FanHouse Walter Herrmann

Before any of this Billups-for-Iverson craziness hit the fan, the biggest story out of Detroit in the first two games was the play of Walter Herrmann off the bench. Already a crowd favorite because of his blond ponytail and freakishly huge hands that allow him to start a finger roll from the three-point line, Herrmann is finally getting a chance to play beyond garbage time.

For hard-core NBA fans, Herrmann shouldn't be a complete unknown: he put himself on the map over the last month of his rookie season two years ago when he averaged better than 18 points and 5.5 boards on 57% shooting over the final 18 games with the Bobcats. For reasons unknown, Herrmann was all but forgotten about the following season under Sam Vincent. He played just as sparingly for the Pistons following a mid-season trade to Detroit, but Joe Dumars saw enough to re-sign him to a one-year deal as a restricted free agent this year.

How well has he played in the first two games? In 39 minutes, he scored 26 points while shooting 66% (71.4% from three-point land) with nine boards and four assists, good enough to lead the entire league with a 35.37 PER. Obviously, getting too excited this early in the season is downright silly, and considering Herrmann has performed at a high level in the past only to be ignored later, he more so than anyone knows not to get too excited about just a couple of games.

For some time, the Bobcats were the envy of GM's everywhere. Not because of their roster, although that's not so shabby -- it was their cap space. Charlotte's finest were once hording payroll in the negative, presumably to make some big move that would catapult them to legitimacy.

The Bobcats have made some moves. But with the acquisition of Jason Richardson, Nazr Mohammed, and Walter Herrmann, have they squandered their most valuable asset? From the Charlotte Observer:

Since the end of last season, the Bobcats have traded for two projected starters, Jason Richardson and Nazr Mohammed. Those deals mean the Bobcats inherit nearly $60 million in payroll responsibility for Richardson and Mohammed over the three seasons after this one.

Well, when you put it like that, the 'Cats blew it. Mohammed has never delivered consistently. And to paraphrase the article, Richardson makes Joe Johnson money without approaching that level.

Oh, and if you want the ultra-gloomy read on it:

Should the Bobcats be wary of clearing up other teams' cap problems? Golden State and Detroit were both in jeopardy of paying luxury tax. They were willing to give up these guys, without getting that much in return, to unload payroll. The Bobcats discarded two players with expiring contracts (Brezec and Walter Herrmann). Did they sacrifice future cap flexibility to improve marginally now?

Ugh. Good thing they're in the East.

At the very beginning of the season, I trashed Adam Morrison, pointed out that Gerald Wallace was a non-expendable stud, and promptly felt the wrath of some pissy Morrison supporters. Strangely, the outcry wasn't nearly as loud when I made light of his problems with hecklers.

Maybe this will do it: Gerald Wallace has won Player of the Week twice this season and if he stays in Charlotte, is a no-brainer starter. So maybe he's not a pure scorer, or anything like a threat from outside.

Enter Walter Herrmann, the Argentinian who has basically taken over Morrison's role on the Cats. Over the last month, the rookie has averaged nearly 18 and 6, and last night, scored 30 against the Bucks--including 6 three-pointers. He's long, fearless, creative, and can keep up with the NBA game. All in all, he's pretty much what the Bobcats thought they'd get with Morrison. In fact, he's even taken Mr. Mustache's last gasp of starting line-up karma.

So maybe 2006 was an extraordinarily weak draft class. Still, the Bobcats selected Morrison third overall. You're telling me that, at the time, they couldn't have just as legtimately picked Tyrus Thomas, Brandon Roy, Randy Foye or Rudy Gay? All of these prospects were just as well-liked as Morrison, and all of them were arguably safer bets for NBA success. Charlotte had no idea at the time what they'd be getting with Herrmann, but his emergence only underscores what a waste that pick was.