Bobcats targeting four with first pick

[Evilmav2]

This article doesn't sound like Bernie is looking too hard at foreigners or high schoolers (with the exception Livingston)...


Bobcats targeting four with first pick

June 11,2004
Richard Walker
FREEDOM NEWS SERVICE

CHARLOTTE - If there are no trades and if Luol Deng doesn't thoroughly impress Charlotte Bobcats scouts and coaches in his workout next Tuesday, the NBA expansion team is set to make its initial first-round pick from among four players - Arizona's Andre Igoudala, Stanford's Josh Childress, Connecticut's Ben Gordon or Duke recruit Shawn Livingston.

That's what Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff told Charlotte's "Prime Time with the Packman" radio show audience on WFNZ-AM 610 and WFNA-AM 1660 Thursday afternoon.

"Those are the four that we're really looking at," Bickerstaff said after naming Igoudala, Childress, Gordon and Livingston (in that order) as candidates for the team's top pick.

The Bobcats pick No. 4 overall in the June 24 draft.

Bickerstaff quickly clarified that those four players had been the most impressive to him and his scouts in workouts they had seen.

The qualifier in the statement is that Bickerstaff said Deng, who is leaving Duke after one season, is coming to Fort Mill, S.C., for an individual workout next Tuesday.

Igoudala, Childress and Gordon previously worked out in Fort Mill at the Bobcats training complex, while the Bobcats held an individual workout with Livingston in his native Chicago Wednesday.

Livingston, a 6-foot-7 point guard from Peoria, Ill., Central High, signed with Duke last year and has yet to officially declare for the NBA draft. He has until June 17 to withdraw from the draft.

"For selfish reasons, I'd like to see him go to Duke," Bickerstaff said. "But he has a chance to really be big-time."

Bickerstaff also wouldn't rule out the possibility of trading up from No. 4 to Nos. 1 or 2 in the draft.

"We've talked to Orlando," Bickerstaff said of the Magic, who hold the No. 1 overall pick. "We've talked to the Clippers (No. 2 pick). So we've looked into moving up."

In addition to the rookie draft, Bickerstaff also is preparing to peruse a list of available NBA veterans for the expansion draft, which will be held either June 22 or 23.

Every NBA team can protect up to eight players from the Bobcats, but each team must make at least one player available. Also, teams cannot protect unrestricted free agents.

"Reality is really starting to set in with this team," Bickerstaff said of building the Bobcats from scratch. "We're looking for deals. We're looking for draft choices. We're looking for money. And we're looking for talent. So there's a lot out there for us to look at right now."

Bickerstaff said some of the team's expansion lists have been forwarded to the Bobcats and he hopes to have every team's list of available players by today.

Deng will be the 13th player to workout for the Bobcats.

In addition to Igoudala, Childress, Gordon and Livingston, the team has worked out Rafael Araujo of Brigham Young, Marcus Douthit of Providence, Matt Freije of Vanderbilt, Darius Rice of Miami (Fla.), Andris Biedrins of Latvia, Josh Smith of Mouth of Wilson, Va., Oak Hill Academy, Herre Lamizana of Rutgers, Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's and Chris Duhon of Duke.

In addition to the fourth overall pick in the first round, the Bobcats have a second-round pick (No. 33 overall).