What year was our best draft?

[Weezy21]

Ok i know grading a draft one day after it happend is kinda stupid b/c we havent seen how the players have panned out, however, since our first draft, what has been your favorite?

2004- mek and b-rob
2005- ray and may
2006- ammo and hollins
2007- wright (traded for J-rich) and dudley
2008- dj. lexy, weaver (traded for future 2nd rounder)
2009- henderson, brown, vaden

I know a lot of yall r still pissed we couldnt get twill, but what do yall think?...I personally rank this as my favorite draft so far...i think we got 2 quality players that will thrive in LB's system

[dnbman]

2007, essentially netting us Diaw and Bell.

Last year might be best if Ajinca ever pans out.

This year could definitely be in the running.

All of the others aren't.

[BETCATS]

Idk if we ever had a 'great' draft, but all of them were 'good' (short term only)

[teej]

07 for the trade(s) only, although if Ray or DJ step it up their's will be the best.

[WAM9]

I'd certainly argue that our last 3 drafts have been significantly better than our first 3.

2007 gets us Diaw and Bell.
2008 will be awesome if Lexy develops.
2009 - It's way to early to judge but I think that by season's end, Henderson and Brown will both be in our top 8 rotation. In a draft that's supposed to be so weak, that's quite an accomplishment.

[Slam]

Our first draft was by far our best. The fact that we were able to move up to the 2nd over all pick without having to give anything up was amazing.

Put it this way: Instead of EO50, Josh Childress could have been our 1st overall pick and building block.

[dnbman]

Our first draft was by far our best. The fact that we were able to move up to the 2nd over all pick without having to give anything up was amazing.

Put it this way: Instead of EO50, Josh Childress could have been our 1st overall pick and building block.

That's a good point and Okafor is great, but he's not a clear blue chipper, which is what you hope to get with a second pick. Again, Okafor is great, but it's not that amazing of a pick.

[BRNC]

If he makes the all-star team once he will be...but IMO our best draft will be the one our first home grown all-star comes from...we've had some solid drafts but I'm still waiting for the great...and the great will be the first all-star!

[Slam]

That's a good point and Okafor is great, but he's not a clear blue chipper, which is what you hope to get with a second pick. Again, Okafor is great, but it's not that amazing of a pick.
He's been our most consistent player, one of only 3 or 4 in the NBA to average a double double over the past 4 years.

Were there any blue chipers outside of Dwight in 2004?

What other blue chippers do we have on our roster that are better than EO50?

2004 was the best because we were able to move up and because we got a pretty solid foundation in EO50 to build on.

[davcbow]

GW could be a all star this next season and if he does become a all star I'll be saying the expansion draft was the best draft.....:biggrin:

[BRNC]

I agree dav...if Crash makes it I'll vote expansion...one of these guys needs to step up and take the honor...LOL

[dnbman]

He's been our most consistent player, one of only 3 or 4 in the NBA to average a double double over the past 4 years.

Were there any blue chipers outside of Dwight in 2004?

What other blue chippers do we have on our roster that are better than EO50?

2004 was the best because we were able to move up and because we got a pretty solid foundation in EO50 to build on.

I can buy it. There's just something about his court demeanor and his every day impact that make me not see him as a homerun pick. But, I guess in the context of the draft, the Bobcats did well.

[Slam]

There's just something about his court demeanor and his every day impact that make me not see him as a homerun pick.
Valid point and I agree - heck, I've been most critical of it, but considering the importance of that 1st draft and how we manged to trick our way up to the 2 spot, I think it's 2004 hands down.

If DJ explodes like I think he can and Lexy really does deliver, then 2008 will win it hands down.

[SWedd523]

1) Expansion Draft brought us Crash
2) 2007 brought us Raja and Diaw
3) 2008 brought us DJ.................... and LExy
4) 2004 brought us Mek
5) 2005 brought us Ray
6) 2009 is this low because I simply don't know yet
7) 2006 = biggest fuck up ever

[davcbow]

1) Expansion Draft brought us Crash
2) 2007 brought us Raja and Diaw
3) 2008 brought us DJ.................... and LExy
4) 2004 brought us Mek
5) 2005 brought us Ray
6) 2009 is this low because I simply don't know yet
7) 2006 = biggest fuck up ever

I pretty much agree with this.... good call swedd....:cool:

[BRNC]

I pretty much agree with this.... good call swedd....:cool:

List looks very reasonable swedd...and since Hendo nor Brown have played a game in the NBA I agree on 2009...we'll have some kind of read on them by seasons end...

[WAM9]

Our first draft was by far our best. The fact that we were able to move up to the 2nd over all pick without having to give anything up was amazing.

Put it this way: Instead of EO50, Josh Childress could have been our 1st overall pick and building block.

Yeah, I thought about that but I was thinking that that was kind of a Front Office move prior to the draft, not really the draft itself. I do realize I am being inconsistent because of the whole Diaw and Bell thing.

Especially when you consider the strong alternative that first year (Josh Childress) and other busts that year like Sean Livingston, our first draft would have to be right up there. I know there is a lot of talk about Emeka on here but how bad would we be without him.

So Bernie made a couple of great moves in the expansion draft and drafting Emeka...We all know how great a job Larry Brown & MJ have been doing in the past 12 months...what the hell did we do in between?

[BRNC]

Some pretty darned mediocre drafts...some of it had to do with luck of the draw...some (if you go back and really think about May draft) there did not "appear" to be a better option...some of it I can't explain because I just don't understand it myself...:D

[teej]

Some pretty darned mediocre drafts...some of it had to do with luck of the draw...some (if you go back and really think about May draft) there did not "appear" to be a better option...some of it I can't explain because I just don't understand it myself...:D

And then this thing called Sam Vincent happened...

[BRNC]

bite your tongue Teej...and promise to never say that name again...:mad:

[davcbow]

And then this thing called Sam Vincent happened...

Paaa-lease Im finally getting over that crappy ham biscuit.....:cool:

[SWedd523]

Paaa-lease Im finally getting over that crappy ham biscuit.....:cool:
:fhb:








10char

[teej]

bite your tongue Teej...and promise to never say that name again...:mad:

LOL when we teach our descendents the Bobcats lore he has to be in the discussion, so I'm keeping my hatred fresh :p

nah, we'll be in the playoffs soon enough. we should invite him to show him how a team is made...

[spectre]

1) Expansion Draft brought us Crash
2) 2007 brought us Raja and Diaw
3) 2008 brought us DJ.................... and LExy
4) 2004 brought us Mek
5) 2005 brought us Ray
6) 2009 is this low because I simply don't know yet
7) 2006 = biggest fuck up ever

But every one has a ? beside it...so we can make a list of OUR "best" drafts"...but none were THE best. Other than the "no brainer" pick in 2004 we've pretty much screwed up in some respect every time...with the possible exception of this year's and to a lesser extent last year.

My list:

1) Expansion...Bernie got ONE choice right out of what...60? Crash is that good though where I think he warrants the top.
2) 2007 - Richardson which in turn brought us Boris & Raja...both good moves
3) 2004 - Mek...solid starter but no drive to get better
4) 2005 - Felton...solid starter but then there's May
5) 2008 - Solid backup in DJ...but Lex right now is looking like a bungled move in trading our future 1st.
6) 2009 - Solid backup SG in Henderson with a possible steel in Brown. Depending on who turns out better between the 2 higher picks this could jump #5.

I've mentally blocked out 2006.

[Slam]

So Bernie made a couple of great moves in the expansion draft and drafting Emeka...We all know how great a job Larry Brown & MJ have been doing in the past 12 months...what the hell did we do in between?
2006 happened.

I said at the time that the selection we made would set us back at least 3 years - and people based me.

[BRNC]

2006 happened.

I said at the time that the selection we made would set us back at least 3 years - and people based me.

Why'd they base you slam.....?;):biggrin::p

[110oldeast]

I still maintain that May was a PR pick (eventually backfired). The option many talked about in Danny Granger (I thought this was the guy even though I did not know he would be as good as he is) would have made 2005 a slam dunk in this thing. The waste of a lottery pick drags 2005 down in the same way Ammo did with the 2006 draft.




Some pretty darned mediocre drafts...some of it had to do with luck of the draw...some (if you go back and really think about May draft) there did not "appear" to be a better option...some of it I can't explain because I just don't understand it myself...:D

[Weezy21]

i love all the answers, but i didnt really explain my self in the first post...i meant to say at the time (day after each draft), which one were u more excited about...i no we can all sit here an judge what was the best...but the day after i no ppl like ammofan an mustachio were thrilled with the year we drafted morrison

i was saying this is the most excited iv been after the outcome of a draft

[WAM9]

i love all the answers, but i didnt really explain my self in the first post...i meant to say at the time (day after each draft), which one were u more excited about...i no we can all sit here an judge what was the best...but the day after i no ppl like ammofan an mustachio were thrilled with the year we drafted morrison

i was saying this is the most excited iv been after the outcome of a draft

Based on that criteria, I would have to say that I was the happiest after the 2007 draft as I really thought that Richardson was the best player we had ever had in a Bobcat's uniform.

2004 would have to rank right up there as I thought Okafor had more star potential than he has shown and this years draft would probably be third for me as I see it as the draft we are aquiring our last couple of pieces to make our playoff run.

[Slam]

Me too. I was over the moon when we made that draft day trade for JRich.

[teej]

Using that, the best was 05, because I was only 12 and a super Heel fan

And the least would be last year for me, because I wanted Brook.

[BRNC]

I'd have to say 2007 also (for excited)...I was really at the point of not renewing...and then the JRich trade reeled me right back...

[Ghost Kat]

GW could be a all star this next season and if he does become a all star I'll be saying the expansion draft was the best draft.....:biggrin:

This is exactly what I was going to say. I wanted to type it 1st....:chairshot:

I 102% agree,Getting Wallace and keeping him all five years, plus five more in the future hopefully has been great. He injury free or not has been the heart of this team. I know Okafor has play'd more overall game's. But no other player has brought to this team what Crash has.

[TheBeagle]

1) Expansion Draft brought us Crash
2) 2007 brought us Raja and Diaw
3) 2008 brought us DJ.................... and LExy
4) 2004 brought us Mek
5) 2005 brought us Ray
6) 2009 is this low because I simply don't know yet
7) 2006 = biggest fuck up ever Beat me to it. My personal list, I'd take out expansion draft and Thursday night's, but yeah, '09 is already better than '06....I mean, Ryan Hollins was the diamond of that draft :hypo: Also, tempted to put '04 ahead of '08 for reasons listed by Slam, but being the Lexy homer I am, I'll leave it as is.

[TheBeagle]

I still maintain that May was a PR pick (eventually backfired). The option many talked about in Danny Granger (I thought this was the guy even though I did not know he would be as good as he is) would have made 2005 a slam dunk in this thing. The waste of a lottery pick drags 2005 down in the same way Ammo did with the 2006 draft. Absolutely right about May, which is why he was the "safe pick," and I was, even as a Tarheel, upset we passed over Granger for May. Those were the days that ESPN Monday night basketball would televise Mountain West games at midnight, and I got to know Danny's game well, as they would either show his Lobo's or Bogut's Utes every week. So ironic he fell as far as he did because of health concerns, and the guy we pick, the "safe pick" was derailed by injuries and then well, you know the rest...

[110oldeast]

I'm right there with you as a Tar Heel and all. I was a ball junkie watching those games as well seeing a guy with size, athleticism, AND a shot while we were just OK at the wing spot. The night of that draft I remember getting Felton and being happy. And then I remember them getting May and a friend of mine exclaiming, "they got them both," to which I replied "this may have early ticket dividends but has the potential for long-term backlash." I was not happy.

Pick 13 of 2005 and pick 3 of 2006 had more to do with the team not making as much progress as they could have as anything else (yes more than Sam Vincent). You can't waste back to back lottery picks in your early years and not pay a price for it.

Those picks are a large part of why we had a broken roster which LB has been cleaning up since getting here.


Absolutely right about May, which is why he was the "safe pick," and I was, even as a Tarheel, upset we passed over Granger for May. Those were the days that ESPN Monday night basketball would televise Mountain West games at midnight, and I got to know Danny's game well, as they would either show his Lobo's or Bogut's Utes every week. So ironic he fell as far as he did because of health concerns, and the guy we pick, the "safe pick" was derailed by injuries and then well, you know the rest...

[spectre]

I still maintain that May was a PR pick (eventually backfired). The option many talked about in Danny Granger (I thought this was the guy even though I did not know he would be as good as he is) would have made 2005 a slam dunk in this thing. The waste of a lottery pick drags 2005 down in the same way Ammo did with the 2006 draft.

I still disagree with that.

We NEEDED a PF...Bernie said himself he was going "small" with one pick and "big" with the other. The choice at 5 was between CV and Felton; at 13th it was more blurry...if we went CV at 5th who was the PG? The next taken was Jack and he went low 20s. I think I remember we actually looked into trading back with the 13th.

Felton called Bernie up begging to be the pick (rumors had Toronto going after the exact same players we were...and who wants to go to Canada?) and I imagine the choices at 13th for PG helped nudge him towards Felton.

Who were the bigs available at 13th? Bynum who went 10th and was a HS Senior...Bernie wasn't going youth in our 2nd year (remember he wanted Mek over Howard) so I have no doubt he'd have not taken Bynum even if he was available. But he wasn't. So who was the other big we should have taken?

And even IF May had been gone we wouldn't have taken Granger or Green...the media asked Bernie who would have been the pick if May had been gone (May thought he was going to the Lakers) and Bernie said flat out "Joey Graham".

Not saying the FO wasn't tickled to get the added help in trying to sell tickets, but I don't think it played a part in Bernie's choices AT ALL.

Bernie was SOOOOOO transparent. Not one pick really surprised me. Well, I take that back; I figured he'd have a clue and take the "talent that dropped" in Granger, but over the years you can look back and see that's just not his style. After that draft I realized he was going to do exactly what he said he was going to do regardless.

[jpf_v2.0]

I remember being extremely pissed after the 2005 draft...

Paul going right before our pick (even though it was expected it annoyed me after having watched him grown up playing, he and my niece went to elementary & middle school together) and then taking May with Granger sitting there.

[110oldeast]

I will admit that at the time of that pick I was expecting Okafor to be more 4/5 than pure 5 which is another reason I was in favor of Granger. I also felt that way as we had NO clear wing as Wallace looked promising, but wasn't established and the rest of the guys we were plugging in were journeymen and "developers."

The irony of us seeing that we "NEEDED" before taking May is that it became ridiculously apparent when May continually got hurt and nobody did a thing about it until LB got here. And yet, the organization stood by idly holding out hope for May to get healthy while neglecting one of the 2 most important positions in today's NBA.



I still disagree with that.

We NEEDED a PF...Bernie said himself he was going "small" with one pick and "big" with the other. The choice at 5 was between CV and Felton; at 13th it was more blurry...if we went CV at 5th who was the PG? The next taken was Jack and he went low 20s. I think I remember we actually looked into trading back with the 13th.

Felton called Bernie up begging to be the pick (rumors had Toronto going after the exact same players we were...and who wants to go to Canada?) and I imagine the choices at 13th for PG helped nudge him towards Felton.

Who were the bigs available at 13th? Bynum who went 10th and was a HS Senior...Bernie wasn't going youth in our 2nd year (remember he wanted Mek over Howard) so I have no doubt he'd have not taken Bynum even if he was available. But he wasn't. So who was the other big we should have taken?

And even IF May had been gone we wouldn't have taken Granger or Green...the media asked Bernie who would have been the pick if May had been gone (May thought he was going to the Lakers) and Bernie said flat out "Joey Graham".

Not saying the FO wasn't tickled to get the added help in trying to sell tickets, but I don't think it played a part in Bernie's choices AT ALL.

Bernie was SOOOOOO transparent. Not one pick really surprised me. Well, I take that back; I figured he'd have a clue and take the "talent that dropped" in Granger, but over the years you can look back and see that's just not his style. After that draft I realized he was going to do exactly what he said he was going to do regardless.

[spectre]

I think Jordan abhors the thought of losing value for his assets, or "his players" as he called them. I bet he really struggled with not giving May the QO. Of course he didn't want to pay it, but the thought of him walking and then doing what we expected the last two years for another team really gets in his craw.

We're a young team with little assets who's made some stupid ass moves with some of the few we did have. A lot of it was that we just didn't have much choice but to hope he'd play.

[110oldeast]

I agree with the first part of what you said. I heard from enough people close to the situation that basically said before LB got here that they were looking to move Felton b/c he wasn't Chris Paul, but they wouldn't move May b/c of being scared of what he could become.

I remember thinking this was ridiculous logic (still do) as elite pgs (including Paul) don't exist in a vacuum and that every elite pg in the league had a strong PF right beside of them on the court (not to mention good jumpshooters for those who lead the league in assists). I thought that wasting time waiting on what May COULD become while blaming Felton for not being able to compensate for May not being able to play was counterintuitive. How about getting an actual modern day PF and see if Felton could play pg beside this guy instead of having wet dreams about what Sean may COULD do if he could play more than 1/4 of a season?

Ironically, Larry Brown comes here and even after drafting DJ and working with the team recognizes the roster as BROKEN in most part b/c of the pathetic nature of the PF position. He brings in Diaw, Howard, Vlad, etc. (after drafting Alexis) and attempts to bring this team into the new millenium with some pick and pop options and guys more similar to the PFs that current teams have. Felton develops chemistry with them and actually plays well in a predominant halfcourt system (thought to be his greatest weakness). Who knows what happens, if we make moves a year or 2 earlier (seriously, check May's injury history and gene pool) when it became clear that there was a strong possibility of persisting injury issues.

There was plenty of time to do something about the PF position, but MJ and the team took way too long to recognize and address the problem. If you want to hold out hope for May and keep re-upping him, fine. But how the heck do you just ignore the PF position for 2+ years (won't count his rookie year) in today's pick and roll/pop NBA?


I think Jordan abhors the thought of losing value for his assets, or "his players" as he called them. I bet he really struggled with not giving May the QO. Of course he didn't want to pay it, but the thought of him walking and then doing what we expected the last two years for another team really gets in his craw.

We're a young team with little assets who's made some stupid ass moves with some of the few we did have. A lot of it was that we just didn't have much choice but to hope he'd play.