NBA Draft Lottery 2012: What Charlotte Bobcats Have to Do After the Lottery

The Charlotte Bobcats' streak of bad luck continued Wednesday night when they failed to obtain the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

The Bobcats had a 25 percent chance at landing that top pick, but instead, the New Orleans Hornets got it. What makes this all so bad is that this year's consensus overall top pick, Anthony Davis, looks like he's a lock to be a solid NBA talent in the year's to come.

What do the Bobcats need to do now after the lottery gods have spoken? Their journey to being competitive in the NBA begins with seeing how much value a few of their players hold on the trade block. 

Gauge Trade Value of D.J. Augustin and Tyrus Thomas

One thing we learned over the span of the 2011-12 season is that the Bobcats can't compete with the current talent they currently have on their roster.

That means it's time for the Bobcats to start evaluating the necessity of retaining all the players on their roster heading into the upcoming offseason. The first player the Bobcats could live without is D.J. Augustin.

Augustin isn't a bad player, but with Kemba Walker taking over the point guard spot and Gerald Henderson having a solid year last season, there's not really a great spot for Augustin on the depth chart.

With teams like the L.A Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and possibly the New Jersey Nets in the market for a point guard, the Bobcats would be smart to at least test the waters of the trade market with Augustin's talents.

Another player the Bobcats should consider trading is Tyrus Thomas. He's not the most mature player in the NBA, and he's also not that efficient.  

With the Bobcats' No. 2 overall pick, there's a high possibility that they will take Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson. Doing so would make Tyrus Thomas' days in Charlotte numbered.

The Bobcats don't necessarily have to actually make any trades, but they at least need to be active in seeing what sort of talent or draft picks they can get in return for those two players.

Assess If Trading Down in the Draft Is the Bobcats' Best Option

Not landing the No. 1 overall pick is a major disappointment for the Bobcats. They had their sites set squarely on Anthony Davis for the past few weeks, and now they're forced to move in a different direction.

While one direction they could move in is certainly drafting a player like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Thomas Robinson with their No. 2 overall pick, they could also consider trading down in the draft.

By trading down in the draft, the Bobcats could focus on taking more developed players who might not have as high of an upside as the lottery prospects.  

While there are a lot of intriguing prospects like Kidd-Gilchrist, Perry Jones III and Andre Drummond, to name a few, those players might not be as ready to make an immediate impact on a struggling Bobcats' roster. 

I know this is a long shot, but wouldn't it be interesting if the Bobcats were able to trade down and draft Jeremy Lamb so that he could play with his former UConn teammate Kemba Walker?

Start Focusing More Seriously on Talent Available in Free Agency

The Bobcats don't have a great track record when it comes to reeling in high-caliber free agents. It's time for that to change.

There are a number of veteran free agents that the Bobcats should seriously pursue, like Michael Beasley, Carl Landry, Kris Humphries, Antawn Jamison and Spencer Hawes.

The Bobcats seriously need to bolster their frontcourt and the best place for them to do that is in free agency. The unfortunate part of free agency for the Bobcats is that they'll most likely have to overpay to attract free agents, as their 7-59 record this past season certainly won't entice players to come to Charlotte.

It's safe to say that if the Bobcats don't seriously pursue high-caliber talent this offseason, they'll be bound for another year as a team with one of the highest chances of winning the 2013 NBA draft lottery.

There are a number of things the Bobcats need to do to rebound from their most recent disappointment of failing to win the No. 1 overall pick. It will be interesting to see how the Bobcats respond. This upcoming offseason has the potential to make or break the Bobcats' franchise for the next few years.