A System With Teeth

Daniel could have lied elegantly. Instead he chose the harder truth. "I am not trading the reason this works," he said. "But I will trade anyone if the alternative is wasting what you have built." Marcus nodded. "Fair." "Is it?" "No," Marcus said. "But it's honest." Two nights before the deadline, Charlotte beat Indiana to reach 24-28. The East was a traffic jam. The eighth seed was close enough to smell. ESPN moved the Hornets from punchline segments to debate segments, which in sports television meant they had become useful. Calvin Roarke remained unconvinced. "Nice story," he said. "But April basketball exposes cute systems. The playoffs are about stars. Charlotte does not have one."