The Bobcats were disappointed not to get the top pick in the June 28 draft, which would have meant they could have selected Kentucky big man Anthony Davis.
Based on what Davis told the Dan Patrick radio show, the feeling is mutual. A Chicagoan who wears jersey No. 23 and Air Jordan shoes, Davis looked forward to playing for Bobcats owner Michael Jordan:
"A lot of disappointment inside my family. My mom wanted me to go to Charlotte. I have a lot of good friends in Charlotte," Davis, the prohibitive favorite to be the top pick, told Patrick.
Instead, Davis is ticketed to the Hornets, who won the top pick in the draft lottery. The Bobcats, coming off the worst season in NBA history (7-59) will pick second. President of basketball operations Rod Higgins said they'll explore all trade scenarios and audition at least a half-dozen players for No. 2. Undoubtedly that group will include Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson and Kentucky small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
But trades -- either up, down or for a veteran -- might all make sense, particularly since the Bobcats can create roughly $20 million in room under next season's salary cap. Higgins said it was "amazing" how many calls he received from other teams, inquiring about the second pick, in the hours right after the lottery.
With the Bobcats having so many needs, exploring those offers makes sense, particularly if drafting Davis is out of the picture.
NOTES, QUOTES
--ABC/ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said the 7-59 Bobcats, as an organization, tanked last season and shouldn't have been "rewarded" for that by receiving the most chances in the draft lottery. Van Gundy, who formerly coached the Knicks and Rockets, said Charlotte's players and coaches tried, but that the front office built a bad roster "by design" where none of the five starters was a top-15 player at his position.
--The Bobcats said this would be a deliberate, thorough coaching search and that's how it's been. They've interviewed at least nine candidates, most prominently former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and former Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan. It could be until after the pre-draft combine before they hire a replacement for Paul Silas. Former Knicks center Patrick Ewing is out of the running, president of basketball operations Rod Higgins told ESPN.com.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I think the organization did (tank) by not getting the best roster it could have. ... You could make the case, at every position, that they did not have a top-15 player." -- Jeff Van Gundy on a Bobcats team that set the NBA record for worst winning percentage in a season.
