<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Charlotte Bobcats begin building their roster when an expansion draft is held June 22, unless the NBA Finals goes to a Game 7. The NBA announced the date Friday, with a move-back date of June 23. Each of the 29 NBA teams will be allowed to protect eight players. Under rules set by the NBA Board of Governors, the Bobcats' payroll will be limited to two-thirds of the salary cap in 2004-05 and three-quarters of the cap in '05-06. Charlotte will pick fourth in the 2004 draft but will be eligible for the first overall pick in 2005. </div> So it seems the Bobcats can get the #1 pick next year... unlike expansion teams of previous years. I'm not even a Bobcats fan but am excited about this draft!! Article
Wow that number 1 pick makes a big difference. One question: how many players can Charlotte take from the expansion draft in total?
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they were allowed to pick up 15 or so and overflow the roster, and then slash down depending on the number of draft picks/free agents they get. They could also get more than 2 draft picks depending on the trades they make.
Nope, Charlotte is allowed by rules to draft 1 player per team, meaning they CAN take 29 players in their expansion draft... they MUST pick at least 14 players though. Remember though, of those 14 picks, maybe half are going to be on the team. There are certain rules that can let Charlotte pick players, yet not have them on their roster... such as if a restricted free agent is selected by the Bobcats that player would become an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team (except the team that they were selected from). Also from what I hear they can draft players and release them, not being forced to pay their salary... not sure who ends up paying the salary but that's what I'm hearing. So they pick between 14-29 players.
