after only a few years, because the Panthers were also a good expansion franchise, I think they went to the NFC Championship in like their second season...
Charlotteans LOVE the Panthers, they dont pack the stadium out when they are losing either, and tickets are cheap. But the coverage and fan support for the Panthers is like, 50x more than what the Hornets have. People actually care about the Panthers, and when you leave Charlotte, they are marketed and supported throughout both Carolinas...
Charlotte FC has only been in MLS a few years, and in true Charlotte fashion, they are really popular, like Top 3 in attendance in MLS. The key for Charlotte FC is gonna be, after they've been here 12-15 years, will people still care? If they go thru 8 straight losing seasons, will mf's still care?
The Panthers passed that test, the Hornets didn't. So its early to say how popular Charlotte FC truly is, all Charlotte expansion teams are hot the first decade or so. The Panthers have stood the test of time, though...
In contrast, living in Sacramento and Memphis, and close proximity to New York, show you what a basketball city is. LA too really, just investment in the sport from the ground up to a super fukking high degree. This is where Raleigh comes in, the city itself is a basketball hotbed and has been for what, 70+ years. The universities initially provided that spark (NCSU is in West Raleigh, Duke and UNC of course make up that whole "Tobacco Road" thing)...
But basketball is huge in Raleigh, from streetball, AAU, rec leagues, its a basketball city. Pistol Pete is from here, Nate McMillan is from here, John Wall of course. And there are famous hoopers from Clt but the city doesn't bleed basketball the way Raleigh does, which is akin to how NY, LA, Sac, Memphis just ooze basketball culture...
The only major league team in Carolina to win a championship are the Canes, who are from Raleigh, who are currently up 3-1 in Rd2 of Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canes don't have tremendous marketing outside of Raleigh area, the same way the Hornets dont outside of Charlotte------>but the Canes are more popular in Raleigh than the Hornets are in Charlotte. And like the Panthers, Canes have been here like 28 years now and have passed the test of media and fan support when the team is bad. They are Raleigh's squad and they are pop up hockey leagues and multiple rinks throughout the city for mf's to get burn on. Raleigh invested in hockey in a way that is different from Charlotte's investment in basketball...
And the thing is major league basketball would sell itself in Raleigh because its a natural basketball city. The problem is think is more so the historic ties to Charlotte, why no one floats moving the Hornets. Its the first team in the Carolinas and I feel like people dont wanna upset that...
But they'd do so much better in Raleigh. Charlotte is also a bigger city with more money than Raleigh, so theres that. But Raleigh is already supporting NHL, and as a city is about the same size as Salt Lake and Milwaukee, which each have two big league teams. So Raleigh's big enough to support another sport (and they are pitching for an MLB expansion franchise, with state support and the Hurricanes owner backing em)...
I think its very possible the Hornets leave Charlotte again in 10-20 years. They are poorly run and the citizens largely dont care for em. And when the time comes that they depart Charlotte again, Raleigh should be in the mix off top because its a basketball city first and foremost, above anything...
