This offseason was an eventful one for the Bobcats and their fans. It started the same as the previous one: looking for a new coach. This time, the search did not last quite as long as they snapped up long-time Jeff Van Gundy assistant Steve Clifford. Then they stunned analysts and fans alike at the draft by selecting Cody Zeller over Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Alex Len at fourth overall.
With newfound financial flexibility because of DeSagana Diop’s expiring contract, the Bobcats played more aggressively in free agency. They set their sights squarely on former Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson, a big man with an offensive arsenal in the post the team has never had. After years of languishing in the paint struggling to get much offense out of Bismack Biyombo or Byron Mullens, the Bobcats leapt at the chance to sign Jefferson for about $41 million over three years.
With a brand new starting frontcourt, the Bobcats then focused on re-signing Gerald Henderson, the 25-year-old guard they drafted out of Duke four years ago. Henderson showed much improvement heading into this offseason and people wondered how much interest he would garner considering the availability of O.J. Mayo. Negotiations were slow and drawn out as Henderson did not get the interest from other teams as he had hoped. The Bobcats and Henderson found middle ground, agreeing on a three-year contract worth $18 million.
Having retained Henderson and added a new starting frontcourt, the Bobcats also added to their frontcourt depth in free agency. With the Tyrus Thomas amnesty required to sign Jefferson, Charlotte had opened up more cap space. They used it to bring back the versatile Josh McRoberts and later added Anthony Tolliver to the mix. The Bobcats also re-upped with Jannero Pargo as their third point guard.
With a significantly better roster, this season’s Bobcats should be much more competitive than 
previous years, when they were the NBA’s doomats. The main concern is that Charlotte might have limited its future ceiling by making all of these moves now instead of spending another year bottoming out for a chance at the top pick in a loaded draft class. But for now, fans have waited patiently for a team to be excited about, and this team certainly gives them more reason to be excited than any in recent memory.
Here are five things to watch this season.
1. The production of rookie Cody Zeller. Zeller brings incredible quickness and agility for his size. The Bobcats surprised a lot of people in passing up predicted top picks for him at No. 4 overall. But the team badly needed a versatile scoring big man.
Taking Zeller over Noel and Alex Len was quiestionable, but the Bobcats think he can add even more to his offensive arsenal with a jump shot. We shall see.