Notes: Expansion Tuesday livens up Draft Week

Before we go full blast into Thursday's NBA Draft, there is Tuesday's not-so-little matter of the expansion draft for the new Charlotte Bobcats franchise.

With each team protecting no more than eight players and the Bobcats to select 14, this will likely produce the fiber of the first-year roster for general manager and coach Bernie Bickerstaff. Even after the deal with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday to move up to the second pick overall in Thursday's draft, don't expect Bickerstaff to be making wholesale selections of aging veterans in expansion -- regardless of name recognition.

Bernie Bickerstaff says the Bobcats will seek youngsters in the expansion draft.(Getty Images)

If he learned anything from watching the last expansion draft that included the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, it's to go young.

Very young.

"Exactly ... we want young and start from there," Bickerstaff said, taking a breather from the avalanche of phone calls from around the league. "This is looking at the big picture. We want young players and we don't want long-term contracts."

That's not to say they won't look at some veterans. Obviously they need them, too. And there will be an impressive array of name players available, although their contracts make them unlikely Bobcats.

For example, Dallas didn't protect Antoine Walker, an upper-crust talent at forward, but he's making more than $14.6 million next season -- the last season of his contract. The same goes for the New York Knicks exposing Penny Hardaway, but at least Walker is only 27. Hardaway is 32.

A more intriguing name out there is Jerry Stackhouse, the 6-foot-6 guard for the Washington Wizards. A North Carolina native and a former All-American at the University of North Carolina, Stackhouse is a two-time All-Star who has three years left on his contract at a manageable $21 million total. But he's coming off troublesome knee surgery and perhaps more disconcerting is the selfish reputation he has built from Philadelphia to Detroit to Washington. Considering that Stackhouse is 29, Bickerstaff might be more interested in his unprotected teammate, 25-year-old Juan Dixon.

Tough guys like Ruben Patterson and Malik Rose could help, too, but their contracts are too long and for too much money. Although Kerry Kittles, at 30, is intriguing with just two years left on his deal, a more likely veteran selection would be Boston Celtics point guard Chucky Atkins, who will be 30 in August and brings less than half the contract. With two years left on his deal and less than $9 million total, Atkins has playoff experience at running the Detroit Pistons for two postseasons and can bring some leadership to a team in search of an identity.

Another reason veterans are needed is the widely held perception Bickerstaff has already fallen in love with Dwight Howard, the precocious 6-11 high school senior from Atlanta, which is why he is intent on trading up. Incredibly gifted at all phases of the game, with unlikely size and skills, he'll need some experienced players to help him learn the NBA life.

"We'll always have some veterans, you have to have that," Bickerstaff said. "But we want the young players to have the opportunity to gain confidence and get it done for us."

With so many restricted free agents on the list -- all immediately become unrestricted should the Bobcats call their name -- there are plenty of deals in the offing. In fact, this draft week is hotter than normal because of the expansion sidelight. Already, it appears the Phoenix Suns have talked the Bobcats into taking stout center Jahidi White, who Bickerstaff had in Washington. Moving White will allow the Suns to make a strong pitch for Detroit Pistons free agent Mehmet Okur.

And getting into the middle of a blockbuster deal isn't out of the question, either, considering the Bobcats will have all kinds of contracts, be millions under the salary cap, and be able to facilitate trades that could include the likes of Tracy McGrady or Shaquille O'Neal. That's not to say Charlotte could land a superstar, but it could land more talent just by being involved.

"It will be interesting ... because we're trying to get in there," Bickerstaff said. "We'll do the expansion draft, do the college draft and see what happens. There's enough flexibility because of the restricted free agents, that once the contracts end, we'll have a lot of flexibility to do what we want."

With a little help from their friends.

Emeka or the kid

The drama continues over the options the Orlando Magic have with the first pick overall. If you factor in their shopping of superstar Tracy McGrady, figure this to be the biggest day this franchise has had, since, well, McGrady and Grant Hill signed as free agents in the summer of 2000.

All things being equal, their decision comes down to Emeka Okafor, the 6-10, 255-pound player of the year for the national champion Connecticut Huskies or Howard, the best high school prospect.

Okafor cracked a couple of vertebrae during the Big East Tournament this season and it has caused some anxiety, but that should vanish soon. He played in every game during the NCAA Tournament and averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.1 blocks, leading the country with 24 double-doubles. Add to that he graduated in three years as an Academic All-American with a degree in finance, and has the best work habits Jim Calhoun has had in his NBA factory, and he's about as solid a bet to be an excellent player as it gets.

Then again, there's that fanciful NBA cliché known as "upside" that has everyone drooling over Howard. A native of Atlanta, not far from where 2001 top pick out of high school Kwame Brown hails, and scouts have put him at a much higher skill level than Brown. His overt religious fanaticism and desire to convert the NBA has a lot of people concerned about his maturity, but most figure a year with a strong dose of NBA reality will help him to focus on basketball.

Also figuring to go in the lottery are college standouts Luol Deng (Duke), Josh Childress (Stanford), Wisconsin point guard Devin Harris and Okafor's teammate, Ben Gordon, along with possibly Saint Joseph's undersized point guard, Jameer Nelson, versatile Andre Iguodala from Arizona and Nevada's tough shooting guard Kirk Snyder possibilities to sneak in.

Otherwise, we're following suit with the international/prep scenarios of recent years with this year's flavors being Peoria, Ill., prep star Shaun Livingston, a 6-7 point guard; 6-11 Latvian Andris Biedrins, 7-5 Russian Pavel Podkolzine (who flamed out during last year's pre-draft camp as an 18-year-old) and 6-9 Josh Smith -- the latest and greatest 18-year-old from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

Beyond that group, there are a slew of others that could go anywhere from 10 to 23, including prep stars Sebastian Telfair, the undersized point guard who is Stephon Marbury's cousin; 6-10 forward Al Jefferson from Prentiss, Miss., and 6-6 J.R. Smith from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J.

How 'bout Shaq and Zach?

With the buzz about Shaquille O'Neal's desire to get traded from the Los Angeles Lakers lighting up the airwaves from coast-to-coast, it provides endless possibilities.

Obviously, if Lakers owners Jerry Buss is serious about unloading Diesel, general manager Mitch Kupchak must start East, even though the teams with the most likely ammunition of talent and salaries figure to be the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Indiana Pacers would have to consider it if they could retain their own All-NBA O'Neal, namely Jermaine. Would Ron Artest, Jonathan Bender, Jeff Foster and Scot Pollard get it done? Maybe. Probably not. One O'Neal deserves another.

The Detroit Pistons have plenty of artillery, but why would they do this deal? They just beat the heck out of the Lakers, who had Shaq and Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson coaching them. That said, the Chicago Bulls would have to trade everybody but Tyson Chandler or Eddy Curry and Kirk Hinrich, so that wouldn't work either.

So if the Lakers really are serious about this, then it will have to be in the West. Maybe because the Grizzlies president is Jerry West, they'd listen to the deal of Pau Gasol, Lorenzen Wright, Stromile Swift and Bonzi Wells for Shaq.

The easiest deal would be a stunning 2-for-1 swap with the Mavericks ... gulp! Dirk Nowitzki and Antoine Walker for Shaq? The Mavs might finish 80-2, and it wouldn't necessarily be a bad deal for the Lakers. That's an interesting one, although the Mavs really, Really, REALLY (!) would be hard-pressed to deal Dirk.

And then of course you have the Blazers, with Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Ruben Patterson to offer. That deal really could work for both teams too, and certainly owner Paul Allen, like Mavs owner Mark Cuban, wouldn't blanch at the prospect of Shaq's $61 million over the next two years.

That leaves us with the Shaq in Sac. Can you imagine, the man who could have written three books on all the put-downs he threw at the Queens, uh, Kings, playing in Sacramento? But the Kings are loaded with talent and contracts that would work, including providing size (Vlade Divac), talent and size (Chris Webber) and ball-handling and talent (Bobby Jackson). OK, throw in a draft choice or two.

None of those work? Well, all of them work with some tweaking on paper. It's just a reminder of how difficult it is to trade a superstar. Which leads us to our next step.

So long to the Stevie Franchise?

These very well could be the final days of Steve Francis with the Houston Rockets if all these rumors about Tracy McGrady headed out of Orlando this week are true.

Although the Pacers obviously have a great fit for McGrady, too (for Harrington or Artest, with Bender and Foster, plus a No. 1), the opportunity for the Magic to get Francis, along with perhaps Cuttino Mobley and another big player -- either Mo Taylor or Kelvin Cato -- will be too much to pass up. If you add having the No. 1 pick overall with Okafor or Howard to the McGrady trade equation, Orlando has a chance to change the face of the franchise in a hurry.

Of course, the best scenario would be a healthy Okafor, Grant Hill and a happy McGrady -- then they wouldn't have to make any deals.

Is that still possible?

Shots from the perimeter

• Although Rudy Tomjanovich was the first one out of the blocks regarding the vacated Lakers coaching position when Phil Jackson ended his regime Friday, that doesn't mean he's the clear front-runner. Rudy T., 53, has struggled with health a lot over the past 10 years. God-willing, the bladder cancer he overcame two years ago is completely gone, but he previously had struggled with fatigue. The good news is he's cleansed his body from cigarettes and alcohol, and it would be a great story. George Karl, a former teammate of Kupchak's at North Carolina, told SportsLine.com that he's definitely interested, but "I might actually be too close" to Kupchak to work for him. Perhaps most interesting will be the approach Buss takes with this job after paying $6 million a year to Jackson, whether he will go on the cheap to hire one of Jackson's former assistants like Jim Cleamons or former Lakers Michael Cooper or Kurt Rambis, who was fired as head coach before they hired Jackson.

• It didn't take long for New Jersey Nets president Rod Thorn to pick up the option for young coach Lawrence Frank through next season, and there is little doubt they'll complete a long-term deal before the summer is out. With the success of the Detroit Pistons and Larry Brown's fundamental approach, expect a lot of teams to begin looking in that direction, regardless of age. Rookie coach Terry Porter experienced similar success with the Milwaukee Bucks, focusing on tough defense and fundamentals. Obviously, it's more about approach. It will be interesting to see whether the Atlanta Hawks go with aging coaches Del Harris or John MacLeod, both of whom emphasize fundamentals, or another direction.

• The NBA Board of Governors is getting closer to approving the sale of the Phoenix Suns from the group managed by Jerry Colangelo to Robert Sarver and his group. But there has been a change: The two former NBA stars initially included -- Charles Barkley and Sean Elliott -- have both pulled out. Steve Kerr, with five championship rings from his days in Chicago and San Antonio, remains and could ultimately become president of basketball operations in three years per the agreement with Colangelo.