"Charlotte could land NBA's best young prospects next y

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 143689.htm

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Who will be available? (I will comment of Boston)

Each NBA team is allowed to protect eight players from an expansion draft.

Even if Vin Baker plays like Charles Barkley, I believe Boston should leave him out there, they could use the $14+ Million.

I do not know if the regular draft is held before or after the Expansion Draft, but it should be after, therefore teams can add whom they want in the draft and not have 2nd Rounders and unknowns grabbed up before even getting a look at them, Boston has a Dallas 1st Round pick and their own, plus many young players, it's all kind of confusing.

I know that Eric Williams and Chris Mills are going to free up more than $12 million and we won't be protecting them, as free agents I don't think you can protect them, unless of course you resign them before expansion day, but why would you resign Eric Williams without looking around for someone else?

Protected by my guess:
Paul Pierce
Raef LaFrentz
Jiri Welsch
Walter McCarty
Mark Blount
Marcus Banks
Mike James
Kedrick Brown

Left out there:
Kendrick Perkins
Eric Williams (FA)
Vin Baker
Jumaine Jones
Brandon Hunter
Chris Mills (FA)
Tony Battie

Posted on Sun, Jun. 22, 2003

Shopping for Bobcats
Charlotte could land NBA's best young prospects next year
RICK BONNELL
Staff Writer

John Gabriel's goal in building the first Orlando Magic team in 1989 was to assemble a disposable roster. Gabriel might change that approach if he were building Charlotte's new NBA team.

"I traditionally thought you want to get through that first team as quickly as possible. I'm not sure that's the case here," said Gabriel, the Magic's general manager.

"I just think the talent pool (in Charlotte's expansion draft) is going to be better. And I think you could build a heck of a team. (So) maybe you'd have to live with that team a bit longer."

It's one year out from the drafts that will define the Charlotte Bobcats' first roster. Following the 2004 NBA Finals, the league will hold an expansion draft in which the Bobcats will select at least 14 veterans off other rosters. Days later, the Bobcats will pick fourth overall in the 2004 rookie draft.

Gabriel and several other general managers predicted there would be more young prospects available to the Bobcats than in previous expansion drafts. The reason? Teams are so preoccupied with managing their salary caps, to avoid paying the NBA's new tax on high payrolls, they tend to give up on players sooner than they once did.

"We got some good players -- Reggie Theus, Sam Vincent -- but they were older players," said Gabriel of the Magic's 18-64 debut. "Now I think you're going to see some players (left unprotected) before they hit their primes -- players in their mid-20s, who got big guarantees."

Indiana's Austin Croshere, Golden State's Danny Fortson and Atlanta's Nazr Mohammed roughly fit Gabriel's definition. Each is a power forward or center younger than 30 who once played a major role on an NBA team, but now looks like a luxury.

Philadelphia 76ers President Billy King agrees with Gabriel that there will be younger players with potential left unprotected. The question is whether the Bobcats will accept those contracts.

"Some guy may have a big contract that fits better on a young team than the one he's on because (the established) team is right up against the tax" threshold, King said. "That player might fit as a core player on the new team."

Cap management

Each NBA team is allowed to protect eight players from an expansion draft. Those left exposed aren't necessarily stiffs; two of the players the Hornets chose in 1988 -- Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues -- became franchise icons and are still career leaders in points and assists, respectively.

But by definition, most expansion-draft players are cast-offs: Too old, too injured, too expensive, or simply not talented enough. So while Bobcats management would like to believe Gabriel's cheery prediction, the new franchise will take a buyer-beware approach to the process.

Bobcats executive vice president Ed Tapscott said the new team can't afford to be so loaded down with veteran contracts that it has no room to sign free agents in seasons 2, 3 and 4.

"We do not get a pass on cap management just because we're new," Tapscott said.

Tapscott won't be the Bobcats' day-to-day head of basketball operations, but he will be involved in basketball decisions. He said each player available in the expansion draft must be evaluated not just on ability, but also on that player's salary contract length. Bobcats owner Bob Johnson also has made character a key factor in choosing the team's roster.

The Bobcats' salary cap will be lower than that of existing teams the first two seasons. Under league rules they'll have a two-thirds cap the first season and a three-quarters cap the second season. Ideally, Tapscott has said, the team would have plenty of cap room for free agents when it reaches full-cap status at the end of the second season.

The NBA salary cap was about $40.3 million last season, and league-wide revenues don't figure to rise dramatically between now and the fall of '04. So anticipate the Bobcats having a salary cap of about $30 million their first season, with the ability to exceed that cap through certain exceptions.

If the Bobcats choose to be frugal in the expansion draft, they can -- particularly if a large number of restricted free agents are left unprotected. If the Bobcats draft a restricted free agent (a player whose team can match any other team's offer for him), that player immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent.

So the Bobcats could draft a handful of restricted free agents simply to eat up some of the minimum 14 selections in the expansion draft, without adding to their payroll.

Pick and choose

Normally, the NBA expands by two or more teams at a time. This is a one-team expansion, and the 76ers' King believes that helps the Bobcats."That allows them to really pick and choose (in the expansion draft) because they don't have to worry, `Well, if we pick this guy, then who will the other team take next?' '' King said. "They can just worry about picking the guys they want."

NBA Commissioner David Stern sees other opportunities. Under league rules, teams can offer the Bobcats a draft pick and up to $3 million as inducement to take or not take a particular veteran left unprotected.

"Some teams have made mistakes with their existing rosters," Stern said during a recent visit to Charlotte. "So I'd like to be the GM of the expansion team getting teams to say, `If you take this guy for a year, I'll give you a first-round draft choice.' I think there's going to be some really interesting roster stuff happening."

Perhaps, but Hornets executive vice president Bob Bass warns that the Bobcats could outsmart themselves by getting too aggressive with the expansion draft.

"It will look like they can't win a whole lot of games at first, if they're managing their cap right," Bass said. "But (winning regularly) shouldn't be one of their goals that first season."

Many guys waiting to break out of their shells will be lucky to land in Charlotte. Some really good guys could be left out for the expansion draft, due to them being on stacked teams.

The Cavaliers:

Protected:
LeBron
Z
Boozer
Dajuan Wagner
Bremer
Diop
Davis
Kapono

Free:
Miles
Mihm
Ollie
The rest are free agents at the end of the year, or will be released before the end of the year, i.e. Sundov and Newble.
Ricky Davis and Wagner could be interchangeable to go as well. I see one of them being left off the roster.

Any GM that exposes Miles....who the team has invested tons in...and Mihm while keeping Jason Kapono should (and would) be fired.

I'd snatch up as much young talent as I could if I was the Bobcats GM...you can collect more draft picks over time while they develop.

Quite a few Western teams have benches that could be starting elsewhere. This will naturally work in the Bobcats' favour, as they'll be able to pick up a couple of players who aren't superstars, but are capable of putting up good numbers given a decent amount of PT.

Protected
19 Sam Cassell G 6-3 185 11/18/69 Florida State '93 10
44 Ndudi Ebi F 6-9 200 6/18/84 Westbury Christian HS (TX) R
21 Kevin Garnett F 6-11 240 5/19/76 Farragut Academy HS (IL) 8
16 Troy Hudson* G 6-1 170 3/13/76 Southern Illinois '98 6
34 Michael Olowokandi C 7-0 270 4/03/75 U. of Pacific '98 5
8 Latrell Sprewell F-G 6-5 195 9/08/70 Alabama '92 11
10 Wally Szczerbiak* G-F 6-7 235 3/05/77 Miami (Ohio) '99 4
35 Mark Madsen F 6-9 245 1/28/76 Stanford '00 3

Free
23 Trenton Hassell G 6-5 200 3/04/79 Austin Peay '02 2
32 Fred Hoiberg G 6-5 210 10/15/72 Iowa State '95 8
40 Ervin Johnson C 6-11 255 12/21/67 New Orleans '93 10
24 Quincy Lewis G-F 6-7 215 6/26/77 Minnesota '99 3
4 Keith McLeod G 6-2 190 11/05/79 Bowling Green State '02 R
20 Gary Trent F 6-8 250 9/22/74 Ohio '96

teams like Dallas and Sacramento are rili in trouble...but there isn't much player to pick in the east...i suggest Blazers get rid of Qyntel Woods..could be a good player if enough play time...Randolph...a great inside player...and their weed man Damon Stoudmire himself...

There's no way Blazers would not protect Zach Randolph, he's the future of Portland and he's already averaging a double double.

I do not know if the regular draft is held before or after the Expansion Draft

Following the 2004 NBA Finals, the league will hold an expansion draft in which the Bobcats will select at least 14 veterans off other rosters. Days later, the Bobcats will pick fourth overall in the 2004 rookie draft.

i suggest Blazers get rid of Qyntel Woods..could be a good player if enough play time

That would be great for if he gets on a team where he can start. There was a SLAM(Dirk Nowitzki cover) article on him before he was drafted, on how good he was, even out of a CC.

Thanks alexboom

Dude....I already know that the Bobcats have one player...His name is Kenny Satterfield He looks to be a good player and....Kobe in Charlotte next year?! He got drafted by them!(Hornets) But then again...Kobe in Orange!? *dies* THATS GAY

I want KObe in L.A.!!!!!!!!

well Purple is kinda a gay colour as well..........less gay than orange

lets see
PISTONS
protected
Hamilton
Billups
Wallace
Prince
Okur
Campbell
Milicic
Williamson

unprotected
Hunter
Zelly
Atkins
Davis
Sura

Pistons could protect Zelly instead of Williamson but i'm not sure, all up to Joe D........it'd be a shame to lose Atkins though