NBA Lottery 2012: Charlotte Bobcats and Teams with Most to Lose
The lottery ruins lives.
In the NBA as well as the common man’s lottery, people get screwed over regularly.
While there are a couple different draft day solutions that’ll leave teams like the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers content, it’d be a disaster for a few franchises to miss out on a single prospect. Here are the three squads that would feel the pain of a poor lottery drawing the most.
3. Milwaukee Bucks
Who They Must Leave With: Tyler Zeller
Milwaukee is a talented ball club. With Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis and Ersan Ilyasova, they’re one player away from being a playoff team: a center. They don’t have a starting-caliber center on their roster after trading Andrew Bogut.
After Zeller, there isn’t a seven-footer in the draft with the ability to start from day one for the Bucks. Right now, they’re in position to land the 12th overall pick. If they fall to No. 13 or 14, they could lose out on Zeller and a playoff berth.
2. New Orleans Hornets
Who They Must Leave With: Thomas Robinson
If the Hornets hit the jackpot and receive higher than the fourth overall pick in the draft, they wouldn’t complain. New Orleans would welcome Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal with open arms, but anyone after that trio and Robinson would cripple them.
Eric Gordon isn’t a guarantee to re-sign this offseason. If he leaves for greener pastures, New Orleans will be forced to start from scratch. With Carl Landry also headed to free agency and Jason Smith currently starting, Robinson would fill a major need for the Hornets.
NOLA needs a new face of the franchise thanks to the Chris Paul debacle. Robinson is explosive enough on both ends of the court to be that guy. If Gordon bolts and they miss out on the Kansas superstar, they’ll be the worst team in the league next season.
1. Charlotte Bobcats
Who They Must Leave With: Anthony Davis
Charlotte won seven games this season. Their depth chart is Swiss cheese—it’s filled with holes. The only position on their roster that isn’t in need of a major upgrade is at point guard.
Because of that, they must leave the draft with the best available player: Davis. Anyone else—Kidd-Gilchrist, Beal—would be a disaster.
They finished with the 27th ranked defense in the league this year. A frontcourt featuring Davis and Bismack Biyombo would change that instantly.
If the Bobcats land Davis, they’ll be well on their way to a postseason return. If they lose the No. 1 selection, the only thing that they’ll be competing for is the worst record in the league…again.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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