KILL THE BOBCATS

This wouldn’t be cheap. I spoke with an NBA executive who estimated it would cost the franchise anywhere from $3 million to $10 million to rebrand the team. There are so many signs and logos that would have to be replaced, and any pre-existing merchandise gets deeply discounted or thrown away. (Example: You could have bought an Adam Morrison jersey REALLY cheap last March.)

By the way — that same NBA insider who estimated the cost at $3-$10 million said it would be money well spent.

via Inside the NBA: Should “Bobcats” name depart, too?.

Bonnell followed up on what was apparently an avalanche of reader comments about ditching the woeful “Bobcats” moniker.

It’s a horrid name for a professional basketball team. I’m a guy that likes new stuff. I think most of the classics are ridiculous. The Celtics aren’t pronounced right, you don’t talk about the lakes in LA, and there is no music in Utah. So I fully support going with something new. But you have to make sure it doesn’t, quite frankly, suck. And the Bobcats? That sucks.

I had never made the connection with Bob Johnson as a reason for the adaptation, and that makes it even worse. Maybe they should just rename them the Mikecats. That sounds like some sort of middle-European mountain cat, but whatever, that’s exactly what I think of when I see Boris Diaw. That and Cheetos.

I’m a D-League guy. And I like a lot of the D-League names, and feel that they have more connection with the local culture and/or are more awesome than most of the NBA names (Reno Bighorns, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Iowa Energy), but the Bobcats reek of a D-League team.

The money definitely doesn’t warrant such a move in these financial times directly after a sale in a small-market that was struggling to just stay afloat. But it’s something to think about going forward.

WALLACE! DIAW! AUGUSTINE! IT’S THE MIKECATS, ON ESPN!