DALLAS — The expansion Charlotte franchise due to begin play in the 2004-05 season will have the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft. That's four spots higher from where the previous expansion team in Charlotte drafted in 1988.
In addition, the new team will be eligible for the No. 1 pick in the 2005 and 2006 drafts. That's different than when Toronto and Vancouver entered the league in 1995. Those teams weren't allowed to participate in the lottery during their first three seasons in the league.
"I think our committee wanted to be as generous as possible," NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said about the expansion committee's draft ruling. "It's still a very difficult road for an expansion team."
Other particulars in filling out the Charlotte roster:
The team will operate with two-thirds of the salary cap in 2004-05, three-fourths in 2005-06 and a full salary cap in 2006-07.
In the summer of 2004, the league will hold a dispersal draft. Each of the 29 existing teams can protect eight players. The new team can then select 14 veterans off NBA rosters.
TOP FIVE LIST
The new Charlotte franchise needs a nickname. Robert L. Johnson, the country's first black majority owner of a major pro sports team, is accepting all candidates. Here are some recommendations:Nickname Comment
1. Cougars Harkens back to Carolina's ABA days, when the Cougars spent five seasons playing in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte. A natural fit.
2. Jets The Wright Brothers made history at Kitty Hawk by launching the first plane. The state's license plates even honor the event: "First in Flight"
3. Pirates Edward Teach — you know him as Blackbeard — used to hide in Carolina's coastal inlets, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting cargo ships.
4. Spiders Next-door neighbor South Carolina claims the Carolina Wolf Spider as its state spider. Plus, think of the marketing possibilities with "Charlotte's Web."
5. Dragonflies Our knowledge of Odonata is severely limited. But evidently, there are at least 120 different types that flutter through the Carolina winds.
ONE-ON-ONE WITH
Juaquin Hawkins, Rockets forward
Question: You played for the Hung Fu Rams in Taiwan and Chong Ching in the China Basketball Association. Obviously, you had an up-close look at your teammate, Yao Ming, long before the rest of us did.
Answer: Yeah, I saw him play over in China when I was there three years ago. I knew he had skills. He's developed a lot, and he's only going to get better.
Question: We've heard about his immense popularity in his native country. Just how big is Yao in China?
Answer: Oh, he's like Michael Jordan here in the States. I mean, the guy's 7-5, 7-6, a real good person and a real good player. It's only right for people to take notice of him.
Question: I suspect the last thing you expected, though, was to end up on the same NBA team as Yao.
Answer: Never did I expect it. In fact, I never spoke to him until he came here to Houston. I used to always see him walking around over there, and I'd think, 'This guy is big! Why isn't he in the NBA?' God has different plans for everyone, and his plan for both of us was to be here in the NBA.
Question: You probably picked up a little of the Chinese language when you were over there. Do you and Yao ever sit down and carry on deep-rooted conversations about why the traffic's so bad in Houston?
Answer: Nah, I just know the basics. Hello. Goodbye. That's as far as it goes.
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday: Miami at Cleveland. Why should you care? Because Caron Butler and Dajuan Wagner are two of the league's best rookies.
Wednesday: Sacramento at LA Lakers. The NBA's best rivalry heats up for the first time this season.
Wednesday: Boston at New Jersey. Nets looking for revenge after getting blown out in Boston earlier this season.
Will he wear Bird's jersey next?
After a recent Sixers win, guard Allen Iverson left the locker room wearing a vintage Bill Russell No. 6 Celtics jersey his grandfather had given him. That threw Philadelphia fans into a tizzy, thinking Iverson was flaunting his lack of Brotherly Love.
Had it been any other player, no fuss would have been made. But Iverson's the lightning rod, especially in light of negative comments this season about the Philadelphia police department.
Truth be told, Iverson just likes wearing old sports jerseys. He was seen wearing Dominique Wilkins' throwback Atlanta Hawks jersey a few days later.
"I can't stand the Celtics," Iverson said. "Everybody knows that."
Barry hoping to finish the job
His departure with the Lakers came two years before LA began its NBA title streak. Then his departure in Sacramento came the year before the Kings stepped up to elite status.
Veteran guard Jon Barry's latest home is with the Detroit Pistons, a potential NBA finalist from the East. In the last year of his contract, Barry would finally like to avoid being jettisoned by a team on the verge of contending.
"I think of it in my son's terms," Barry said. "He watches Bob the Builder, which is a cartoon. I feel like I'm Bob the Builder in that I build foundations, and then I'm out of there.
"I'd like to be around for the interior decorating."