Email
Print
Henderson provides depth for Bobcats
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 26, 2009
CHARLOTTE - To steal a line from "Ghostbusters," dogs and cats living together ... mass hysteria!
You won't find two guys more Tar Heel-centric than Michael Jordan and Larry Brown. Yet Thursday those two used the Charlotte Bobcats' No.12 pick on Duke's Gerald Henderson.
Yes, they appreciate the irony.
"Sometimes it's hard to put those feelings aside," said Bobcats managing partner Jordan. "There's something about our blood that makes it very hard to choose a Duke player."
And yet it's obvious why they did so. Once Louisville's Terrence Williams went to the New Jersey Nets at No.11, Henderson was the best fit to fill a hole behind shooting guard Raja Bell. As Jordan recalled, Bell's late-season calf strain was a factor in the Bobcats slipping out of playoff contention.
Jordan said that had Williams and Henderson both gone top-11, the Bobcats likely would have traded down.
There was no benefit to that with Henderson still available.
"When you trade down you're (settling for) somebody," Jordan said. "We'd rather take our chances early."
Henderson isn't the passer or rebounder that Williams is, but he's a good athlete and solid defender. Brown has known him since Henderson was in middle school and Brown was coaching the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown sees great room for growth in Henderson's game.
"I think he has a big upside -- really athletic," Brown said. "He has a (natural) position -- he's a legit two-guard with size and with that athleticism he can cover."
Henderson's relative weakness is his shooting range.
He shot 33 percent from the college 3-point line and it was obvious during his workouts in Charlotte that he's unreliable 20 feet from the basket.
But Jordan was impressed with Henderson's effort to correct flaws.
"I like his physical capabilities and his (willingness) to listen to the coach" Jordan said. "Last year in the NCAAs there was a lot of talk about him that he couldn't go to his left. So he immediately started working on his left hand."
And there's that be-true-to-your-school thing.
"We're really happy with this pick," Brown said, "even though Michael and I had a hard time drafting a Dukie."
Henderson chimed right in on the trash talk.
"They're my bosses now, so I have to put up with them," Henderson joked in a media conference call.
"I know I'll hear that Tar Heel stuff every day, which is unfortunate."
In fact, Henderson and Brown have been friends for about a decade. Growing up, Henderson was friends with Randy Ayers' son when Ayers was one of Brown's assistant coaches.
So Henderson often attended 76ers practices with Ayers.
With their first of two second-round picks, the Bobcats chose Xavier power forward Derrick Brown 40th overall.
The Bobcats need help at power forward, particularly after choosing not to make a qualifying offer to Sean May.
The Bobcats selected Robert Vaden of Alabama-Birmingham with the 54th pick. However, general manager Rod Higgins said the team sold the rights to Vaden to Oklahoma City for cash.
Jordan, a minority partner with control of basketball operations, said he's still interested in assembling a group to buy the team from Bob Johnson. A New York investment banker is pursuing a sale on Johnson's behalf.
Jordan also addressed the possibility that point guard Raymond Felton could become a free agent.
"I definitely want to keep him," Jordan said of Felton.
"I anticipate us keeping Raymond, without a doubt."
Email
Print
