Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Hornets Extra: Hornets finally get the man they wanted in Stephenson

While you were sleeping last night, many of you had the same thing I had dreamed about over the last few weeks, and that dream was of course, the opportunity of seeing Lance Stephenson in a Charlotte Hornets uniform.  Then by the time everyone in "Buzz City" woke up this morning, our dream, and wish, finally came true, as the team and Stephenson came to terms on a three-year deal.

To us, it was kinda like watching a cloud of teal smoke coming from the chimney of "The Hive", Time Warner Cable Arena, when we all knew the signing was going to happen in the first place, after we missed out on a chance to bring Gordon Hayward to Charlotte, that was until the Utah Jazz matched our offer and thus keeping him in a Jazz uniform, but that didn't stop us from signing Marvin Williams and also signing Brian Roberts, who interestingly enough, played with the Hornets(now Pelicans) in New Orleans, and is back with the Hornets this time around here in Charlotte, last week.

A lot of us see this signing of Stephenson, who spent the last four seasons with the Indiana Pacers, is a another example of proving why Hornets owner Michael Jordan, general manager Rich Cho and head coach Steve Clifford are working on building a formula for success with the Charlotte Hornets, and some could possibly compare it to what John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox did during the Braves domination of the National League during the 1990's, and yes, Billy "Moneyball" Beane and what he's done with the Oakland Athletics over the last few years, not to mention yes, Jerry Jones and his Cowboys dynasty in the early 1990's, but I won't get into that detail anytime soon.

As a fan of this franchise, dating back to the original Hornets run from 1988-2002, and the 10 seasons of the Bobcats from 2004-14 and now beginning my second stint as a Hornets fan again, this signing is something we all hoped that would solidify the Charlotte Hornets position as possibly, an elite team in the Eastern Conference, joining the ranks of Cleveland, now that LeBron James is back home again, New York with Carmelo Anthony, and Miami, with the "Big Two" of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  Now, when you take a closer look at the Hornets, with Stephenson joining Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh, and P.J. Hairston, they may potentially be the talk of the NBA once the 2014-15 season starts, and some of the experts could predict that Charlotte may be a top-4, or maybe top-5 team in the Eastern Conference with Stephenson now in the fold, and this signing was indeed what we truly wanted from this organization because after all, it was us, the fans of Charlotte NBA basketball, that wanted the Hornets name back home in the first place, and with the signing of Stephenson, this may take the Hornets one step further in their plan to be a contender, not a pretender, in a competitive Eastern Conference here in the NBA, and that would make us "Born Ready" to see what will happen next for this Hornets squad in the months to come.

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