This is a fun debate because the two hardest things to find in Basketball are a dependable point guard and a scoring big man. It's a close call, but here's why I think Augustin was a better fit here:

At the time of the draft, it was clear Bobcats management had misgivings about Raymond Felton as the long-term point guard. And it's still possible he will be gone, via trade or free-agency before the start of next season.

Because of strict enforcement of the hand-check rule, the NBA has increasingly become a guard's league. Augustin has the skills -- ballhandling, passing, shooting -- to be a 10-year starter here. I read a comparison to Terrell Brandon, and that's a good one.

And certainly Augustin shooting 92 percent from the foul line is a plus on a team historically weak in that area.

I'm not knocking Lopez, who's having a nice season with the Nets, but I don't know that he would have been a good complement to Emeka Okafor. Neither Okafor nor Lopez is a particularly smooth athlete. They're better off with a guy like Boris Diaw, whose skills and athleticism make up for a couple of inches less height.

Q: Who's the most likely Bobcat to be traded next?

That's really two questions: Which Bobcat is most available? And which Bobcat is most attractive to other teams?

I believe team management would be very receptive to moving the contract of either Adam Morrison or Matt Carroll. Neither one starts, except as an injury fill-in, and that's a huge financial investment in backups with redundant skill sets. The question is whether other teams would accept one of those contracts without sending a similar contract back to Charlotte.

As far as attractive to other teams, the Knicks would love to acquire Diaw, but why would the Bobcats give him up? His presence has made them significantly better.

I'm sure there are teams interesting in Felton. There's some risk the Bobcats could lose him in free-agency over the summer without compensation. But the Bobcats' history with restricted free-agency ( Gerald Wallace, Okafor) is not to rush into some panicky trade or re-signing.

Q: Don't they need a better shooting guard than Raja Bell?

What's wrong with a guy who's the fifth-best 3-point shooter in the league (46 percent) and a fine defender? Plus, his intangibles -- smart, intense, competitive -- are qualities coach Larry Brown wants to add to a young, inexperienced locker room.

If there's a question, it's how well Bell holds up physically, playing the rugged defense that defined his best seasons. Were the five games he missed with a groin strain an anomaly or a warning sign?

Q: If Larry Brown is such a genius, then why haven't they won more games?

We live in such a microwave culture. Add a big-name coach or a big-name player, and fans expect instant, dramatic improvement.

Doesn't work that way, but the results since the trade are encouraging. They've won roughly half their games since Diaw and Bell joined the starting lineup and they've been blown out only twice (at Milwaukee and at Cleveland) in that span. Since Brown's arrival the Bobcats are better defenders, share the ball more and don't rely as much on jump shots.

I never expected them to make the playoffs this season, but they look more like a playoff-worthy team now than at any time in the previous four seasons.

To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.