Charlotte picks

[grbh]

lonny baxter rfa
jr bremmer rfa
primoz brezec
maruice carter rfa
predrag drobnjak
desmond ferguson rfa

I will update when I get the rest

[grbh]

marcus fizer rfa
richie frahm rfa
brandon hunter

[grbh]

Lots of restricted free agents which isn't a bad way to go.

[grbh]

jason kapono
zaza pachulia
alexsander pavlovic

[Evilmav2]

Geez... this is like the all-Evilmav, autographed rookie card draft.

I've got autoed rookies for Fizer, Zaza, Pavlovic, Kapono, and Frahm...

[Bayliss]

I agree GRBH. But Good Lord, they better make a move with some of those because most of those players suck.

I wish Dallas could grab that Pachulia kid from Orlando. I remember reading some stuff on him last year. He showed some promise. More than any other player they've selected so far.

[grbh]

I guess they feel they can let the rfa's go, and get better players via free agency. Those are some spares though.

Payrol is looking well below the 29MM or 33MM cap

[MavsFanFinley]

AP reports the Bobcats selected Pavlovic for the Cavs for a future first round pick.

[grbh]

jamal sampson
tamar slay rfa
theron smith
jeff trepangnier rfa
gerald wallace

That is 17 players, so that is probably it. No Walker.

[mavsfanforever]

Okay Gerald Wallace pick is the one I enjoyed the most. He does need to get more exposure and was put on the bench due to Webber. I would love if this guy is an all-star next season.

[grbh]

Oops 2 more

jahidi white
loren woods

19 total players.

[grbh]

With that roster, the Bobcats have to be the favorite to come out of the East

[FilthyFinMavs]

Wow no Troy Bell or Maurice Taylor?

[MavsFanFinley]

What a sad looking group.

I wish I would have kept my choices in the other thread because I picked 9 right.

[Stressboy]

What a disappointment. Bernie did what; grabbed 2 extra 1st rounders with White and Pavlovic. He grabbed 17mil in salary before RFA's and FA's are signed. Why on earth would Atlanta or Utah not try to use there cap to be a dump for the bobcats. Oh how different it would be if Stressboy were the GM. Now you guys don't fret. We might just dumped Walker on 1 of them directly to get our Trade Exception, if that is what is needed.

Stressboy

[Poindexter Einstein]

I dont see anywhere near 17m in salary ... looks about 12 to me at a raw glance

edit: with a calculator, with Pavlovic going to cleve, I get 14.7

[MavsFanFinley]

NBA expansion draft: No Mavs among Bobcats' 19 picks

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Choosing an assortment of players with mostly low profiles and low salaries, the Charlotte Bobcats began stocking their roster Tuesday night by selecting 19 players in the expansion draft. None of the players selected were Dallas Mavericks.

Jahidi White of Phoenix, Marcus Fizer of Chicago, Gerald Wallace of Sacramento and Predrag Drobnjak of the Los Angeles Clippers were the most experienced players among the Bobcats' selections from the other 29 NBA franchises.

White, a six-year veteran, will have the highest salary of any Bobcats player – $5.88 million. But the Bobcats received $3 million and a future first-round pick from Phoenix for agreeing to take White, who has one year remaining on his contract.

The Bobcats also selected Utah guard Aleksandar Pavlovic, who will be dealt to Cleveland for a future first-round draft pick. Pavlovic will give the Cavs a shooter to replace Jason Kapono, who was one of just four guards chosen by the Bobcats.

"What we want is players who need an opportunity to show they can play. Players talk all the time, they want PT – playing time – and they want to know their role. We can guarantee both," Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said.

About 500 fans turned out for the "selection show" and greeted most of the picks with silence. Only Fizer, Wallace and White drew some applause.

But the Bobcats knew going into the draft that few of their selections would be household names. Preferring youth to star power, Charlotte is trying to slowly build a team around players with long-term potential.

A big name will be added in Thursday night's NBA draft when the Bobcats select either Emeka Okafor or high school phenom Dwight Howard.

Charlotte traded the No. 4 pick to the Clippers to move up and make a run at Okafor.

Other selections by the Bobcats were: Indiana center Primoz Brezec, Lakers forward Jamal Sampson, Orlando forward Zaza Pachulia, Boston forward Brandon Hunter and Memphis forward Theron Smith.

"We think this young man is the sleeper of this election," Bickerstaff said of Smith, who appeared in 20 games for Memphis last season and averaged 2.2 points.

Each NBA team could protect up to eight players but had to make at least one player available.

The Bobcats drafted nine restricted free agents, thereby making them unrestricted free agents. They included Seattle guard Richie Frahm, Miami center Loren Woods, Nets forward Tamar Slay, Nuggets guard Jeff Trepagnier, Washington forward Lonnie Baxter, Golden State guard J.R. Bremer, Fizer, New Orleans guard Maurice Carter and Portland swingman Desmond Ferguson.

One glaring omission from the expansion draft was a point guard, which Bickerstaff said he'd try to get through free agency.

"We must find a point guard," Bickerstaff said. "We would look for a veteran point guard to mentor the younger guys, but it is the young guys' game. A veteran will be here to give us respect with the referees and professionalism in the locker room."

[mavsfanforever]

Originally posted by: Poindexter Einstein
I dont see anywhere near 17m in salary ... looks about 12 to me at a raw glance

edit: with a calculator, with Pavlovic going to cleve, I get 14.7

Thats what I got. 14.7. Does that mean they are 20 m under the cap and half the roster with unrestricted FA's.

[ocelot_ark]

What a pathetic joke of a franchise this shall become.

[bcrav4]

All I can say is LOL.

[Poindexter Einstein]

Here's a good summary from the Cats' website
---------------------------------------------------

Bobcats Build Inaugural Roster With 19 Picks In Expansion Selection


The Charlotte Bobcats began the process of building their inaugural team by picking 19 players in the Charlotte Expansion Selection. The Bobcats selected 10 players under contract and nine restricted free agents. By the rules of the Expansion Agreement, the restricted free agents will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
"Tonight we continue building the Bobcats organization," said Bobcats majority owner Robert L. Johnson. "Bernie and Ed have accomplished our goal of creating a team that will compete hard on the court and represent the franchise well off the court."

Charlotte selected 10 players who are under contract: Primoz Brezec (Indiana), Predrag Drobnjak (L.A. Clippers), Brandon Hunter (Boston), Jason Kapono (Cleveland), Zaza Pachulia (Orlando), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Utah), Jamal Sampson (L.A. Lakers), Theron Smith (Memphis), Gerald Wallace (Sacramento) and Jahidi White (Phoenix).

The Bobcats also chose restricted free agents Lonny Baxter (Washington), J.R. Bremer (Golden State), Maurice Carter (New Orleans), Desmond Ferguson (Portland), Marcus Fizer (Chicago), Richie Frahm (Seattle), Tamar Slay (New Jersey), Jeff Trepagnier (Denver) and Loren Woods (Miami).

"This is a very exciting time for everyone involved in the birth of this franchise, from community leaders to fans, from our new season ticket holders and business partners to each member of the Bobcats organization," said Bobcats President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Tapscott. "We look forward to the next step in our building process when we make our team's first-ever rookie draft pick on Thursday."

Charlotte acquired the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft for selecting forward Predrag Drobnjak from the Los Angeles Clippers. The team also added a future first-round selection and an undisclosed amount of cash for selecting Jahidi White from Phoenix.

"We are excited about the make up of our first Bobcats roster," said Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff. "We feel the fans will appreciate a young, exciting team that will compete hard every night, defend and embrace the team concept. It was also important that we keep an eye firmly focused on the future with a long-term vision that allows for maximum roster flexibility."

Brezec joins the Bobcats from the Indiana Pacers, where he played all three of his NBA seasons. The 7-1, 252-pound center has 62 career games and averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.5 minutes, with 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds this past season. A native of Slovenia, he was a member of his country’s 22-and-under national team in 1999 and played four seasons for Olimpija Ljubljana. Brezec was originally the 27th overall pick by Indiana in the 2000 NBA Draft.

The Bobcats agreed to select Drobnjak yesterday as part of a trade with the L.A. Clippers that gave the Bobcats the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft in exchange for the fourth and 33rd selections. A 6-11, 272 pound forward, he averaged 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 19.9 minutes over 207 career games in two seasons with Seattle and one with the Clippers. The native of Serbia & Montenegro was a member of the Yugoslavian National Team that won the gold medal at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis.

Hunter completed his rookie season with Boston in 2003-04 and averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 minutes in 36 games. The 6-7, 260-pound forward started 12 times and shot .457 from the field in helping the Celtics to a playoff appearance. The 56th overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft scored more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds at Ohio University, joining NBA players Gary Trent and Ron Harper as the only Mid-American Conference players to achieve the feat.

Kapono finished his rookie season in Cleveland and shot .477 from three-point range and also hit .833 from the foul line. The 6-8, 213-pound forward averaged 3.5 points in his 41 appearances, including three starts, and was drafted with the 31st overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft. While a collegian at UCLA, he finished third on the school’s all-time scoring list behind Don MacLean and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and was the only player in school history to lead the Bruins in scoring in four-straight seasons.

Pachulia spent his rookie season with Orlando and appeared in 59 games. He averaged 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.3 minutes. Pachulia reached double-figure scoring three times in 2003-04, including a career-high 14 points on Feb. 4, 2004 against Toronto.

Pavlovic played in 79 games for Utah as a rookie and averaged 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 14.5 minutes. The 6-7, 210-pound forward from Serbia & Montenegro was the 19th selection by the Jazz in the 2003 NBA Draft after performing for the Under-20 National Team in his home country.

Sampson is the cousin of former NBA star Ralph Sampson and joins the Bobcats from the L.A. Lakers. The 6-11, 235-pound forward/center began his NBA career with a stint in Milwaukee and played behind All-NBA center Shaquille O’Neal and All-NBA forward Karl Malone this past season and averaged 2.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and .478 from the field in 10 appearances.

Smith played more than any rookie on the Memphis roster this past season, even after missing 53 games with right knee tendinitis. The 6-8, 225-pound forward averaged 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds and earned regular time as the Grizzlies were fighting in the Western Conference playoff race.

Wallace played all three of his NBA seasons in Sacramento and finished second in the NBA Dunk Contest in 2002 to Jason Richardson. In his 138 career games, the 6-7, 215-pound guard averaged 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds and in games he started the Kings had an 8-1 record. He was the 25th overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft and was the 2000 High School Player of the Year.

In addition to selecting White, the Bobcats receive a future first-round pick that currently belongs to Cleveland. Charlotte will get that selection in the next season that the Cavaliers qualify for the playoffs. White was originally drafted with the 43rd overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by Washington, who was coached then by Bickerstaff. White has played 317 games in a six-year career with averages of 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and .524 shooting from the field. The 6-9, 290-pound forward/center is the oldest and most experienced player selected by the Bobcats.

The Bobcats also selected nine players that are restricted free agents entering the 2004-05 season. By the rules of the Expansion Agreement, the restricted free agents will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

Baxter is a two-year NBA player who played 117 career games with Chicago, Toronto and Washington and has career averages of 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. As a collegiate senior, he helped lead Maryland to the 2002 NCAA National Championship, averaging 15.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.97 blocks.

Bremer played in 31 games with Cleveland and five games with Golden State this past season. Not drafted after college, Bremer signed as a free agent with Boston on July 17, 2002 and saw action in 64 games, averaging a career-best 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Carter saw action in 10 NBA games this past season, four with the Los Angeles Lakers and six with New Orleans. A former standout at Louisiana State University, Carter played all four seasons (1995-99) at LSU, averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 108 games. He finished his college career with 1,299 points.

Ferguson appeared in 41 games for Cleveland and seven for Portland this past season. He averaged 1.9 points, 0.6 rebounds in 4.6 minutes over his career. Ferguson played college basketball at Detroit Mercy and scored 1,113 points over his career.

Fizer has played his entire four-year NBA career with Chicago. The fourth overall selection in the 2000 NBA Draft has appeared in 232 NBA games, making 35 starts, and averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists, while shooting .432 from the field.

Frahm became the first Seattle rookie since Xavier McDaniel to score 30 points in a game last season, when he had 31 points on 10-11 shooting on Dec. 20, 2003 against Denver. Not drafted out of college in 2001, Frahm was Gonazaga University’s career leader in three-point field goals made with 280.

Slay was part of New Jersey’s 2002-03 Eastern Conference Champions team that went on to face eventual 2003 league champion San Antonio Spurs. A two-year NBA player, Slay has appeared in 58 career games and 12 postseason contests, all with New Jersey with career averages of 2.5 points, 1.0 rebounds and 7.6 minutes.

Trepagnier is a three-year NBA player who appeared in 174 NBA games with Cleveland (2001-02) and two with Denver. A second round selection (36th overall) in 2001, Trepagnier averaged 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds over his four-year collegiate career at Southern California.

Woods has spent three seasons in the NBA, including two seasons in Minnesota and this past season in Miami. He has appeared in 136 career games and averaged 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. No stranger to the Charlotte region, Woods played two years at Wake Forest University before transferring to Arizona following his sophomore season.

[Stressboy]

I included Pavlovic's numbers to get 17, also, there was a player that I was uncertain of his status so I he is probably RFA.

[Poindexter Einstein]

[quote]
Originally posted by: mavsfanforever

Thats what I got. 14.7. Does that mean they are 20 m under the cap and half the roster with unrestricted FA's.

It looks they are approx 15m under the 30m cap, and they can use that much on FAs.

Unlike others here, I think it was a wise strategy. They can go out and get 2-3 FAs for more than the MLE. That can give them a great foundation for the future (and a strong advantage over competitors for mid-level FAs and RFAs).

If they wish, they could also at some point cut some of the 10 players chosen who are under contract (if need be) and further increase their spending room. For example, if they dont see Jahidi White as a long term solution, they trade him for a pick, or just cut him as a last resort, and theres another "more than the MLE" slot to use.

[MavsFanFinley]

I understand money talks, but what free agent would want to join that group of players?

[Poindexter Einstein]

MFF ... Money talks. For certain players, they will be offering more than anyone else does.

And for some, playing time talks even more loudly, and there is a wide open shot to play reguarly.

Once they recruit one or two FAs, others will come easer. It wont take but a couple pretty decent young players signing with them to give them enough credibilty to attract others IMO. Most observers think like you do, which is why I think they will sneak up on some people and surprise with their sucess in signings. (It will take a while to translate that into a successful TEAM on the floor, though).

As support for my view - think about teams that sucked in the past, who had some money. Were they able to sign FAs? Yes. (Players are always swayed by the green stuff.) They wont get a superstar but the guy who is getting 5M offers (the MLE) and thus probably wants a place to show he can STAR, will take their 6M offer with its implied promise of lots of PT, and be thrilled.

[mary]

That is 17 players, so that is probably it. No Walker.

Well poo, I was ready to celebrate the departure of our beloved volume shooter - I even have cake [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

[dirno2000]

This is a pretty weak FA class...there aren't many players worth more than the MLE. If Charlotte's plan is to outbid cap strapped teams, they're going to dig themselves into a hole pretty quickly. Cap room is the most overrated commodity in the league. Good players just use teams with cap room as leverage to work a sign and trade to a team they want to go to. Or…you end up like the Wizards, paying big money to a "good stats on a bad team” guy like Gil Arenas. Of course if the Cats win 20 it will be a great year, so the bar isn’t very high.

[Ummmmm Ok]

Am I the only one that is worried that the Cats don't have a Point Guard and that they can offer more than the MLE for Daniels?

[Chicago JK]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
I understand money talks, but what free agent would want to join that group of players?

I agree. i don't see many players interested in playing for an expansion team this year. They may use them as leverage though. I think their year to get free agents is year 2 and year 3. Grab Howard at number 2. I would have picked Troy Bell. Drob and Jahidi will be solid veterans this year. I probably would have chosen a player like Walker but that is just me.

[madape]

Complete List:

F Lonny Baxter* Washington
G J.R. Bremer* Golden State
C Primoz Brezec Indiana
G Maurice Carter* New Orleans
C Predrag Drobnjak L.A. Clippers
F Desmond Ferguson* Portland
F Marcus Fizer* Chicago
G Richie Frahm* Seattle
F Brandon Hunter Boston
F Jason Kapono Cleveland
F-C Zaza Pachulia Orlando
F Aleksandar Pavlovic Utah
F Jamal Sampson L.A. Lakers
G Tamar Slay* New Jersey
F Theron Smith Memphis
G Jeff Trepagnier* Denver
F Gerald Wallace Sacramento
C Jahidi White Phoenix
C Loren Woods* Miami

[sike]

there has to be something planned here.....this team will not do....not even for an expansion team..

[foglemann]

Ummmmmm, you hit the nail on the head, we are in for some trouble with Daniels. They could lock him up for four years at 6 per and wouldn't even bat an eyelash. Lets hope they will look to sign cheap free agents like old vets.