Posts tagged BrookLopez at FanHouse

There have been long-lasting rumors that Charlotte killed a potential 2007 trade that would have sent then-Wolf Kevin Garnett to Golden State by picking Brandan Wright instead of Al Thornton at #8 in the '07 draft. (Details after the jump.) But chaos is a tradition for the 'Cats. Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger has the story of Charlotte's 2008 draft day adventures.

Last June 26, the Charlotte Bobcats were on the clock at No. 9, and they made it clear to [Brook] Lopez's representatives that he was their choice. That was confirmed by several agents who were in touch with one of Lopez's agents -- B.J. Armstrong, the former Bulls guard, who went ballistic as soon as the Bobs turned around and picked point guard D.J. Augustin instead. [...]

"It was a pretty big shock. I said, 'I feel like Brady Quinn,'" Lopez recalled, referring to the Cleveland Browns' quarterback who slipped in the 2007 NFL Draft. "I'm sure Brady heard about me saying that -- I'm afraid to meet him now. But I'm glad how it ended up. I feel lucky the way it turned out."

And through the magic of time travel (or something), we are all lucky enough to relive the Brook Lopez Draft Experience.



"LAWRENCE FRANK?!"

Hey, it's the first day. It's the Summer League. It was one game. The first game. Of the Summer League. It's a long week, a long season, a long career. And I'm going to doubt any of that makes Chicago fans that were paying attention to the first day of the NBA's Orlando Summer League feel better, or Miami fans feel worse about today's little exhibition.

Michael Beasley was, in a word, brilliant. 28 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 22 minutes. He could have been playing against D-Leaguers, the Harlem Globetrotters, or Mrs. Wormtail's second grade class, those are some slick numbers. That he did it against No.1 overall pick Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, in the midst of a 94-70 whupping made it all the more emphatic. The Heat dominated this game, even as Chicago started Rose, Joakim Noah, and Tyrus Thomas, who you may recognize as starters and heavy rotation guys. Not exactly a pretty start, even if its easy to brush off, given the absurd context of the Magic's practice facility in a meaningless exhibition in which D-League MVP Kasib Powell scored 15 and Keith Langford and Demetris Nichols led the Bulls. Beasley's game was in full effect today, as he worked his mid-range, long-range, post-work, and driving abilities. In a league that's meant to be used as a scrimmage clinic, Beasley put on one.

The Bobcats, needless to say, had a curious draft. Everyone expected Brook Lopez' name to get called at nine; after all, what need does Charlotte have with D.J. Augustin if Raymond Felton is the future at point guard? (Answer: exactly.) But Charlotte reaffirmed today that Felton is going to keep starting and that Augustin was merely drafted as a backup.

"We don't think D.J. is going to come in right now and be the starting point guard," [GM Rod] Higgins said.

While Higgins dismissed talk of a Felton-to-Knicks trade, it's clear the Bobcats were in various trade discussions leading up to the draft.

Managing partner Michael Jordan confirmed Thursday that the team talked to the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped forward Gerald Wallace for point guard T.J. Ford.

Apparently, talks stalled because the Raptors wanted a draft pick included as well, which seems like a nice thing to let Wallace know (You alone, sir, are worth one T.J. Ford, but you and a draft pick? We think not.) heading into the offseason.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. The Association: Shameless, sure, but this Brook Lopez "wired" video might be the greatest highlight from Draft night.

2. Sporting News: A nice and tidy roundup of all the draft day dealings that went down.

3. NetsDaily: Detailing the youth movement (i.e., LeBron James preparations) in New Jersey.

4. Tom Sorensen, Charlotte Observer: Defending the Bobcats' D.J. Augustin Pick.

5. Tim Kawakami, Mercury News: And questioning the Warriors' Anthony Randolph selection.

6. NextRound.net: A must-see photo essay of David Stern's all-time awkward draft handshakes.

The buzz out of Charlotte is all about D.J. Augustin. And how could it not be? The Bobcats passed over Brook Lopez, a.k.a. the scoring big man they need to move Emeka Okafor to the four, in favor of Texas' point guard. And they did this when, in theory, they already have the point guard of the future, Raymond Felton.

But obviously, Larry Brown does not care for Felton. I am making that conclusion based on a) the drafting of Augustin, b) Brown getting on national television and saying (paraphrase) that a strong connection to your point guard is absolutely necessary for success and c) my amazing ability to connect dots.

Now, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer is saying that, with very few exceptions, anyone on the roster is fair game to be moved around.

The Bobcats were in serious discussions with the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped [Gerald] Wallace for T.J. Ford. It didn't happen, but that's the clearest indication yet how active the Bobcats are in seeing what their players might bring in trade.

I assure you Wallace isn't alone. Raymond Felton could be moved, and so could just about anyone else with perhaps the exception of Jason Richardson.

That shouldn't be surprising, and Richardson is only off limits because of his contract. What is shocking is how quickly Michael Jordan, Brown and Co have given up on Felton (all three Carolina grads) given they spent a high lottery pick on him just a few years ago.

Brook Lopez went #10 to New Jersey, and brother Robin Lopez landed in Phoenix at #15. Two Disney Channel lovin' 20-year-old twins, promised NBA millions. Watch out New York City.

After Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo went 1-2-3 with no apparent trades, Seattle surprised almost everyone by selecting UCLA point guard Russell Westbrook at #4.

Earlier rumors said Seattle would be picking Indiana guard Eric Gordon in a premeditated exchange with the Clippers at #7. Well, that didn't happen. Was Westbrook the guard L.A. actually wanted? Or is this pick staying in Seatt-- err, Oklahoma City? If it stays with the Sonics, two of the team's three "pieces" for the future are defensive-minded guys (Jeff Green), with Kevin Durant as the offensive superstar.

With two teams who needed centers passing up on Brook Lopez, dude could slide pretty far ... maybe out of the top 12? Jerryd Bayless looks to slip into the deep end of the lottery -- maybe #8, #9, #12 -- with the Westbrook selection.

Meanwhile, Westbrook was slated around #12 or beyond a month ago. Quite a meteoric rise.

There's already been plenty of movement around the league leading up to this draft -- including the Clippers/Sonics rumor and the Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee (sucka!) deal -- and no one really knows what's going to happen tonight. (Except the guy above, Rose, who's kicking it because he's going early, he's gonna be rich, and he knows it.)

We think Chicago is going to take Derrick Rose, but really, with the loose cannon that is John Paxson running that ship into the ground they might not. As for number two, Pat Riley could do anything. He's been posturing all week and acting more like Phil Helmuth than the GM of an NBA team, pretending to have "secret workouts" and such, in an attempt to scare Chicago into doing whatever it is that he wants.

Which is anyone's best guess. Anyway, I'll be hear live blogging the event with some special guests* throughout the evening, so swing by and drop your comments in the live blog.

The draft starts at 7:00 pm but we'll try and get things going a little earlier for everyone's sake.

UPDATE: Any Katz on ESPN said this deal's off for now, but might come back during the draft.

ESPN is reporting that, assuming O.J. Mayo goes #3 to Minnesota, the Clippers will trade picks with Seattle to move up to #4 to grab Eric Gordon, with the Sonics also earning a conditional 2009 first-rounder from L.A. Chad Ford says the Sonics want Brook Lopez at #7.

L.A. has been tied to Gordon for weeks now, and to be honest I assumed he'd be there at #7. Perhaps Elgin Baylor and Mike Dunleavy had heard differently; while I can't imagine a scenario in which New York at #6 or whomever takes Memphis's #5 pick takes Gordon, that doesn't mean no such scenario existed. So the Clippers lose a potentially valuable asset -- it could be another lottery pick next season, as Kelly Dwyer notes -- depending on the protections.

What does this mean for the rest of the lottery? If Seattle is really after Lopez, Jerryd Bayless could slip. (Fingers crossed.) Gordon hadn't been tied to much besides L.A. -- New York is said to be focused on Russell Westbrook and Danilo Gallinari, pre-RJ Milwaukee had been wed to Joe Alexander. This might be one of the few big deals which really has no massive repercussions.

There will be no Tskitishvili repeats for the Nuggets this year.

Remember all that speculation earlier about what the Nuggets might want to do with their 20th overall pick in the draft? Well, forget it. Because they went ahead and sent that pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for "a future protected first round draft pick."

It appeared to me that the Nuggets could have used some size, and it seemed more than plausible that someone like Roy Hibbert or Marreese Speights would still have been on the board at 20, so why give away the pick? It's possible that the team didn't want to add to the roster with players like J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera expected to be re-signed later this summer, or maybe they felt that whoever they'd get at 20 wouldn't really solve the team's immediate issues.

As for the Bobcats, they're now sitting pretty with the #9 and #20 picks in the draft. If Kevin Love and Brook Lopez are gone by the time Charlotte's first pick rolls around, they can feel confident in taking the best guard available, knowing that there should still be plenty of serviceable bigs left when they pick again at 20.