For much of the past two seasons, the Charlotte Hornets' bench has been a time bomb, and no one ever knew what the timer was set at game-to-game.
Then-coach Steve Clifford could enter the fourth quarter with a small lead but wondering how much he could trust his reserves. Five minutes? Three minutes? He couldn't play point guard Kemba Walker or power forward Marvin Williams all 48, so the second unit had to participate at least a little, but the messes that ensued were frequent and costly. A team that had back-to-back 36-victory non-playoff seasons couldn't afford for that to continue.
So the new Hornets regime _ general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach James Borrego _ spent what little salary-cap flexibility they had over the summer on a 36-year-old point guard with a Hall of Fame-type resume, searching for 15 minutes a game without the constant chaos and resulting face-palms.
Tony Parker, who spent his previous 17 NBA seasons as the San Antonio Spurs' iconic point guard, was asked if he was aware how fragile the Hornets' second unit has been. He cited evidence as if it was his birthdate.
"Last year this team lost like 15 games (by margins) between three and five points, so obviously holding leads is a big thing," Parker said.
That big thing becomes Parker's problem. Not exclusively, of course, but the Hornets used what precious little room they had under the luxury-tax threshold to sign Parker to a two-year, $10.25 million contract (the second season, at $5.25 million, is unguaranteed).
Wednesday is the season-opener at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, and Parker's ability to lift the bench will go far in determining the Hornets' record.
Parker said the day before training camp he didn't sign here to be a "player-coach," as in just to mentor in a warmup suit. His job is to play (in limited minutes) and bring some organization and poise to a second unit that has contributed greatly to the Hornets' disappointments of late.
Borrego, who spent 10 seasons as a Spurs assistant, is direct in describing the crucial role Parker must play to fix the Hornets bench.
"It starts with Tony Parker: He stabilizes the group. He's the father figure of the group," Borrego said.
"He gets Malik (Monk) what he needs to get, he understands the offense, Tony is very aware. He's been doing this for 17 years. He understands what that unit needs to look like."
It needs to look radically different than before.
