Steve Clifford on Hornets' Struggles: 'Our Problem Is That We're Undertalented'

[CarltonJunior]

Bruh maybe 10% of Charlotteans are diehard Hornets heads. There's a bunch of casual fans who lightweight follow them, but most Charlotteans wouldn't be tore up to see them go again...

Maybe the new ownership can save them. But honestly it's just a bad combo of ownership, management, talent, and not the optimal market for pro basketball. The Hornets peak popularity was pre-Panthers, and then maybe the first half-decade of Panthers existence......maybe. They were the first major league team in Charlotte so there's nostalgia for em, and they were the only show in town for 8 years, and the biggest in town for about a dozen years. But once the Panthers really settled in, the Hornets left, and they've never been able to meet the popularity and fandom of the Panthers since. They had a 14-year run as Charlotte's team. It's been 22 years since they left the first time, a longer period of time than their peak popularity era...

Mf's in Charlotte would not miss these mf's like that. I've lived in Charlotte, then I've lived un Memphis and I'm from Sacramento. Both Memphis and Sacramento have had a LOT of bad years------>but they are basketball cities. The contrast is easily apparent when you know these cities. Charlotte is probably my favorite CITY of the group, but it is not the right place for professional basketball when compared to other basketball towns...

nikkas will not miss these nikkas like that

All this is true but like I say to all cities who don't care about certain teams: all it takes is 1 championship to change that narrative.

Most of the teams whose cities don't care about them have either never won a championship or never been in a championship game. 1 championship creates a whole generation of fans that don't go away, look at the 85 bears.

So instead of the lackadaisical effort to legitimize this franchise I think that their ownership should be trying to execute a plan to get at least one, that's how I see it.

 

[murksiderock]

Nah. I think it’s one of those taking your team for granted type of things. Like of Tepper seriously was to announce that he’s getting The Panthers out of here all hell would break loose. There’s a lot of transplants here now so maybe they wouldn’t care but I’m sure people would be upset if the team left again. The Hornets haven’t been good in awhile, they haven’t been consistently good at all since I’ve lived here. All they have to do is win and people will be on board. I know my bruhs remember 2015-16 when The Panthers were killing it and The Hornets last made the playoffs. It was lit AF here. You can’t ask people to buy in when all the damn teams sorry lol. Moving a team to a new city won’t mean shyt if they’re just sorry

Don't fully disagree with either of you...

But the Panthers are CLEARLY leagues above the Hornets locally. I'm talking interest, fan engagement, headlines, etc. Charlotte LOVES the Panthers, someone might assassinate Tepper if he tried moving the Panthers ...

The Hornets don't generate that level of support by comparison, and it isn't even close. Sure, I do think a consistent winner would create more fans, but the true tell of a city's fandom, is what the support and engagement is like when the team fukking sucks...

The Kings previous ownership was met with opposition every single time they looked into relocation, because Sacramento is a basketball city, people love the Kings. And we know they fukking sucked for almost 20 years it's not the same emotional attachment in Charlotte, and it's not even really an age thing, the Hornets debuted in '88, Kings just got to Sac in '85. So they've been based in their cities the same amount of time...

One city is just more a basketball city than the other. Same with Memphis, huge, huge, huge basketball city. Of course they've supported the Grizz thru all the terrible years, the sport itself is a core characteristic of Memphis...

Meanwhile when Memphis had the Oilers they couldnt sell out the Liberty Bowl. People tried to say, oh they knew they were going to Nashville, but bullshyt. San Antonio supported the Saints, OKC supported the New Orleans Hornets. The truth is Memphis isnt a football city the way it is basketball, its not an optimal football market. The Oilers could have remained in Memphis and never would have been as popular there as the Titans are in Nashville...

Charlotte at its core is a football city. After that, you could argue a couple other sports before basketball, and at present Charlotte FC has closed the gap on supporters between them and Hornets...

In reverse, Raleigh to its soul is a basketball city, its everything here. Of Carolina major league teams, the Panthers are still the most popular team here, even over the Canes which are dumb popular for a southern city. But this is a basketball city first and if Raleigh ever had an NBA team, the interest and engagement I'm telling you Memphis and Sac have, would be very similar with Raleigh...

All this is true but like I say to all cities who don't care about certain teams: all it takes is 1 championship to change that narrative.

Most of the teams whose cities don't care about them have either never won a championship or never been in a championship game. 1 championship creates a whole generation of fans that don't go away, look at the 85 bears.

So instead of the lackadaisical effort to legitimize this franchise I think that their ownership should be trying to execute a plan to get at least one, that's how I see it.

 

[Don Homer]

WOAT team culture. this isn't on Cliff, the players are just losers

 

[#1 pick]

WOAT team culture. this isn't on Cliff, the players are just losers

Cliff got defense out of some weak squads but these nikkas just too young.

 

[Don Homer]

Cliff got defense out of some weak squads but these nikkas just too young.

they're young, and they don't wanna learn. their vets are Miles Bridges' clown ass and Gordon Hayward, and Gordon been checked out for a long time.

 

[42 Monks]

they're young, and they don't wanna learn. their vets are Miles Bridges' clown ass and Gordon Hayward, and Gordon been checked out for a long time.

they gotta learn how to be fukking healthy because miles and miller chasing people in circles on the perimeter is literally the only consistent thing this team can do

if you think leaky black starting was a part of any plan then hornets are down to third stringers and callups at *3* positions and have been since november

and to keep this from going circular again, look at the team's defense and rebounding when mark williams plays and when he doesn't

 

[MikelArteta]

glad i sold this bum azz team when I did