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 NBA Draft WiretapBobcats move up to #2The Expansion Charlotte Bobcats have made their first trade. The Bobcats traded the No. 4 and No. 33 pick in the draft to the Los Angeles Clippers for the Clippers' No. 2 pick. As part of the trade, the Bobcats have agreed to select center Peja Drobjnak in Tuesday's expansion draft. Drobjnak will become the first player on the Bobcats roster. "Peja is thrilled about being the first member of the Bobcats," Drobjnak's agent, David Bauman, told ESPN Insider. The Bobcats are now in position to take either Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard in Thursday's entry draft. "We are extremely pleased to be able to move up into the No. 2 two spot in the draft," Bobcats general manager-coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "We are trying to build our team with the best possible players and being able to pick second in the draft exemplifies our commitment to accomplishing that goal. This opportunity was available to us and we are happy to complete the deal." The Clippers wanted to move down to draft a point guard. They like Ben Gordon, Devin Harris and Shaun Livingston, but one source said that Gordon would be their pick. By dealing Drobjnak, the Clippers clear another $2.6 million from their cap. When factoring in the savings by moving down in the draft, ESPN calculates that the Clippers could have over $13 million to spend on free agents this summer. Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Clippers, NBA Draft Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Hype & Expectation: Drafting High School PlayersIn the era of LeBron James, talented high school players get special attention from NBA scouts and lots of publicity from the community of basketball fans. All of this tends to inflate expectations of how much these young men can accomplish early in their playing careers. But teams know that their development will take time. "There are some very talented players in this year's Draft, but you'll have to wait for most of them to develop," Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld said. "A lot of players like Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal and Kevin Garnett have become stars, but it took time. Nobody stepped in besides LeBron James and had major influence out of high school." While NBA executives understand the pitfalls of prematurely bringing young players into the pro game, these diamonds in the rough have a strong appeal to teams after the excellent success of several young guns. Brimming with potential and possible futures bright enough to alter the course of a franchise, these prospects are a tempting proposition on Draft night. "Most of us wish these players would go to college to get more seasoning and to mature emotionally and physically," Grunfeld said. "But it's hard to pass on a kid in the Draft." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Bad News for NBA HopefulHere begins the story of yet another kid being promised great things his agent couldn't deliver. Usually today would be the day he would be able to return to school, but David Harrison, a 7 foot center from the University of Colorado is ineligible to return because he signed with an agent. Buffaloes coach Ricardo Patton said Wednesday that was a mistake. "I think he got bad advice from an agent," Patton said. "I think his agent totally misled him." "It was after he got back from spring break, but it was too late," Patton said. "He'd already made his mind up. I asked him where he thought he'd go in the draft, and he said top 10. He said that's what his agent told him." ESPN.com's mock draft does not have Harrison going in the first round. NBAdraft.net projects Harrison to be taken No. 33, the third pick in the second round. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Jun 2004 Archive
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