NBA Rumors: Charlotte Bobcats Close To Dealing No. 2 Pick To Cleveland Cavaliers

By Joshua Casey

After the 2012 NBA draft lottery awarded the New Orleans Hornets with the No. 1 overall pick, the Charlotte Bobcats were put in a very weird position. The team with the worst winning percentage in NBA history, albeit in a lockout shortened season, would now be relegated to picking the second best player in the draft, whoever that may be. Kentucky Wildcats center Anthony Davis has long been deemed as the consensus No. 1 overall pick, and for good reason. But now that the Bobcats hopes of obtaining a franchise-changing player like Davis are dashed, they really do not have a solid backup plan.

Players like Kansas’ Thomas Robinson, or North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, are not seen to be franchise cornerstones like Davis is. So one of the Bobcats options is to possibly trade their pick to another team, thus moving them down in the draft and possibly acquiring multiple first-round picks. Many teams have gone this route and, for a select few, it has worked. According to rumors this is now the route that the Bobcats are close to taking.

The Bobcats are rumored to be close to swapping picks with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who own the No. 4 and 24 picks in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft. It is still uncertain who the Bobcats would take at the four spot but, it would have to be someone who they know is not going to be picked the three teams in front of them, the Washington Wizards, Cavaliers (if they do wind up trading with the Bobcats), and the Hornets. The Bobcats would reportedly swap their second pick with the Cavs 24th, and it is still unclear what else, if anything, would be included in the trade.

The Cavaliers on the other hand are feverishly looking to move up so they can get their hands on the hottest prospect in the 2012 NBA Draft, Florida guard Bradley Beal. Beal is skyrocketing up every teams draft board and the Cavaliers, even though they have a franchise guard in Kyrie Irving, feel that Beal is just too good of a prospect to pass up. Drafting Beal will not come without its headaches though as Irving has made it known that he would like to see Harrison Barnes in a Cavs uniform next season. But if Beal really is that good can the Cavs pass him up just to satisfy Irving?

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