Michael Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, made the decision.
After watching Kemba Walker lead Connecticut to the NCAA championship last spring, he told his front-office personnel, in no uncertain terms, that they were to draft Walker if he fell to the ninth spot.
And they did.
Walker and fellow rookie Bismack Biyombo, who was selected two picks ahead of Walker at No. 7, are part of a major youth movement in Charlotte. The Bobcats will open their season at 7 p.m. today against Milwaukee (SportsSouth Ch. 71).
After being a fringe playoff team in recent seasons, the Bobcats figured the only way to break into the upper echelon of the NBA's Eastern Conference was to reload.
That meant taking one step back to go two steps forward.
The Bobcats, who were 34-48 last season, traded their two best scorers — Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson — and let center Kwame Brown walk in free agency. They signed a few mid-level players in free agency and traded for seldom-used center Byron Mullens, but made no moves that sent anything more than mild ripples around the league.
That's by design.
The Bobcats' plan is to get their young players — not only rookies Walker and Biyombo, but also starting guards Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin — more playing time and experience this season before venturing much deeper into free agency in the next offseason, when they will have more salary-cap space.
Right now it's about building a team around players such as Henderson, Augustin, forward Tyrus Thomas and Walker, whom coach Paul Silas said will be "awesome."
"Mike looked at Kemba and saw himself," Silas said of Jordan's decision. "Mike said, 'This guy has it.' He said if he can lead that club (Connecticut) to the championship, then he has what I have — and that's the determination to do it."
Walker said he's humbled that he was hand-picked by Jordan.
And he thinks he knows why.
"I'm very competitive in whatever I do. I don't like to lose," Walker said. "And growing up and watching Michael Jordan play, I know he didn't like to lose. That's the same kind of mentality, that whatever-it-takes mentality."
Now it will be interesting to see how the Bobcats use Walker, particularly when they already have a maturing point guard in Augustin, who flourished in his second season in the league under Silas.
Silas has said there will be times when he'll play the 6-foot-1 Walker and the 6-0 Augustin at the same time, meaning the Bobcats will be taking small ball to the extreme.
"I knew when we drafted Kemba that D.J. was going to pick it up," Silas said. "And he has. So it's a battle out there every day between them. I'm loving it."
Silas had planned to use an up-tempo style anyway, but that philosophy was accelerated when the Bobcats lost Brown in free agency, leaving them with only one true big man in Gana Diop. But Diop is coming off a torn Achilles' tendon, so Boris Diaw will start in the middle, and that could pose problems on the boards.
On offense, the Bobcats will rely heavily on Corey Maggette, who was acquired in the trade for Jackson.
Silas is expecting 20 points a night from Maggette, who has quickly taken to his role as the team's veteran leader.
Silas said he loves the enthusiasm and the energy his young players brought to training camp, knowing that's a necessity with the roster he has.
"That's what you need are guys who are going to go at it all-out because, let's face it, we're not the most talented team in the world right now," Silas said.
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