Cho knows gameplan to follow
New Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rich Cho knows exactly what he's getting into: It's Seattle and 2007, all over again.
Back then, Cho was a mid-level executive with the SuperSonics, an aging team winning 30-some games a season. That led to the painful steps of trading Ray Allen to Boston and allowing Rashard Lewis to leave for Orlando during free agency.
It took three more seasons and a move of the franchise to Oklahoma City. But that team, now called the Thunder, was collecting extra draft picks and developing young talent. Now the Thunder's future is bright for a long time.
That's the road map Cho brings to the Bobcats as the No.2 basketball executive in this franchise. He'll work under Rod Higgins, who now has the title president of basketball operations.
"One of the worst things you can do in this league is be a middle-of-the-road team - in the playoffs one year, out the next," Cho said Tuesday at an introductory news conference at Time Warner Cable Arena.
"One of the tough things about a middle-of-the-road team is you never get really good draft picks. That makes it hard to have sustained success. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward."
Intentionally or not, Cho was describing the Bobcats' recent history. They made their first playoff appearance in 2010, only to be swept by the Orlando Magic. The hangover from that brief postseason was an overpriced roster built around Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson.
Now Wallace - whom Cho acquired during February in his one season as general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers - is gone. In his new job (Cho was fired by the Blazers in May) he is following the lead of his former boss, Thunder general manager Sam Presti.
"I'm a big proponent of accumulating assets," Cho said. "That's how we did it in Oklahoma City."
Higgins and Cho were asked a couple of times Tuesday how they'll share authority. Higgins said his job isn't changing much, that this is about filling Peterson's old spot with a skill set different from what the front office already had.
As to who is authorized to explore trades, Higgins said Cho and he will both network with counterparts on other teams.
"We all have different contact points" with other front offices, Higgins said. "I want Rich to feel around (the league). I think as many conversations as possible is always better."
Higgins said the front office still hasn't decided whether to make a qualifying offer to Dante Cunningham to restrict his free agency. That qualifying offer would cost the Bobcats about $1 million.
The Bobcats will resume predraft workouts today. Two players who previously had to cancel auditions because of injury - Colorado guard Alec Burks and Providence guard Marshon Brooks - will be here. Also scheduled: Michigan's Darius Morris, Hofstra's Charles Jenkins, Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn and Texas-El Paso's Julyan Stone.
