We’re six NBA prospects in, but the possibilities remain endless for the Charlotte Bobcats heading into the 2013 NBA Draft. We’ll eventually cover all the bases by even scouting a guy Charlotte probably doesn’t necessarily “need” in Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart, but for now we’re trying to nail down the main big name prospects that make the most sense.

The Bobcats will likely have to get a tad screwed in the lottery to fall far enough to pick up Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk, but after taking a look at him, I’m starting to think that will only be the immediate popular knee-jerk reaction, and not the eventual reality. Let’s find out why:

Yeah, keep the t-shirt Kidd.

If I asked you for your ultimate set of maneuvers that shaped the Bobcats roster the day after the NBA Draft, would Ben Gordon, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor be your additions?  Not many if any would have said “Yes, please!” Incredibly, the second overall pick wasn’t traded, not to any of the 5 teams with standing offers, not to Cleveland for the 4th and 24th or whatever was being offered.  The Bobcats stood pat on both of their picks.  At press time, Adam Silver is still calling names and it remains to be seen if they trade back in for another second rounder, but it’s unlikely.

I’m not as disappointed as many of the regulars to our draft chat.  I don’t think that Rich Cho took the night off or that Michael Jordan had much of anything except to approve what his front office team had come up with.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist isn’t the overall second best player but he might be just what the Bobcats need.  All Chad Ford said in his analysis was “Hardest Worker in the draft.”  He takes pride in his defense and scores enough to seem like he’s got some offensive game.  But no one will accuse the Bobcats of stealing the draft.  This isn’t like a Kevin Durant to Greg Oden’s Anthony Davis, but the Bobcats got a “character,” “motor,” guy to play at small forward, which may be exactly what they wanted all along.

For those that have been paying attention, yes, I have been on a ‘who should they draft’ kick for the last month. With the team doing as poorly as they did, it was getting to be a little too depressing to talk about it. At least in the end the team did one thing right and got rid of Paul Silas.

Going forward (since it is too depressing to look back) it appears that the Charlotte Bobcats are virtually guaranteed at least one talented player. Odds are good they’ll get the No 1 pick and highly likely that they will at least get the No 2 or 3.

What if they the basketball Gods decide to spit on Jordan the Owner since he was so successful as Jordan the Player and the ‘Cats get a later pick in the lottery (all the way down at 4)?

Most of the predictions and mocks that I’ve read all said the same person is expected to go No 6—North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes. On the off chance that the Bobcats happen to be at the 4th spot or if they trade down a few slots, should they pick him and be happy?

Absolutely not.

I didn’t watch much North Carolina ball last year or the year before (I live in Indiana; I think there’s a law against watching anyone but IU and Butler). To talk about this guy I had to do my research.

Everyone says he has the body of a NBA small forward at 6-foot 8-inches and 210 pounds. Most people call him athletic (there was a couple that said he lacked athleticism). The 7-foot wing span is nice. People said one thing in many ways, but when you cut through the crap all they were saying was he’s a good shooter.

The only good thing about being so bad this season is that the Charlotte Bobcats are virtually guaranteed to get a pretty solid player in the coming NBA draft. That can’t always be said, but the talent pool looks pretty darn good so whether they get the first, second, or third pick (or lower) via the lottery they are going to get someone who can contribute immediately.

That is, unless His Airness does something crazy, but in Jordan we trust right?

As the whole world knows, Mr. Unibrow (aka Anthony Davis) is going to be the No 1 pick in the draft. Should that pick not belong to the Bobcats, who else should they choose?

They can’t go wrong if they opt to go with the sophomore forward from Ohio State Jared Sullinger.

His stats are solid. As a freshman– the year most people expected him to enter the draft—he averaged a double-double with 10.2 boards and 17.2 points a game. That number dipped a tad last season (9.2 boards but 17.5 points a game), but he went up in many other areas.

He went from averaging a block every other game to 1.1 a game. His free throw percentage improved from .704 to .768. As a big man he will not be expected to drain a lot of 3s, but he got better at that too hitting 40 percent (16-40) last season compared to 25 percent as a freshman (3-12). His field goal percentage took a dip (.519 to .541), but with his smaller size he was likely taking more jump shots than he did as a freshman.

The draft will be here in no time and as diligent basketball fans that hope our beloved Charlotte Bobcats will climb out of the cellar next season we know the importance of the coming draft. When you get the chance to make what will hopefully be one of the first picks of the draft you should get an immediate impact player, but not everyone fits that bill.

On the chance that we don’t get the No 1 pick and Anthony Davis we have to do our homework on the other available studs—like Thomas Robinson of the Kansas Jayhawks.

What can I say, but that I like this guy. Unlike many of the other projected lottery picks he is not a young, one and done kind of player. He has taken the time in college to hone his craft and improve his game before trying to make the jump to the NBA. I would trust in a guy like him that has spent some time maturing in college being ready to contribute before I would a 19-year old kid.

Now he likely did not make the jump because no one would have taken him after his freshman year or sophomore year. He played a lot his first two years, but other players were the key to the team’s success those years. Once he got his chance to shine as a junior he did just that.

During the 2011-12 season he averaged an impressive double-double, 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds a game; both big improvements off his sophomore numbers. On the season he recorded 27 double-doubles beating Drew Gooden’s single season record of 25 set back in 2002.