With two first-round selections, the Charlotte Bobcats hosted a NBA Draft party two weeks ago that drew about 4,000 fans to Time Warner Cable Arena.
Many of those fans stood and cheered loudly when the team made Kemba Walker its first official pick; The team later announced it had traded its No. 19 selection in a deal that netted the Bobcats No. 7 overall pick Bismack Biyombo.
They could’ve been the last actual cheers for the team in quite some time if the lockout that began on Thursday lasts as long as some league observers fear.
Yet, whenever the Bobcats play again, there’s all sorts of questions that won’t be answered until the basketball starts bouncing again.
For instance, with leading scorer Stephen Jackson being traded to Milwaukee on draft night – and four months after the team’s only NBA All-Star (Gerald Wallace) was traded to Portland – who will step up as a top scorer and team leader?
Walker and Biyombo have said all the right things about being willing to fill either or both roles but they will be rookies in a league that’s almost always unforgiving for first-year players.
How will veteran Corey Maggette perform after a year as a reserve on the Milwaukee bench?
A former Duke standout, Maggette says he’s ready to lead a youthful roster in which he’ll easily be its most experienced player.
Assuming the rookies are brought along slowly, a projected starting lineup could include D.J. Augustin at point guard, Gerald Henderson at off guard, Maggette at small forward, Boris Diaw at power forward and Kwame Brown at center.
Of course, that’s assuming Brown can be re-signed. And after Brown’s play last season – 7.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 66 games (50 starts) – it would be safe to say he’ll be an attractive free agent to more teams than just the Bobcats.
And, if Brown isn’t re-signed, the Bobcats best option may be veteran DeSagana Diop, who’s coming off a ruptured Achilles injury.
Other players on the roster under contract include guards Matt Carroll and Dante Cunningham and forwards Tyrus Thomas, D.J. White and Eduardo Najera. Like Brown, guard Garrett Temple, forward Dominic McGuire and center Joel Pryzbilla are unrestricted free agents whose futures in Charlotte are uncertain at best.
But perhaps as important as identifying a starting lineup or even a roster will be defining the players’ roles on the team.
When Jackson was around, it was pretty clear he would be either taking or creating the last shot. Now, there’s uncertainty.
Walker endeared himself to owner Michael Jordan with all his late-game heroics this season. But the praise that’s been heaped on Walker also sounds eerily familiar to what was said about 2006 draft bust Adam Morrison – or the player Jordan chose over current NBA standouts like Portland’s Brandon Roy and Memphis’ Rudy Gay.
Walker’s 26.0 points per game when Connecticut won five games in five days in last March’s unprecedented Big East Conference tournament title run gives an indication of his play when the stakes are highest. So does his 23.5 scoring average in his six-game NCAA tourney title run for the Huskies.
Clearly, Walker exudes confidence.
“I’ll just continue to play the way I play,” Walker told Charlotte-area reporters shortly after being drafted by the Bobcats. “I have heart out there. That’s how I play.”
Local Bobcats’ and NBA fans now simply have to hope Walker gets the chance to play at all.
