| Future Looks Bright But Good Draft Is Needed For Charlotte Authored by Emir Dukic - June 28, 2006 - 5:05 am
If you are a New Yorker and you love basketball, you are probably jealous of Charlotte. Both the Knicks and Bobcats are (re)building franchises, but they are taking total different approaches. New York is signing or trading for every possible overpaid player in the league, while the Bobcats are drafting safe and developing young players and trying to find the diamond in the rough.
The Bobcats have a great young nucleus of Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace. Plus they have some other underrated talent that nobody wanted but that are doing good things for Charlotte in Primo Brezec and Brevin Knight.
Another thing going for Charlotte is that they have the 3rd and 50th picks in Wednesdays NBA Draft, where they are surely going to find somebody who will help the team immediately.
Most experts think that the Bobcats are going to choose between three players with the 3rd pick. They are the following:
Adam Morrison, G/F, Gonzaga: A guy that can score from anywhere on the floor, and plays with great enthusiasm and hustle. There are concerns about his defense, athletic ability and the fact that he has diabetes.
Rudy Gay, G/F, UCONN: Incredible athlete that can score on will, has amazing upside. Gay can disappear from games and defer to others. Very similar size and play (aside from shooting) to Gerald Wallace.
Brandon Roy, G, Washington: Most complete player in draft. Perfect fit for Bobcats as a starting 2 guard. Experts are wondering if he can ever become a great player.
No one knows in which order these three are ranked on the Bobcats draft board but you can be pretty sure that one of these guys will be the number 3 pick in the draft for the Bobcats if they keep it.
Coach Bernie Bickerstaff has said multiple times that he would be willing to trade the pick to move down if an extra pick or young talent were involved. One of the rumored trades for the Bobcats is a package that would include the team sending its #3 pick to the Hornets for promising young guard J.R. Smith and the #12 pick.
With the 50th pick Bickerstaff has said that he would like to draft someone with a lot of potential or an international player, who would probably spend a lot of time in the NBDL next year.
There are plenty of options for the Bobcats and they are sure to find some pieces that are going to make immediate impacts on the team. Look for the team to improve greatly next year especially if they keep their players healthy.
One thing is for sure…..the Bobcats have a much brighter future than the Knicks and most New Yorkers know it. |
