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Bobcats finding more at No. 4
FORT MILL - Andre Iguodala has been called the best athlete in this NBA draft. Charlotte Bobcats coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff has no dispute with that description after Wednesday's workout.
A 6-foot-6 swingman from Arizona, Iguodala wowed the Bobcats with a two-hour display of quickness, speed and explosiveness. All those attributes were expected. The surprise, Bickerstaff said, was Iguodala's jump shot.
"He's really started to help himself in this draft. He's athletic and he shot the ball better that we thought" he would, Bickerstaff said. "The thing was, his mechanics were very consistent.
"I guarantee you he'll move up in the lottery."
Iguodala credited Chicago-based Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's personal trainer, with much of his success. Grover annually trains various draft prospects in preparation for these auditions. Likely lottery picks Dwight Howard and Devin Harris have also worked out at Grover's gym this spring.
"Tough workouts in the morning, then weights, then a couple of hours of rest, and then straight shooting. I'm taking 500-600 jump shots a day," Iguodala said of Grover's program. "His workouts are almost the exact same" as what he did for the Bobcats, the Seattle Supersonics and the Chicago Bulls in the past week.
Iguodala is similar in size and skills to Stanford's Josh Childress, a strong candidate for the Bobcats' No. 4 overall pick. Iguodala and Childress matched up often in the Pac-10.
"I don't think he's as athletic, but he's close," Iguodala said of Childress. "I think the difference is I'm a little more like a point guard or point forward. I'm the guy who can run the team, where he's more the guy who comes off the screen and gets it from the point guard."
Bickerstaff isn't so sure Iguodala is a point guard, but he does place him in the running for the fourth pick.
"Things seem to get better at four," Bickerstaff said. "You're starting to see people where you can say, `OK, that's one guy who we like, (but if he's gone) then we can move on because there's another pretty good basketball player.' "
The Bobcats also worked out Andris Biedrins, a 6-11 Latvian who turned 18 in May. Bickerstaff said Biedrins isn't a candidate for the fourth pick but could be a factor if the Bobcats acquire additional first-round picks.
"I think he needs to strengthen up a little bit, and then maybe two or three years down the road he can be a pretty good basketball player," Bickerstaff said.
Trade talks
Bickerstaff confirmed he spoke with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers during the weekend, investigating how the Bobcats might move up to one of the top two picks in the draft.His pitch: Convince the Magic at No. 1 or the Clippers at No. 2 that veterans available in the expansion draft are worth trading down to No. 4. Magic star Tracy McGrady said he'll leave Orlando if he doesn't get immediate help. McGrady can opt out of his contract after next season.
"With McGrady being there, they need somebody who can make a difference," Bickerstaff said. "They need a couple of players who can make them a better basketball team ... and I'm talking about the here and now."
The Bobcats will get the list of players left unprotected on June 12, 10 days before the expansion draft. Bickerstaff must market that list diplomatically because technically he's not allowed to divulge the names to other general managers.
So how do you make a deal?
"We might make a call (to Team A) and say, `Is there anybody on (Team B) that you like?' It protects the team, and if there's nobody, there's no need to go any further."
Notes
• It appears WFNZ won't be the Bobcats' radio flagship station after all. A source close to the negotiations confirmed that Charlotte's sports-talk station is out of the running to broadcast the games. The team is looking at several other possibilities in AM and FM stations.
• Bobcats officials have long suspected other teams might go to extremes to dump heavy contracts on Charlotte in the expansion draft. The Dallas Mavericks appear to be a prime example.
Coach Don Nelson told the Dallas Morning News he'll protect rookie Jon Stefansson, who never played last season, in order to expose Danny Fortson ($5.6 million next season), Tariq Abdul-Wahad ($6.75 million), Tony Delk ($3.15 million) and Shawn Bradley ($4 million). With a projected payroll of $84 million next season, the Mavs would love to dump a salary.
Bickerstaff said Wednesday he was open to the possibility of taking center Bradley if some leverage was involved, either compensation from the Mavs or the chance to trade him on to another team. "I think Shawn Bradley could help some team for 20 minutes" a game, Bickerstaff said.
FORT MILL - Andre Iguodala has been called the best athlete in this NBA draft. Charlotte Bobcats coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff has no dispute with that description after Wednesday's workout.
A 6-foot-6 swingman from Arizona, Iguodala wowed the Bobcats with a two-hour display of quickness, speed and explosiveness. All those attributes were expected. The surprise, Bickerstaff said, was Iguodala's jump shot.
"He's really started to help himself in this draft. He's athletic and he shot the ball better that we thought" he would, Bickerstaff said. "The thing was, his mechanics were very consistent.
"I guarantee you he'll move up in the lottery."
Iguodala credited Chicago-based Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's personal trainer, with much of his success. Grover annually trains various draft prospects in preparation for these auditions. Likely lottery picks Dwight Howard and Devin Harris have also worked out at Grover's gym this spring.
"Tough workouts in the morning, then weights, then a couple of hours of rest, and then straight shooting. I'm taking 500-600 jump shots a day," Iguodala said of Grover's program. "His workouts are almost the exact same" as what he did for the Bobcats, the Seattle Supersonics and the Chicago Bulls in the past week.
Iguodala is similar in size and skills to Stanford's Josh Childress, a strong candidate for the Bobcats' No. 4 overall pick. Iguodala and Childress matched up often in the Pac-10.
"I don't think he's as athletic, but he's close," Iguodala said of Childress. "I think the difference is I'm a little more like a point guard or point forward. I'm the guy who can run the team, where he's more the guy who comes off the screen and gets it from the point guard."
Bickerstaff isn't so sure Iguodala is a point guard, but he does place him in the running for the fourth pick.
"Things seem to get better at four," Bickerstaff said. "You're starting to see people where you can say, `OK, that's one guy who we like, (but if he's gone) then we can move on because there's another pretty good basketball player.' "
The Bobcats also worked out Andris Biedrins, a 6-11 Latvian who turned 18 in May. Bickerstaff said Biedrins isn't a candidate for the fourth pick but could be a factor if the Bobcats acquire additional first-round picks.
"I think he needs to strengthen up a little bit, and then maybe two or three years down the road he can be a pretty good basketball player," Bickerstaff said.
Trade talks
Bickerstaff confirmed he spoke with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers during the weekend, investigating how the Bobcats might move up to one of the top two picks in the draft.His pitch: Convince the Magic at No. 1 or the Clippers at No. 2 that veterans available in the expansion draft are worth trading down to No. 4. Magic star Tracy McGrady said he'll leave Orlando if he doesn't get immediate help. McGrady can opt out of his contract after next season.
"With McGrady being there, they need somebody who can make a difference," Bickerstaff said. "They need a couple of players who can make them a better basketball team ... and I'm talking about the here and now."
The Bobcats will get the list of players left unprotected on June 12, 10 days before the expansion draft. Bickerstaff must market that list diplomatically because technically he's not allowed to divulge the names to other general managers.
So how do you make a deal?
"We might make a call (to Team A) and say, `Is there anybody on (Team B) that you like?' It protects the team, and if there's nobody, there's no need to go any further."
Notes
• It appears WFNZ won't be the Bobcats' radio flagship station after all. A source close to the negotiations confirmed that Charlotte's sports-talk station is out of the running to broadcast the games. The team is looking at several other possibilities in AM and FM stations.
• Bobcats officials have long suspected other teams might go to extremes to dump heavy contracts on Charlotte in the expansion draft. The Dallas Mavericks appear to be a prime example.
Coach Don Nelson told the Dallas Morning News he'll protect rookie Jon Stefansson, who never played last season, in order to expose Danny Fortson ($5.6 million next season), Tariq Abdul-Wahad ($6.75 million), Tony Delk ($3.15 million) and Shawn Bradley ($4 million). With a projected payroll of $84 million next season, the Mavs would love to dump a salary.
Bickerstaff said Wednesday he was open to the possibility of taking center Bradley if some leverage was involved, either compensation from the Mavs or the chance to trade him on to another team. "I think Shawn Bradley could help some team for 20 minutes" a game, Bickerstaff said.
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