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With minority owner Michael Jordan in the Charlotte Bobcats draft room this summer, it's no wonder the team selected forward Adam Morrison, a player whose ability to score and will to win are reminiscent of Jordan's.

Like Jordan, Morrison was selected with the third overall pick; Bobcats fans hope the similarities don't end there. Morrison has an innate ability to score the basketball (28.1 ppg for Gonzaga in 2005-06) and should have an instant impact on a team that had the NBA's worst field goal percentage (.433) last season. Despite his youth, Morrison may quickly emerge as a go-to option in crunch time.

"Looking at the team and what they desperately needed, they needed scoring in the fourth quarter," Jordan told reporters after the 6-8 forward was selected.

Though Morrison is officially the Bobcats' only notable addition, the team is also adding Emeka Okafor (56 games missed) and Sean May (59 games missed) back after injury-shortened campaigns. In effect, Charlotte adds three lottery picks to its frontcourt.

Despite playing without May and Okafor for most of the season, and facing nagging injuries to leading scorer Gerald Wallace (who missed 27 games), Brevin Knight (13 games) and others, Bernie Bickerstaff's club improved from 18 wins to 26 in their second season. A similar improvement seems within reach in 2006-07.

When he was in the lineup, Wallace emerged as one the NBA's most versatile players, leading the Bobcats and points (15.2), rebounds (7.5), steals (2.51) and blocks (2.09). Wallace and Knight (2.28 steals per game) finished 1-2 in the NBA in steals, pacing Charlotte's league-leading 10.2 steals per game attack.

Knight (12.6 points, 8.8 assists) and Raymond Felton (11.9 points, 5.6 assists) composed a small but formidable backcourt duo, but neither is a particularly adept shooter. There's no doubt that a classic 'shooting guard' is at the top of the Bobcats wish list, as Knight is best suited to an Earl Boykins-like role as second-team catalyst.

Felton, meanwhile, could be on the cusp of stardom. He outscored all rookies after February 1, contributing 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.4 steals over the team's final 34 games.

Bickerstaff will have plenty to worry about this season – Okafor's health, Morrison's defense, the overall lack of shooting and depth – but he will be fielding a team with a lot of young talent that opponents can't look past.
-- Bill Evans

2006-07 Bobcats Ticket Plans

Okafor

Emeka Okafor bested Dwight Howard to win the Rookie of the Year honors in 2004-05, but round two went decisively in Howard's favor.

Howard assaulted the glass, finishing second in the NBA in rebounding (12.5 rpg) and sixth in field goal percentage (.531), even earning an invitation to Team USA for the FIBA World Championships.

Meanwhile, even before Okafor's season effectively ended on Dec. 19 with a sprained right ankle, he fell victim to the sophomore slump. His scoring average dipped from 15.1 to 13.2 points per game, and his rebounds and field goal percentage also took a plunge.

As the team's franchise player, Okafor will face an undue portion of mounting expectations in Charlotte. When healthy, he's of the league's top 20 shot blockers, an outstanding rebounder and an antidote for Charlotte's miserable field goal defense (.478) a year ago. He also needs to contribute at the offensive end, though, and his paltry career field goal percentage of .439 needs to improve.
-- Bill Evans

X&O STRENGTH

Bickerstaff

I think with Morrison what they do have is more offense...The key will be the interior. If Okafor is going to be healthy and play at (his rookie year) level, they could be the surprise...They have a lot of talent and a lot will depend on how they adjust to the NBA game...Their big people have to be healthy for them to be competitive this year.

X&O WEAKNESS
Is Okafor going to be healthy this year? That’s a big question mark. How good will Morrison be? Will they put a lot of pressure on him to be good right away? How quickly will he understand the NBA game?

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHY
Coach Bickerstaff has a guard that he can rely upon to run his offense, but so much relies on the big men and how good Morrison will be...He has to focus on development.
-- Butch Beard (courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association)

Made improvements, but still a year or two away from a playoff team.
Morrison will be a good player, but not a Bird franchise type of guy ... but he does make them better.
It'll be interesting to see how Felton comes out this year... all point guards have two or three years of growth ... I think he's gonna be OK. He still has another year or two.
Jury's still out on Okafor on how much of an impact guy he'll be ... He'll be a decent player, but a franchise player? I'm not sure... .
He's an undersized guy, and I'd like to see him healthy for a year.
All of these guys are decent, but there's no one you need to worry about, until they get that superstar, they're gonna be a run of the mill NBA team.
-- Eastern Conference Scout

Raymond Felton: Speculated as this year's sleeper of the year, Felton averaged 16.7 points, 7.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.0 threes per game after the All-Star break.

Adam Morrison: Morrison will be a nice option for points, threes and free throw percentage, but will offer very little in any other category.

More fantasy news

If they can stay out of the trainer’s room, 2006-07 will be an exciting year for the Charlotte Bobcats. With many performers that will most likely exceed their draft value, the Bobcats will have plenty of players to choose from on draft day. With Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton primed to build on breakthrough performances and Emeka Okafor returning to the paint, the ‘Cats should be one of the sleeper teams in the NBA this season.
-- Brian McKitish
Bobcats Fantasy Preview

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