Now Yglesias has truly crossed the line. It's one thing to deem me morally unserious and then lump me in with Joe Klein; it's another matter entirely to slight Raymond Felton and Sean May. He writes:

Acquiring players because of real or imagined fan appeal -- especially when said appeal is based on the player's former status as an amateur -- is the management strategy of the damned (see also Charlotte Bobcats). . . .

I heartily endorse "The Case Against Steve Blake" that occasioned this casual slander; and I don't deny that Felton and May's stardom at UNC played a (probably determinative) role in the Bobcats' decision to pick them in the 2005 draft. But both players have actually turned out to be pretty good pros; and I think both still have considerable upside. Even if Charlotte had the wrong motives for picking them, it wound up being a good personnel move. I don't see anyone on the 2005 draft board who was picked after Felton or May who'd be a better fit in Charlotte. Charlotte, actually, has the nucleus of what could be a pretty good team: Okafor, May, Felton, and Morrison. If Bob Johnson's willing to open his wallet and Michael Jordan's capable of picking the right free agents to pursue--both unlikely prospects I realize--the Bobcats could one day be a power. But even if they wind up stinking forever, it won't be because of Felton and May. --Jason Zengerle