
DRAFT PICKS:
Gerald Henderson, G, 6-4, Duke (first round) -- He fills such an obvious need behind Raja Bell that he'd have to be an all-time flop not to be in the Bobcats' rotation as a rookie. Derrick Brown, F 6-8, Xavier (second round) -- The Bobcats claim he was 20th on their draft board, yet he lasted to the 40th pick. He's a small forward at the NBA level who could play some power forward. He probably makes the roster, but where does he find minutes behind Gerald Wallace and Vladimir Radmanovic?
Robert Vaden, G-F, 6-5, Alabama-Birmingham (second round) -- He was sold, in a pre-arranged deal, to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Considering the Bobcats' financial challenges, can you blame them?
FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Bobcats passed on making a $3.6 million-plus qualifying offer to Sean May, the 13th pick of the 2005 draft. That makes May an unrestricted free agent in July, but both the team and May say he could still re-sign with the Bobcats at a lower salary. May missed all of the 2007-08 season following knee surgery and played in only 24 games last season.
As expected, the Bobcats made a $5.5 million qualifying offer to point guard Raymond Felton, restricting his free agency. Of the move Michael Jordan said: "I definitely want to keep him. I anticipate us keeping Raymond, without a doubt."
PLAYER NEWS:
--G Raja Bell enters the final season on his contract and would like an extension. That seems unlikely, so it's possible the Bobcats could end up trading Bell. There were some discussions with Golden State. However, Bell's defense makes him a favorite of coach Larry Brown.
--F Sean May says he's as healthy and in the best shape he's been since being drafted by the Bobcats. He says his first preference is re-signing in Charlotte, so he has a chance to justify the lottery pick the Bobcats used to acquire him.
--G Gerald Henderson, and several other young Bobcats, will likely be placed on some other franchise's summer-league team, since Charlotte is not fielding a team this summer.