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June 19, 2008
Frustrations of 4-year college player
For four years, Chris Lofton labored at guard for Tennessee, averaging 16.6 points in his 128-game career, making a bushel of all-star teams and finishing high on many of the Volunteers' all-time leader boards. Yet Lofton, who worked out for the Charlotte Bobcats this morning, will be drafted late in the second round, if he's drafted at all. Asked if it frustrated him to be projected behind so many players who are skipping school after one or two seasons, Lofton smiled. "I think about that in my head, but there's so much young talent, you can't pass 'em up," he said. "I think it's all about your talent. We had exceptional talent this year (in the upcoming draft), ready for the pros. Me, I was a four-year player, not really high-caliber like these young guys are. I think I'm more mature." Lofton, who sees himself as a spot-up shooter and a strong defender in the NBA if he is drafted, plans on playing in Europe if he isn't. Bobcats coach Larry Brown understands the frustrations of four-year players who fall behind so many younger guys. "I think a lot of times we forget about those kids with four years and what they've done," he said. "All of a sudden, everybody's talking about these young kids and their potential. "I tell them all when I meet with them individually, 'You can't worry about where you get drafted.' They have no control over that. Just believe in themselves and hopefully something good will happen." In addition to Lofton, Charlotte worked out highly touted guard Russell Westbrook of UCLA today, along with 7-footer Kosta Koufos of Ohio State, forward Gary Forbes of Massachusetts, 7-1 Predrag Samardziski (try spelling that one without looking) and guard Mark Tyndale of Temple. - Stan Olson
Posted by rbonnell on June 19, 2008 at 12:46 PM | Permalink
Comments
Did Bonnell get fired?
Posted by: apauldds | Jun 19, 2008 1:53:52 PM
9 is too high for westbrook or koufos. look for big in the first(randolph, lopez) and small in the second(chalmers).in regards to a second round pick, bobcats should take a flyer on bill walker from k-state. yes his knee is a question, but if he is healthy he could be a steal in the 2nd round.
Posted by: brendan | Jun 19, 2008 2:18:18 PM
Westbrook is better than Lopez, and I think Westbrook is good enough to go #9. We need another pg on this team besides Felton, especially if Boykins leaves in free agency. Yes I know we need a big too, but most of the bigs are projects & Lopez won't be a dominant player. Westbrook has some size - 6'2" w/o shoes, is quick, can play D, and fulfills a need.
Posted by: Yeah? | Jun 19, 2008 3:23:38 PM
I like Westbrook a lot more than Augustine, but I would rather have a big like Randolph or ever Koufus over a backup PG. I have a question, what if Gordon slipped, think the Bobcats would take him at 9 and play him as a combo guard off the bench?
Posted by: Mason | Jun 19, 2008 3:50:33 PM
just saw foxsports reporting odum and wilcox both being offered up in trades. i think wilcox could be had for the right price(say may, carrol, and 2nd rounder?). he is young(26 or so) 6'10 and decent touch. he would be the hybrid pf we could insert right away rather then waiting on a randolph or a lopez to develope. odum just got exposed a little in the finals as a non-rebounder, but his scoring could he usefull. his price tag is probably too high in a trade despite his ineffective play versus boston.
now in the other blog there was mention of phoenix offering barbosa and diaw. if given the chance the bobcats should take these players, because of their diverse style of play. barbosa would not only solve the guard situation, he could play forward too. and diaw would be a good post player at 6'9 but has the ability to space the floor and great at pick and roll. offer would not have to be that great seeing as they are back ups/spot starters. a package of #9 pick,carrol, may, and davidson would work.carrol replaces barbosa with points and may and davidson replace diaws post play. and phoenix gets a sure starter with the 9 pick(randolph or lopez).
bobcats then have:
PG felton/barbosa
SG richardson/morrison
SF wallace/dudley
PF diaw/2nd pick(sasha kaun)hollins(resign)
C okafor/mohammad
and this roster could be upgraded with a post player/banger thru FA
Posted by: brendan | Jun 19, 2008 3:55:27 PM
Sam Vincent fired? LB hired? Russell Westbrook a Charlotte Bobcat? The momentum train is actually starting to move in the right direction here!!
Posted by: Michael | Jun 19, 2008 4:16:57 PM
couple of UFA for the bobcats to consider at the point:
beno udrich- 25yrs old 6'3 averaged 12ppg and 5ast. has been solid backup with kings and spurs, knows backup role.
chris duhon- 25yrs old 6'1 averaged 5 and 4 but has been effective starter before.
couple UFA for the bobcats to consider in the post:
desagna diop- 26yrs old 7'0 not much on offense but has been effective defensive starter in dallas, rebounds and blocks shots.
kwame brown-26 6'11 go ahead and laugh, but as a back up he could be had for peanuts and would be effective in rebounds, blocks and defense. and what if he was motivated?
Posted by: brendan | Jun 19, 2008 4:54:25 PM
How do you write about Chris Lofton and not mention the fact that in addition to being a 4-year player, he's recovering from cancer? Plus in his article today about the Randolph kid from LSU, Olson says he's projected to go anywhere from 2-12. I defy you ... absolutely DEFY you ... to show me a mock draft from any credible source that has Randolph going No. 2. That is completely nuts. I think this Olson dude has been inflicted upon us to make us appreciate Bonnell.
Posted by: say what? | Jun 19, 2008 5:06:56 PM
Olson normally covers the Panthers so you have to give him a little break. But yes, I think anywhere from 4-12 would be a much better statement.
Only issue w/ the above Suns trades is that neither of them make the Suns a better team for next season. Phoenix wants to win and win now. They don't want the #9 pick in the draft, unless their front office has decided to change the direction they have been moving in. The past couple of seasons they have sold their first round draft picks, albeit they were later in the first round.
Wilcox or Diaw would both upgrade our team significantly and be worth the #9 pick plus a bench player in my mind. And though KG dominated Lamar, he was averaging well over a double double in the playoffs and the last part of the regular season and would also be a solid upgrade at PF for us. Last year of his contract, Lamar definately could be out of LA.
Posted by: Mason | Jun 19, 2008 5:21:08 PM
Brendan, what are you smoking, saying Barbosa can play forward? He's 6-3. Phoenix tried to use him as Nash's backup, but he's not cut out for the point. He's an undersized shooting guard. He'd need a ladder or some stilts to play forward.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/leandro_barbosa/index.html?nav=page
Also, Boris Diaw made a cool $9 million last year. That's a lot for a guy who averaged 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds. The Bobcats have hardly any cap space, especially if they want to re-sign Okafor. The only way Diaw is coming to Charlotte is if Phoenix takes a big contract back. It would have to be something like Wallace for the No. 15 and Diaw.
Forget about sending the Suns or anybody else a pupu platter of our players who are wildly overpaid (Carroll), perpetually injured (May) or projects (Davidson). Nobody, especially not a Western Conference contender, wants the Bobcats' rejects.
Posted by: say what? | Jun 19, 2008 5:34:46 PM
Actually, I think I got that range from Randolph, and he may have been a bit optimistic. Sorry about that; no way he goes second in any scenario. Rick is a bit under the weather, and perhaps I was sent to make y'all appreciate him!
Posted by: stan olson | Jun 19, 2008 5:39:56 PM
Brendan, you are CRAZY if you think that the #9 pick, Carroll, May, and Davidson is enough to get Barbosa and Diaw! Do you even watch the NBA???? You couldn't get one of those guys with that deal. Those SUNS would be starters on many other teams.
If you go to Bobcats.com and watch the video of the workout, Randolph says after that he thinks he will go anywhere from 2 to 10. (I was surprised when I heard it and just ignored his opinion, unless some big trade happens.)
I would appreciate Bonnell more if he wasn't so negative all of the time and didn't make the mistakes that he does in his writing/reporting.
Posted by: Yeah? | Jun 19, 2008 6:38:19 PM
Stan, I hope you stay. You do some good work with the panthers and you are a good writer. I appreciate you stopping by and hope to see you as the permanent beat writer.
Posted by: bonnell = Procton | Jun 19, 2008 6:56:08 PM
9 is not too high for Westbrook....There is talk that The Knicks might take him at 5. I would love to see Westbrook still available at 9 if we are lucky. He is going to be good! He's got alot more upside than B.Lopez.
Posted by: rhackney | Jun 19, 2008 7:42:21 PM
Westbrook is nice if Bayless and Gordon are gone. Other wise go Randolph or any other big besides Lopez(he's a hack). Don't want K. Love either. Augustine is too small and no better that Felton. As good as J. Rich is , how bout him at 3 with a shooter like Gordan at 2, then move Wallace for a big guy to team with Okafor, maybe Rasheed?
Posted by: david | Jun 19, 2008 10:44:42 PM
Stan, would you agree that Gerald Wallace is the most overrated of all the Bobs? Don't you think Bob cat Johnson should trade him in order to upgrade at the PG or PF position? Would you agree that G-bust Wallace, when he does manage to stay healthy and play, holds the rest of the team back on offense due to the isolation offense his game requires?
Thanks!
Posted by: Reggie Love | Jun 20, 2008 7:07:09 AM
"Upside" is NOT what this team needs. We need one impact player at a key position (point/post) who can come in and be a contributor to put us in the playoffs. LopezB is ready today to step in and be a good rebounder and defender with the ability to hit a mid-range jumper for 25+ minutes a game, and nobody else we've got a shot at has ever been discussed as the #3 pick. DJ Augustin has more ability to run a half court offense (important for Brown as the new coach, ya think?) than Felton ever did. This team needs productivity, not 48 minutes of overwhelming athleticism camped out on the bench.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 20, 2008 7:10:16 AM
In Stan's defense, its very likely that Lofton requested no mention of his testicular cancer in the interview.
If you saw the story on this you know that he is a very, very private person and never even told his teammates he had it, while he struggled through recovery and struggled on the court last season. The only people that knew were his parents (not even his extended family knew), Bruce Pearl, the doctors, and 1 teammate who I think was his roommate.
Posted by: Harold K. | Jun 20, 2008 7:10:25 AM
Olson can tell us if Lofton requested that, but even if he did, a journalist has to be accurate. He's writing a piece about a 4-year player who's now a longshot to get drafted. Well, why is he a longshot? Partly because he had a poor senior season due to his cancer treatment. That's a pertinent fact, and it's hardly a secret anymore.
Regarding the No. 9 pick, if we keep it, I definitely want either Westbrook or Augustin. And I'm someone who thinks Felton gets a bad rap. It's hard to rack up assists when the Bobcats' entire roster has one decent offensive weapon (JRich). That, in turn, puts too much of a scoring burden on Felton. Having said that, our depth at the point is atrocious.
The big guys available at No. 9 are each flawed. Putting Lopez in the middle won't suddenly enable Okafor to defend on the perimeter. Randolph will take at least a couple of years to develop and could be the next LSU bust (a la Stromile Swift & Tyrus Thomas). Love will probably be gone and is essentially a better version of Sean May (skilled but slow, fat and injury prone).
I hope we trade down if Westbrook and Augustin are gone. I could overlook the question marks surrounding Randolph if we moved back a couple of spots. Better yet, I'd love to have Ajinca or Hickson if we were able to drop into the mid-to-late first round. I think those two guys will actually contribute before Randolph.
Posted by: say what? | Jun 20, 2008 8:32:24 AM
Procton, you make a decent enough point about B. Lopez except for one thing, He will be a liability on defense. He's know for being quite slow and clumsy, and will have to prove himself as a rebounder.
Offensively, he will be able to contribute right away, though not as a starter. He shouldn't get any credit for being considered and early #3 pick. He was considered that high early because he was the best scoring center in college last year. The general rule is that you draft size first so until the workouts started people rated him higher than others based mostly on the position that he plays.
Also let's not forget that Brendan Wright was widely considered to be the #3 pick last year until about a week before the draft. He dropped to #8 and did absolutely nothing at Golden State. I'd say Dudley had a better year than Wright.
If you're drafting for inside scoring then B.Lopez is a good choice at #9, but if you want anything else then he's not the right pick.
Posted by: Jared | Jun 20, 2008 8:34:39 AM
I'm reading that Ajinca is expected to stay in Europe for a couple of years no matter where he's drafted. I'm not sure if this is true but I've also read that he only played 12 mpg for his team in France.
I may be getting bad information but I'd say he's the definition of a long term project.
I'm starting to agree that barring a trade down that brings in reasonable veteran players, we should pick up the best PG available at 9. We're not going to get by w/ just Felton back there. Depending on what happens in the draft I'd like us to take a run at Duhon as well.
Posted by: Jared | Jun 20, 2008 8:44:52 AM
We need a backup point guard for sure, but I don't think drafting a backup point guard at #9 puts us into the playoffs next year. If the goal is trying to put together a team that pushes for an 8 seed, without mortgaging the future, Randolph is the pick if he is available. Drafting Randolph and signing a backup like Duhon would put us in contention for a playoff birth. If he is not available, I like Westbrook way more than Augustine b/c he is a great defensive player, where as DJ is a liability on defense, and he is 6'3. If Randolph and Westbrook are both gone, as well as Eric Gordon, I would like to see us trade down a few spots and pick up Koufas or another talented PF with outside range.
Posted by: Mason | Jun 20, 2008 9:05:38 AM
I like the idea of taking Westbrook at 9 and trading G-dub for a quality PF.
Posted by: apauldds | Jun 20, 2008 9:05:48 AM
Why don't we package a sign-and-trade with Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Morrison, and the #9 pick to the Miami Heat for the #2 pick, Shawn Marion, and Udonis Haslem.
We pick Michael Beasley and start:
Felton
Richardson
Marion
Haslem
Mohammed
with Beasley coming in off the bench most of this season, with the ultimate goal of replacing Haslem in the starting five.
Pick up a big in the second round. Or just play Davidson and Hollins more to allow them to develop into a system center like Perkins from Boston.
To address our point guard concerns, just sign Jason Richards from Davidson as an undrafted free agent. He is a pure point that will provide us the ball distribution and defense we need from the point, while hitting a couple open threes each game.
Also, pick up Julius Hodge off the free agency market and give him a shot at the point. He led the NBDL in assists last season, and was close to leading in ppg with a fair share of rebounds. There's no harm in working him out.
Posted by: Kris Baucom | Jun 20, 2008 11:17:31 AM
Why don't we package a sign-and-trade with Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Morrison, and the #9 pick to the Miami Heat for the #2 pick, Shawn Marion, and Udonis Haslem.
We pick Michael Beasley and start:
Felton
Richardson
Marion
Haslem
Mohammed
with Beasley coming in off the bench most of this season, with the ultimate goal of replacing Haslem in the starting five.
Pick up a big in the second round. Or just play Davidson and Hollins more to allow them to develop into a system center like Perkins from Boston.
To address our point guard concerns, just sign Jason Richards from Davidson as an undrafted free agent. He is a pure point that will provide us the ball distribution and defense we need from the point, while hitting a couple open threes each game.
Also, pick up Julius Hodge off the free agency market and give him a shot at the point. He led the NBDL in assists last season, and was close to leading in ppg with a fair share of rebounds. There's no harm in working him out.
Posted by: Kris Baucom | Jun 20, 2008 11:17:32 AM
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