NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

No luck in draw: Bobcats get 9th

Chicago wins first pick, makes Charlotte dig deeper into talent pool

RICK BONNELL

rbonnell@charlotteobserver.com

AP

Stanford's Robin Lopez is a potential pick at the No. 9 spot.

Jerryd Bayless? Anthony Randolph? D.J. Augustin? Robin Lopez?

Those are players who could be available June 26, when the Charlotte Bobcats choose ninth in the NBA draft. They're also players who fit into their obvious needs -- a point guard or a big man.

Tuesday night's draft lottery was not kind to the Bobcats. They didn't move up to a top-three pick, and since the Chicago Bulls did, the Bobcats slipped from eighth (their most likely spot in the weighted lottery) to ninth.

The Bulls ended up with the top pick, despite a 1.7 percent chance in the weighted lottery. The Miami Heat, with the league's worst record, will pick second and the Minnesota Timberwolves third.

Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said he wouldn't disregard a great player who duplicates what the team already has. But Higgins indicated they'd be better off drafting a point guard or a big man.

"If you draft a wing player, you better know you have something else you can do with your roster, maybe the trade avenue," he said after learning where the Bobcats would select.

Bayless, from Arizona, and Augustin, from Texas, are point guards. Higgins said it's a priority to address that spot because Raymond Felton is the only point guard under contract. Likewise, with Sean May's knee injury and Jermareo Davidson's inexperience, Higgins said another big man would help.

Randolph, a freshman from Louisiana State, isn't ideal. At 6-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he needs bulk and muscle to play power forward in the NBA. Lopez is the less heralded of twin 7-footers who played at Stanford.

All four of those players figure to be a consideration at No. 9, where the Bobcats will have to cast a wider net.

"If we were (picking) third right now, it would be pretty cut-and-dried between a few names," Higgins said. "Now we have to do our homework. But we'll get a good player."

Higgins said it's inevitable the Bobcats will work out more players sitting at No. 9, simply because it's so hard to predict who will be chosen in the first eight slots. Higgins would like to audition the top 15 players on the team's draft board, but he questions whether agents will allow some elite players to work out for No. 9.

Higgins said new coach Larry Brown will be heavily involved.

"Larry has seen thousands of players, thousands of games," Higgins said. "He'll have plenty of input in what we do."

'08 NBA Draft Order

First Round

1. Chicago

2. Miami

3. Minnesota

4. Seattle

5. Memphis

6. New York

7. L.A. Clippers

8. Milwaukee

9. Charlotte

10. New Jersey

11. Indiana

12. Sacramento

13. Portland

14. Golden State

See page 3C for rest of lineup