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May 29, 2008
NBA executives expect Lawson to stay in draft
If you take it literally that Tyson Lawson will return to North Carolina unless he knows he’ll be chosen before the 21st pick, then Lawson is in Chapel Hill next season.
But the NBA executives I polled Thursday don’t see it that way.
I spoke with four front-office types during breaks in the NBA pre-draft camp, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., asking each whether Lawson is among the top 20. Not one felt confident predicting that, although they all thought Lawson has helped himself here enough to anticipate going among the first-round’s 30 picks.
The consensus: They anticipate Lawson staying in the draft.
Lawson needed to show here that his left ankle is well enough to get where he needs to be with the ball. He also needed to demonstrate he could make the occasional open jump shot when it’s presented to him.
He’s did that Wednesday, then suffered a hip pointer that caused him to miss Thursday’s game and might also sit him Friday. In the watered-down field that is this pre-draft camp, Lawson might be the best player here.
Point guards are hard to find, so it’s more than likely he’d be a first-round pick, with the two-year guaranteed contract that represents.
Now reflect on what Lawson said Wednesday: Yes, he mentioned the 20th pick as a point of delineation. But he also used the word "probably" and said his real concern was avoiding the second round (where salary isn’t guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement.)
Sounds like a guy convincing himself he should be in the NBA next season.
---North Carolina forward Wayne Ellington rebounded from a bad first game Wednesday, hitting 7-of-13 shots for 17 points Thursday.
Posted by Observer Sports on May 29, 2008 at 05:00 PM | Permalink
Comments
And who's picking at #20? Looks to me to be a team with a need for a young PG and a coach whose fetish for UNC rivals that of the Bobbies.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 29, 2008 6:04:59 PM
A this is off the subject but I think that one way to solve our pf problems is to get Walter Hermann back. Do you guys remember when the lineup consisted of Voshkul,Walt,Morrison,Carrol, and Felton. As odd of a lineup that was it was effective because hermann did it all. He can shoot the mid range defend the 4,shoot the three(take post players away from the basket), and create his own shot. I think if anybody else feels like me we should make some noise for him to be resigned. His contract is void for this season coming(free agent). We should not let Sam vincent be that mans downfall and our big loss. Imagine if we somehow get brook lopez sign and trade oke or wallace for more vet players or picks. I think a Lopez,Hermann,Wallace(dudley),Richardson, Felton(Ford, B.Davis, Hinrich, Billups, Arenas, Duhon,Augustine) would be a vast improvement. This is just phase one of my petetion to get Walt back. Please feel free to make some noise if you feel the same.
Posted by: bobcat/pantherman | May 29, 2008 7:54:16 PM
Lawson does sound like hes staying in the draft, and although I think hes good enough to be a top 20 pick, the Tar Heel in me wants that hip pointer to keep him out as long as possible.
Posted by: ND | May 30, 2008 7:40:57 AM
I agree bobcat/pantherman. I was sorry to see Fabio go, but I was more disgusted with coach V for not playing him. Has he been getting any good minutes in the playoffs?
Posted by: apauldds | May 30, 2008 10:11:09 AM
Nope he hasn't played a single game and hasn't even been in uniform since 2 weeks before the playoffs. I have already been sending emails to bonnell, bobcats website,and radio stations that do sports interviews. I guess you can say a die hard fan.
Posted by: bobcat/pantherman | May 30, 2008 10:26:23 AM
Hermann must return. Repair Vincent's mistake!
Posted by: BCR | May 30, 2008 10:27:40 AM
Hey diehard fan, Hermann played in round 2 against Orlando...Not big time minutes but he played...
Posted by: Dougie | May 30, 2008 10:45:39 AM
I rather have Primo back . Than Walter Herman .
Posted by: Bobcats3 | May 30, 2008 10:53:16 AM
Bobcats , Could go after Lawson . As 3 pg for us. Which would be great .
Posted by: Bobcats3 | May 30, 2008 10:55:10 AM
Here a idea . Something for the Bobcats to think about . Okafor wants a max contract . Bobcats could do a sign & trade with the Rockets . Okafor & Future round pick for Yao Ming .
Posted by: Bobcats3 | May 30, 2008 10:59:13 AM
With bonnell's new found love of Augustin, the real question is: will it rival the love he holds for Brevin Knight?
By the way, anyone watch as Augustin was demolished in their last game of the year by Rose and Co.? Is he really still in discussion as a top 10 pick, let alone Bonnell's idea that he's a top 5?
Posted by: Bonnell = Procton | May 30, 2008 11:28:16 AM
I still don't see the benefit of wasting a lottery pick on someone who is going to spend a majority of his minutes on the bench. I think we need to make a run at a veteran PG, then let Larry Brown at least have a chance to work with Felton. If LB is so great at developing PG's why on earth do we need to give him a rookie to work with. Felton does so many things right, as well as a lot wrong, he is a great pass and playmaker. If Brown can limit his shots, and his shot selection, which shouldn't be that much of an issue, RayRay's FG% should go up and so should the overall offensive efficiency for the team. Augustin is a solid player, but I don't see how anyone could view him as upgrade over Felton. I agree we need some depth at the position, but I'm not sold the draft is the right route.
Posted by: go'cats | May 30, 2008 12:51:49 PM
B3, you're an idiot. I like Mek a lot, but that wouldn't be near enough.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 30, 2008 1:29:09 PM
Procton, you took the words right out of my mouth.
Posted by: Eric | May 30, 2008 2:35:43 PM
Lawson can leave school for all I care, I'd like to see wayne and danny return, though
Posted by: m | May 30, 2008 6:12:38 PM
Herrmann's too busy rocking those pimp suits on the side line. I'd take him back though. And yeah, there has to be better players than Augustin available when the Cats pick.
Posted by: BroD | May 30, 2008 7:20:40 PM
Does it really matter what the bobcats do? They will continue their winless ways regardless of who coaches or how many friends of mike are on the payroll or how many ex tarheels are on the bench.
Posted by: DAVE | May 31, 2008 11:10:59 PM
dude there is only two tarheels playing for the bobcats
Posted by: g | Jun 1, 2008 4:21:31 PM
Right, g, but that's only because they got rid of Jeff McInnis. They hired Michael Jordan, who wants to charge appearance fees to come to his own team's games. They hired Larry Brown, whose track record suggests that his dedication to this team will be fleeting at best. They've allowed Fred Whitfield to run this team's business operations into the ground. They still have Phil "Sauce" Ford on the staff despite the fact that Felton, the player he's supposed to be developing, has done nothing but regress since he came in the league. They're paying Buzz Peterson to do nothing because he's buddies with MJ. Oh, and who's in charge of that ridiculous horse and pony show that draws only slightly less people than the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge? Larita Barber. Her main qualification to run such a successful event? Graduate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I guess I know why Ed Tapscott got let go despite building a solid base for the franchise. He was missing three key letters: U-N-C.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 1, 2008 9:49:33 PM
Procton, your personal issues with UNC have taken away any objectivity, rationality or credibility that you have when discussing these things. But carry on.
Posted by: jperry | Jun 2, 2008 2:52:11 AM
his name is TYWON, not tyson. get it right or go work for another paper!
Posted by: real heels fan | Jun 2, 2008 9:45:53 AM
spoke with a friend about "what if" situations regarding the bobcats and here is one to think about. chicago is loaded with young players, the last think paxson wants is another reboot with more young bigs. they need a defensive presence, not a rookie pg or pf. charlotte needs to grab a low post scorer and make a splash to get the floundering fanbase on their side. they offered okefor big money, not max, which he turned down. chicago is looking to move contracts of gooden and unrestricted free agent duhan. jordan has shown guts to make a high pick, even when people say he dosent know what he is doing in the front office.
make the "what if" trade......
bobcats get: 1st pick(beasley), drew gooden, chris duhan
bulls get: emeka okefor, sean may, matt carrol, 9th pick(whoever they want),next yers 1st
*in order to "sweet up" the deal charlotte must give up next years 1st which chicago knows will be good because charlotte makes playoffs but not high seed so its mid 1st at worst (15-17 range)
brown loves defense and "lunch pale" types, which okefor is. but the bobcats need points to go with that low post position. gooden is basically the same as okefor, with less scoring ability(gooden give 14 and 7 and okefor gives 11 and 10). in the east(as well as future nba systems) the center position will fit for gooden. the team also gets a lefty pf beast in beasley.
bobcats start C gooden 6'10, PF beasely 6'9, SF wallace 6'7, SG richardson 6'5, PG felton 6'0.
bench includes: mohammad, davidson, dudley, morrison, duhan, hollins, and 2nd pick this year.
this trade also allows morrison to score as spot starter/first option off bench without reliance on defense. bench is strong with shotblockers(mohammad, hollins) and role players who accept that role(duhan, dudley).
chicago start C noah 6'10, PF okefor 6'9, SF dang 6'8, SG gordan 6'3, PG hinrich 6'2.
bench includes thomas, hughes, may,nocioni carrol, and the #9 pick from bobcat(eric gordan?)
bulls get impact players who can play right away with having to develope first, such as okefor. He also will be a claming presence for the wild young post players they have (noah and thomas)
as much as chicago appears to love this 1st pick option, its really a burden. they want hometown guy rose, but have hinrich locked for 5 more years. if they move him(which is real hard with that contract) they look forward to rebuild mode...again. they have been in rebuild more then once since the jordan days, and dont want to go through it again with rose. beasley would be great for them as a scorer and rebounder, but the last thing they need is more youngs in the post.
charlotte has a good young team. the front office wants to grow the fan base(me included) to fill the seats. they know there will be a core base of fans but now winning makes the world go around in the pro sports world, thats why brown is here. buy making a public splash with beasley, they can show the casual observer fans turn and look this way. okefor is solid as a buck williams type, who can play solid but would not be an all star, but beasley has that chance to be an all star 20 and 10 type. he is also aware of the charlotte area, almost going to UNCC before opting for k-state(google that one if you dont know)
What if it could happen?
Posted by: brendan | Jun 2, 2008 11:37:57 AM
Hey Brendan...going forward, that much space and rhetoric are reserved for Procton and seansmomma. Otherwise, try to keep it to under 10-15 paragraphs.
Speaking of which, we havent heard from seansmomma in a while. Must be dealing with her "baby's" weight problem. Still laugh every time she calls LB "that old white man Mister Brown". Too funny
Posted by: mike | Jun 2, 2008 3:14:14 PM
"Tyson" Lawson ... wow.
Posted by: Dick Bonnell | Jun 2, 2008 3:19:49 PM
Oh, and Wayne Ellington is in no way, shape or form a forward. Were you drunk when you wrote this?
Posted by: Dick Bonnell | Jun 2, 2008 3:30:01 PM
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