Patrick Ewing, who has become an established figure in the coaching realm after years of stardom with the New York Knicks, has joined forces with Michael Jordan in Charlotte, who tortured Ewing's Knicks for most of his career.
Ewing is one of the greatest Knicks in franchise history, despite having never won a title for the basketball-mad fan base. He often fell victim to Michael Jordan's Bulls, never getting over that hump despite performing at the height of his capabilities against them.
He clearly hasn't held a grudge though; he has been hired as an assistant coach serving on Steve Clifford's staff for the Charlotte Bobcats, who are owned by Jordan. Previous to this hiring, Ewing was on the Houston Rockets' staff from 2003 to 2008, before latching on in Orlando from 2008 to 2012. At both stops, Ewing was on the staff with Clifford.
Ewing's new role in Charlotte could eventually fulfill his stated desire to become an NBA head coach. The Bobcats roster is devoid of star-caliber talent, and last year's top selection, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is an athletic and promising wing prospect that is too raw at 20 years old to carry a subpar supporting cast.
The Bobcats organization is likely hoping that Ewing can work on the overall games of high-ceiling big men Bismack Biyombo and Byron Mullens.
In two NBA seasons, Biyombo has proven himself a capable shot blocker, but has failed to improve in any other asset of his game. Offensively, Biyombo has approached "unmitigated disaster" categorization, shooting 45 percent from the field as a center. In 27 minutes per game, Biyombo averaged a mere 4.8 points per game this season, and 7.9 rebounds while shooting a horrid 52 percent from the free throw line.
Mullens has proven the more gifted offensive big man, but he launches more than five 3-pointers a night, connecting on just 31 percent of them. He has been a mess defensively also, limiting the Bobcats' faith in him to handle a heavy workload.
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