There is almost always a bump of anticipation that those young men leadership selects in professional drafts will perform well and raise the fortunes of said team in a hopeful future. Kyrie Irving at #1 will undoubtedly make the Cleveland Cavaliers much better, and the Timberwolves truly awful botching of a 26 year old 6'6" nobody (Tanguy Ngombo) from the Qatar League at #58 (they didn't do much research while thinking they were picking a 21 year old) represent the array of possibilities. The CHARLOTTE BOBCATS, with Bismack Biyombo (originally from the Congo, one year of Spanish League) at #7 and guard Kemba Walker of national champ UConn at #9, represent all that drafts are meant to be about. Biyombo's 7-ft.7-inch wingspan might be All That as a shot-blocker, and if Walker provides the guts and scoring he showcased during an epic post-season run, that would make for a lot of smiles in the Queen City.

Charlotte's 'brain trust' shipped the last really productive veteran presence, guard Stephen Jackson, off to Milwaukee (with its #19 pick)in order to get Biyombo at #7. While they also received former Duke star (sorry, but that is going to be how he gets described a lot) Corey Maggette in a 3-team trade, the results almost guarantee a long season with even fewer than 2010-11's 34 wins. Having given Paul Silas a contract based on his ability to 'teach', management and fans better be satisfied with progress from these newbies and a roster without a lot of star power.

At this point Gerald Henderson (9.6 PPG, 3 RPG) and D.J. Augustin (14.4 PPG) are the top names on the roster, former LSU stud Tyrus Thomas (10.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG), the overall #4 pick by Chicago in 2006 is still developing, Boris Diaw (11.3 PPG) picked up his $9MM option, and the rest of the roster is basically parts. Even starting center Kwame Brown, selected #1 overall in 2001, is considered much closer to the end of his career at 29 than most would care to admit.

"Will the next two years be interesting to watch for fans in Charlotte?" is a poser. With a long history of appreciating college ball in the Carolinas, a case could be made for whether Silas can raise the game of individual players enough to create a "we've torn down so rebuilding can begin" belief that is roughly akin to UNC or Duke reloading. Henderson and Augustin both benefitted from Silas' patience vs. Brown's often un-nice style of shouting and tension. Its legitimate to credit the Jordon-Higgins-Cho front office with the guts to recognize they didn't want to remain a 'struggle to maybe finish eighth in the East' level team.

Looking back at my analysis of the '96-'97 Hornets seems like a ying-yang situation relative to these Bobcats. That team featured a major turnover, with Alonzo Mourning the major exit and the emergence of Glenn Rice, Anthony Mason, and Vlade Divac as essential cogs for new coach Dave Cowens. They'd just missed the playoffs (41-41) the year before, and the goal was improved defense, with veterans playing to their level and a predicted (on the money) 52 wins putting them mid-pack in the powerful East. Getting 34 wins again in 2011-12 might be considered a major accomplishment for next season's Bobcats, but if that presages much stronger teams beyond that, the fannies might be back in the seats to watch how well Mr. Silas teaches "their guys" to get it done.

Glenn S.