The NBA's Tower of Babel: Where Every Year Is A Rebuilding Year

The Tower of Babel. It may have been the greatest tower never built. It is always unfinished, essentially being rebuilt every single time it is referenced. That is exactly what the Charlotte Bobcats are. Ever since their birth in 2004, the Bobcats have been in rebuilding mode, only making the playoffs once in this span. Whether it was getting a dominant big man like Emeka Okafor, or adding a point guard like Raymond Felton or D.J. Augustin, it always seemed like the Bobcats did not have a plan for their future.

The Charlotte Bobcats are the NBA's youngest team, so there really should not be anything expected from them. They had seasoned NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff as coach and general manager, a first in the NBA. They started out with a good addition in do-it-all small forward Gerald Wallace, though their expansion draft was unsurprisingly poor otherwise. The 2004-05 draft gave them the #2 pick Emeka Okafor from UConn. They struggled their first year, but it gave them good positioning for the next draft. The 2005-06 draft gave them two North Carolina players in Sean May and Raymond Felton. But they staggered into another poor record. Fortunately, they got a boost from another Carolina icon: Michael Jordan. Jordan pushed Bickerstaff out of the way, but then came 2007. In 2007, they drafted a long Brandan Wright, but traded him for Jason Richardson, a high-scoring, high-flying swingman. But they struggled again, leading to the firing of another coach and the entrance of legendary coach Larry Brown. Brown missed the playoffs in his first season, but added a young point guard D.J. Augustin, despite having Raymond Felton. But he brought them into the playoffs and made Gerald Wallace an All-Star. They ended the season early, but they were looking up. With an All-Star and a playoff berth, no one was going to be surprised by the Bobcats anymore.

Fast forward to now. Guess who is gone? Their first All-Star and only remaining player from the expansion draft Gerald Wallace. The only coach capable of bringing the Bobcats to the playoffs Larry Brown. And Gonzaga superstar Adam Morrison (known by many as one of the biggest busts ever). But this is no surprise. The Bobcats are always rebuilding. Despite finding good players, like Felton, they don't complement them with different players; they draft yet another point guard. They don't find another post player to complement Emeka Okafor; they find Sean May, an out-of-shape, undersized "power" forward. They will always find a way to break down their tower and try to rebuild again, much like a Tower of Babel.