NBA Draft 2012: Charlotte Bobcats Would Bury Anthony Davis' Talent

He would probably never say it out loud, but Kentucky forward Anthony Davis is likely secretly hoping that there's an upset in the works when the NBA conducts the 2012 draft lottery on May 30th.

If the favorite to obtain the first overall pick wins out and selects Davis, it may be the first time in the history of basketball that a player is drafted by a professional team that probably couldn't beat his college one.

Davis was scintillating in his one season with the Wildcats, averaging over 14 points and 10 rebounds per game while helping lead Kentucky to the national championship, and there's absolutely no question that he will be taken first overall in June's NBA draft.

However, unless Davis has superpowers or can clone himself his considerable talents may be squandered for several seasons in the NBA. If the lottery holds true to form, the 6'10" Davis will be entering the fourth circle of basketball hell otherwise known as the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Bobcats sucked on a level in 2011-12 that makes black holes jealous. This is a team that won all of seven games last year and posted an NBA-record .106 winning percentage. The Bobcats finished last in the league in points per game, point differential and field goal percentage while allowing the third-most points per game and finishing next to last in rebounds.

Sure, Davis would be a big boost to the Bobcats, whose leading scorer in 2011-12 (Gerald Henderson) barely cracked 15 points per game and whose leading rebounder (Bismack Biyombo) hauled down fewer than six boards a contest.

Oscar Robertson would help the Bobcats too, and he's 74.

It would be different is there was anything resembling a glimmer of hope for the future in Charlotte, but team owner Michael Jordan has shown to be about as adept at running a professional basketball team as Isaiah Thomas was at running the CBA (or the Knicks for that matter), so I wouldn't be hold my breath waiting for the Bobcats to turn things around.

Even in competent hands, the cupboard is so bare in Charlotte that it will take several seasons to mold the team into anything resembling a playoff contender, and even before he sets foot in the NBA I can confidently say that the Bobcats chances of hanging onto Davis as a free agent are approximately negative 11 million percent.

Granted, it's not like playing in Washington, Cleveland or New Orleans would be all hugs and smiles either in the early going, as there's a reason why those teams have the best chances of "winning" the lottery.

They stink.

That said the Charlotte Bobcats stink on a level that's difficult for the human mind to fully comprehend, and it will be a sad day for basketball fans if Davis ends up there, as the only experience that Davis would gain playing in Charlotte is an experience in losing.

A lot.