page_title: Charlotte Hornets
section_title: 2010–2014: Final years of the Bobcats
hierarchical_section_title: Charlotte Hornets / Franchise history / 2004–2014: Charlotte Bobcats / 2010–2014: Final years of the Bobcats
caption_attribution_description: Charlotte Bobcats at Washington Wizards March 9, 2013
context_page_description: The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team is largely owned by NBA Hall-of-Fame member Michael Jordan, who acquired a controlling interest in the team in 2010. The Hornets play their home games at the Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte.
  The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the NBA established the Charlotte Bobcats, which was regarded as a new expansion team at the time. In 2013, the New Orleans franchise announced it would rebrand itself the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately returning the Hornets name, records, and official history to Charlotte. The Bobcats were officially renamed the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014–15 season.
context_section_description: Despite the departures of Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler, the Bobcats hoped to make the playoffs for a second straight season. Following a dismal 9–19 start, Jordan announced that Larry Brown had stepped down as head coach. Paul Silas was hired as their new head coach the same day. The Bobcats sent Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers and received two first round draft picks, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, and Dante Cunningham, also acquiring D. J. White and Morris Peterson in a trade with the Thunder. Going down the stretch, injuries to both Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas derailed any chances of Charlotte trying to catch the Indiana Pacers for the eighth spot in the east. In the end, the Bobcats finished the season with a 34–48 record overall, finishing 25–29 under Silas. 
  On June 13, 2011, the Bobcats made some changes to their front office by hiring former Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho to the same position and promoting Rod Higgins to President of Basketball Operations. During the 2011 NBA draft the Bobcats sent Jackson, Shaun Livingston, and the 19th pick to Milwaukee and received Corey Maggette and the 7th pick in return. The Bobcats used that pick to draft Bismack Biyombo and with their 9th pick drafted Connecticut's Kemba Walker, the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
  In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Charlotte lost often, including their last 23 games. During their season finale against the New York Knicks, the Bobcats recorded yet another loss as their win percentage dropped to .106, setting a new record for the worst season ever by an NBA team (as this season was shortened by the lockout, the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers still hold the record for most losses in a season with 73). Overall, the team's record was 7–59. On April 30, 2012, the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return as head coach. St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap was named as his successor.
  Despite finishing the season with the worst record in NBA history, the Bobcats received the second overall pick. With the second pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Bobcats selected Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and selected Jeffery Taylor with the 31st pick. They also added Ben Gordon, Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood in free agency. The Bobcats won their first game against the Pacers, snapping their 23-game losing streak. The team seemed to rebound with a 7–5 start to the season. However, they promptly went on an 18-game losing streak from which they never recovered, snapping the streak with a win at Chicago. Charlotte finished 21–61, the second-worst record in the league. Dunlap was fired on April 23, reportedly because the players were turned off by his heavy-handed coaching style. He would be replaced by former Los Angeles Lakers assistant head coach Steve Clifford.
  During the 2013 NBA draft, the Bobcats selected power forward/center Cody Zeller 4th overall. The Bobcats would also obtain former Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson in free agency. In February 2014, the team received Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour in a trade with the Bucks. The new players and coaching staff worked as the Bobcats clinched a playoff berth for the second time in franchise history by beating Cleveland on the road. Charlotte finished the regular season 43–39. However, the Bobcats were swept in four games by defending champion Miami in the first round.
caption: The Bobcats selected Kemba Walker as the 9th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Charlotte Bobcats at Washington Wizards March 9, 2013", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS-1D X", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.3 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2013:03:10 00:21:38", "Image Artist": "Keith Allison", "Image ExifOffset": "304", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "942", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12877", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "4000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "4000", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:03:09 09:58:38", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:03:09 09:58:38", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1245723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "1485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "200", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "39", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "39", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "144", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "144", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "4", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "072012001146", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[200, 200, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF200mm f/2.8L USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}