“We're talking about an N.C. State guy, and I'm still saying nice things,” former Tar Heel Kuester joked. “He's that great a kid.”

And seemingly that good a prospect. Hickson looked spectacular during a 97-94 summer-league loss to the New York Knicks, with 26 points and nine rebounds.

He made 11 of 15 shots from the field and generated seven trips to the foul line. If that's indicative of his scoring at the next level, he'll be a steal by the Cavaliers with the 18th overall pick.

Hickson wasn't the least surprised by his quick impact.

“I wouldn't have come out if I didn't think I was ready, so nothing has really surprised me,” he said. “There are some things I need to improve, but that's all a progression.”

Those flaws, Kuester detailed, are conditioning and defense, but the Cavaliers can wait for that. Hickson is a low-post, back-to-the-basket scorer, and those are rare these days with every 6-foot-10 forward seemingly living to take 20-foot jump shots.

Hickson did most of his scoring off bank shots, baby hooks and put-backs (he had seven offensive rebounds). The Cavaliers knew he had moves, but they were surprised just how explosive he was heading to the rim.

He didn't look that way in a workout in Cleveland, but there was an explanation.

“He flew in on a red-eye (an overnight flight) after working out in Denver and the poor guy didn't have his legs,” Kuester said.

“To the credit of our scouts and (general manager) Danny Ferry, they already knew what they wanted. They targeted him right from the get-go and you saw some of the things that make him special today.”

While the moves were home-grown – Hickson had the basics of low-post scoring in high school – he found it invaluable that N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe spent a decade in the NBA.

“Everything he said was coming from the NBA perspective already,” Hickson said. “You wouldn't believe all the things I knew just from being around him that season.”

Higgins stopped short of adding, “at any price.”

“Our intentions are to keep Emeka,'' Higgins said, when asked about the Los Angeles Clippers' reported interest in Charlotte's restricted free-agent big man.

The Clippers recently lost Elton Brand to the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving them with about $12million in salary-cap room and a hole at power forward. The Clippers hosted Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith recently.

Smith and Okafor are both restricted, so either player's team would have a seven-day window to match a Clippers offer sheet.

“I don't know if concerned is the word,” Higgins said, when asked about the Clippers. “It's reality. If an offer sheet comes across the board, then the decision is on us.”

Hines watch

Based on coach Larry Brown's praise Friday, UNC Greensboro's Kyle Hines has made an impression among Bobcats free agents at this summer camp.

Brown compared 6-foot-6 forward Hines to George Lynch, who was Brown's defensive stopper/overachiever on a 76ers team that reached the NBA Finals.

Hines averaged 18.2 points and shot 58 percent from the field over four college seasons. He went undrafted, and Brown said the question is whether Hines' skill set matches his height at the NBA level.

He's more of a post player than a classic small forward; he shot 4-of-26 from 3-point range for his college career.

Injured big men

The Bobcats' top two centers here, Ryan Hollins and rookie Alexis Ajinca, are both dinged up.

Hollins suffered a slight concussion two days ago. He practiced in non-contact drills Friday, but it's still uncertain whether he'll play today against the Clippers' summer-league team.

Ajinca sat out the last two practices with a muscle strain under his left arm.

Emeka Okafor.

The staff hangs on the latest gossip just like fans do. A couple of staffers asked me in the hallway the other night whether I thought Okafor was in Los Angeles, being schmoozed by the Clippers. I said I thought the Clippers were busy recruiting Atlanta's Josh Smith, but in the end, what do any of us know?

That's the imprecise world of NBA free agency.

I'd say there's an 80 percent chance Okafor is a Bobcat next season and a 50 percent chance he's around for the long haul. It takes courage and conviction to turn down the $60million-plus Okafor did last summer, to become a restricted free agent.

Now he gets to enjoy being wooed by the Bobcats and others.

The negotiations have been courteous. Okafor went out of his way last season to say he appreciated what the Bobcats offered, and that his preference is to stay with the team that drafted him four years ago.

Still, there's no sense reaching free agency unless you're open to changing teams. The flavor of the moment is the Clippers, whose loss of Elton Brand leaves them short a power forward but holding abundant salary-cap room.

I'm told it would be no problem for the Clippers to start a contract in the $10million to $12million range, so with annual raises they could offer at least as much as the Bobcats did.

The Clippers had Smith in for a visit, and he seems to be their priority. Smith is smaller than Okafor, but more of a runner and leaper.

You sign Okafor to get more rugged, and the Clippers already have a big-bodied rebounder in center Chris Kaman. Maybe they're thinking Smith's dunking and shot-blocking have appeal for a franchise always challenged to sell tickets.

Hawks management has indicated it would match whatever another team offered Smith. What else would it say? If there is a number that would make the Hawks blink, then admitting as much invites an offer sheet from another team.

The Bobcats' best chance of maintaining some control is for the big money to run out soon. The Sixers used their cap space on Brand. The Golden State Warriors paid up for Corey Maggette, plus an offer sheet to Lakers restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf. Unless the Memphis Grizzlies become big spenders, that leaves the Clippers as the major player.

New Bobcats coach Larry Brown has a big stake in this – who wants to start a makeover by losing your shot-blocker? – yet he is staying out of the fray.

“I have no control over that,” Brown said at practice Thursday. “He's a terrific kid and plays a position where it's really hard to find capable guys.”

“I'm sure we'll do what's right, and hopefully he'll be here.”

Translation: What's the point in fretting about someone else's choices?

Three coaches in three seasons make it hard to draw a straight line to the playoffs.

Change was unavoidable. Bernie Bickerstaff wanted off the bench (contrary to public perception, Bickerstaff asked for a front office-only role; it wasn't a demotion). Sam Vincent had to go, after his interpersonal skills and in-game decisions became a drag on the players.

Brown was the best coach available, but know this: Three contrasting visions of this roster have caused hiccups along the way.

Vincent didn't like Walter Herrmann's game, so the guy went from a revelation one season to a barnacle the next. Now Brown is assessing what he likes and doesn't like among the Bobcats' various veterans. It's inevitable more change is coming.

Thursday felt like the flash point for that change. They traded for an extra first-round pick and were active in trade discussions involving their veterans. Gerald Wallace could have ended up in Toronto, and anyone who thinks Wallace was the only Bobcat in play the past two weeks is beyond naïve.

I'd bet even money that one of the five starters from late last season – Wallace, Jason Richardson, Raymond Felton, Emeka Okafor or Nazr Mohammed – is not on this team by next winter's trade deadline.

New coaches mean new players, and Brown has never been reluctant to ask for roster tinkers.

Nothing wrong with that, either. Coaches need players who fit the system they install. Players who'd excel in Phoenix's up-tempo style might not work in Detroit's deliberate, defensive approach.

But remaking a roster sets you back, and don't be surprised if that's applicable here. The Bobcats got younger when they added first-round picks D.J. Augustin and Alexis Ajinca.

Augustin should be ready for the rotation next season as a point guard, but it's no given that 7-foot Ajinca, a 20-year-old French pro, will contribute soon.

All that collides with the economic imperative here: The Bobcats need to make the playoffs now.

Vincent was almost too candid in acknowledging that. I suspect his statement – that he'd be “discouraged and disappointed” if his team missed the playoffs – was an admission his job security hinged on a quick fix.

Brown's grand resume – the man did win titles in the NBA and the NCAA – grants him more time to fix things. But it wouldn't be wise to test the public's patience.

Attendance has never been great here and there's obviously an urgency to renew luxury-suite leases. Primary owner Bob Johnson trying to guilt the local business community into buying his product reflects how many millions have been lost already in this start-up.

The typical NBA expansion team reaches the playoffs in five seasons. Season five starts in November.

Hear that clock ticking?

So if you care about Thursday's NBA draft, and specifically what the Charlotte Bobcats will do at No.9, you'll be a little uneasy the next two days.

Nobody knows. Pundits (myself included) can bluff through a top-10 mock draft, but once you get past Memphis guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, you might as well throw eight to 10 names in a box, shake well, and however those names fall out is your mock draft.

So says Bobcats coach Larry Brown.

“I'm pretty confident that Derrick will go first, but every day you hear a different story, so you've got to be prepared for that,” Brown said Monday.

“I've never been surprised, when I participated in drafts, by any selection. It only takes one team to fall in love with a guy, and that can change everything.”

A month ago, people thought they knew more than they did. Stanford center Brook Lopez seemed a top-five lock, and now the Bobcats are wondering if he'll be around at No.9. Meanwhile, UCLA guard Russell Westbrook, perceived as mid-teens back then, could be gone before the Bobcats ever consider him.

It's fluid and confusing, so it's surprising that only a handful of lottery prospects chose to work out in Charlotte. By my count, five guys who you'd seriously consider at No.9 have been here: Westbrook, West Virginia's Joe Alexander, Louisiana State's Anthony Randolph, Texas A&M's DeAndre Jordan and Kansas' Darrell Arthur.

Unless something changes, it's unlikely any other lottery prospects will pass through Charlotte before Thursday.

I can see why Rose and Beasley weren't here, and can buy Southern Cal's O.J. Mayo and UCLA's Kevin Love skipping the trip. But it's a head-scratcher why Lopez, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, Indiana's Eric Gordon and Texas' D.J. Augustin didn't show up in the Queen City.

Practicing diplomacy, the Bobcats won't talk specifics about this, but I can tell you they're neither offended nor rattled by agents' decisions not to schedule workouts. It happens in other places, too, much more so in Milwaukee.

This is the time of year when agents flex some muscle. As Brown said, it's an attempt by certain agents to control the draft, directing clients away from certain markets or from teams already loaded at the positions their clients play.

It's the agent's job to place his client in the best situation, but there's some fuzzy math going on, don't you think?

If eight players didn't work out in Charlotte, then all eight must go before Charlotte's ninth pick, or some agent messed up. Brown says his team wouldn't hesitate to draft someone they hadn't auditioned.

Then that control Brown described flows back from agent to team.

Fair or not, Brown has a reputation for shunning rookies. I'm sure when he was in Detroit, chasing an NBA championship, he trusted the veterans a lot more than then-rookie Darko Milicic. But why would a former college coach (UCLA and Kansas) with a passion for teaching just blow off the chance to develop lottery picks?

In other words, I think that rap against Brown is overstated.

So I wasn't surprised Wednesday when the Charlotte Bobcats' new coach said he wouldn't leap at swapping the ninth overall pick for a veteran.

One of the Bobcats' better moves was dealing last season's lottery pick, plus abundant salary-cap room, to Golden State for Jason Richardson. Brown said if the front office came up with something similarly attractive, he'd welcome a young veteran. But he'd be just as excited about what the ninth pick in this draft could offer.

"I look at some guys who could be available at No. 9, and they could be as good as Nos. 2 or 3 in this draft," said Brown.

I bounced that theory off of a couple of player-personnel types from other teams. They concurred, that while Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose are clearly the best prospects, this draft has good depth through the top 10, particularly at the positions (point guard, big men) where the Bobcats most need bodies.

The challenge these days is compensating for the minimal experience high picks have before entering the NBA.

The change in the NBA's entry rule just means the same guys who would have turned pro out of high school now turn pro after a single college season. Can't blame them for that because the money is so great. But the difference in experience between an elite high school senior and an elite college freshman isn't all that great.

That's where Brown's reputation as a teacher hopefully will pay a premium with the Bobcats. The players on this team have to be coached up, and I didn't see much of that last season.

Brown's predecessor, Sam Vincent, didn't practice all that much, and when he did, the sessions were short. Vincent called that a concession to the injury situation, and while that's somewhat valid, there was little about Vincent's coaching to suggest players improved.

Brown is the rare NBA coach who won't surrender to a pro's weaknesses. If a guy can't shoot or dribble well enough or has poor footwork, Brown's going to do what he can, in the face of an NBA schedule, to improve that.

Brown's recent coaching hiatus -- he sat out two seasons -- also might help. He took a break, visited pro and college practices, and hopefully will show up here refreshed and hungry.

"I didn't like the job I did with New York," Brown said of that disastrous season with the Knicks.

"I thought I used the two years productively. Watching other people coach, I learned a lot. I don't think I would have had the opportunity to learn if I would have been working. I realized how lucky I was to be part of this game when I was away from it. I just feel real fortunate to have this opportunity and hopefully I'll do better." IN MY OPINION Rick

Bonnell

The Bobcats should consider trading for Detroit Pistons big man Rasheed Wallace.

Pistons basketball operations chief Joe Dumars made it clear Tuesday, after firing coach Flip Saunders, that he's open to breaking up his team's core to freshen the roster. Wallace, in the late stages of his NBA career, would be a logical piece to move.

Acquiring Wallace would seemingly reject the best practices of the Bobcats so far. They haven't spent huge money on older players and have generally avoided players with attitude problems.

Wallace will turn 34 in September and will make $13.68 million next season. He's known at least as much for his technical fouls as his versatility. But think about the rest of the story:

That $13.68 million (yes, that would make him the Bobcats' highest-paid player) represents the final season of his contract. So that's a short-term obligation if things don't work out. These days in the NBA, a large expiring contract is considered an asset, not a liability.

More importantly, Wallace's versatility on offense and defense could upgrade the big-man rotation significantly. The challenge for the Bobcats is pairing Emeka Okafor with the right complement.

Okafor is a goalie at the rim; he's very good at that and that's a hard piece to find, but when he has to stray far from the rim (as in guarding a Hedo Turkoglu or Antawn Jamison) he stops being what once made him the No. 2 overall draft pick.

Wallace has the mobility and skills to play all over the court. Defensively, he can guard a jump-shooting power forward. Offensively, his shooting range (3-pointers from the baseline) makes him a matchup nightmare.

As to his personality quirks, Wallace causes more friction with management or fans than with teammates. Players appreciate his unselfishness and sophisticated understanding of the game.

This could work in part because Larry Brown will coach the Bobcats. From what I hear, Brown and Wallace had a great relationship in Detroit, winning a championship together. Wallace speaks warmly of Brown, whom he calls "Pounds," as in Brown's initials, L.B. Reuniting them could be just the tweak to get the Bobcats into the playoffs.

If I were the Bobcats, I'd at least consider giving up the ninth pick, a couple of players and some salary-cap space to make that happen.

IN MY OPINION Rick

Bonnell

There was a time, back when this thing was in Chicago, when general managers were disappointed if no lottery picks participated in the camp games. Now those same talent evaluators feel fortunate if any first-rounders feel the need to play.

New Bobcats coach Larry Brown summed up the frustration Thursday night when I asked him who he liked here. Larry shrugged, sighed slightly, and said this was the worst field he'd witnessed for the event.

This, from a guy who reminded us a few weeks ago how much he loves the smell of the gym. Brown is typically among the first to show up each day for this camp; he grabs a seat at center court, surrounded by his staff and takes constant notes.

Brown implying an event he devours didn't have much value says plenty.

Most of the coaches, GMs and scouts who attend this thing aren't quite so attentive. Many sit high in the stands, networking more than evaluating. This is equivalent to the Final Four, which college coaches use as a convention of sorts. It's the one time each season every team's basketball operation is in the same building.

That's why I typically cover it; it's a great place to field information about coaching hires, player injuries and general league gossip. Plus, there's a group interview with the projected lottery picks, who are generally excused from anything other than measures and other testing.

But its intended purpose -- one last look before investing a first-round pick -- erodes by the year. Three of the players at the 2007 camp, including the Bobcats' Jared Dudley, went on to be first-round picks. This year, based on what I hear from scouts, it wouldn't be shocking if that number was lower.

You don't see the international players here and there's a large group of domestic first-round maybes, such as N.C. State's J.J. Hickson, who choose not to participate.

Hickson's decision baffles me; if a guy is a marginal first-round pick, then why would he think he has more to lose than gain by not participating? By showing up and playing, North Carolina's Ty Lawson showed scouts he isn't reluctant to compete and his ankle is fine. He answered questions. Hickson passing on this event raises questions.

Not that Hickson's decision is unique; ducking this thing is the norm to a point that most of those playing are second-round picks or undrafted free agents. And that hardly justifies flying in hundreds of talent evaluators for a week of workdays.

I don't know if the NBA can do anything with the players association to compel better attendance, but the effort should be made. Because right now this camp does little more than add to Orlando's tourism economy.

A foul situation

Interesting decision by the NBA last week to acknowledge after the fact that a foul should have been called against Derrick Fisher, for jumping into Brent Barry, at the end of a Lakers-Spurs playoff game.

More interesting was a league spokesman acknowledging that an act that justifies a foul at mid-game might not justify a foul at the end of a tight game. None of that surprises coaches, who anticipate as much. But it reminds me of the perception of NASCAR -- that whatever happens the last lap of a race happens, so long as it makes for a good show.

I'm all for giving referees some latitude to do the right thing; the league has at times made their officials too robotic and guideline-driven. But I can't buy the logic that a foul is a foul until the last two minutes. That's a dangerous precedent in a league full of 250-pound bruisers.

Twardzik's point: You better know your point guard's interest in scoring won't preclude his passing.

That's what makes the D.J. Augustin-Jerryd Bayless comparison so interesting in the upcoming NBA draft.

Once Derrick Rose is chosen first or second, Augustin and Bayless become the prized point guards in this draft. The Charlotte Bobcats need another point guard, regardless of what they think of Raymond Felton. Felton is the only point under contract and that's not a position where you can afford to be shorthanded.

If Augustin or Bayless is available at No. 9, the Bobcats should give him a long look. But what about the unlikely eventuality both are available?

Now that would define a fascinating contrast.

Augustin, from Texas, says it's his "joy'' (a word you don't often hear from athletes) to be a passer. Bayless, from Arizona, knows he's a shooter, but asserts that doesn't supersede him running an offense.

"I see myself as a scoring point guard,'' Bayless says. "Not a pure point and not a combo guard.''

I've always thought success at point guard is as much a point of view as a set of skills. You must be assertive, articulate and appreciate how what you do affects all your teammates.

No doubt Bayless is assertive and articulate. He's cocky, but in a way that doesn't morph into arrogance. Ask him how he'll fit on an NBA team, and he talks about Deron Williams or Chris Paul -- point guards who can put the ball in the basket and still keep everyone else involved.

Augustin is more the classic facilitator. He says Texas coach Rick Barnes "told me I had to shoot more'' last season, as if hoisting a shot was something akin to eating that last Brussels sprout on your plate.

The numbers bear out the point; Bayless and Augustin each averaged over 19 points last season, but Augustin finished with nearly twice as many assists (219 to Bayless' 121).

Ask Augustin about this "joy of passing'' approach, and he tells a story about his father constantly demanding he play with older kids. The effect?

"Older guys said, `You better get me the ball!' '' Augustin recalled, mimicking a menacing voice.

I'm guessing new Bobcats coach Larry Brown would enjoy that story. Brown is hard on point guards, demanding they subjugate other instincts to run the team and play defense.

Brown has sometimes delivered ultimatums -- play my way or prepare to sit -- to coax point guards to his view of the game.

From what I heard Thursday, Augustin wouldn't need any coaxing. He's smart, unselfish and -- even when Barnes demanded he shoot when he wanted to pass -- does as he's told. IN MY OPINION 7 p.m., June 26, New York City, ESPN

• Bobcats have the ninth pick in the first round Rick

Bonnell

But after covering the Charlotte Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats, each from Day One, and helping to cover the Carolina Panthers, I know expansion. So I know Bernie Bickerstaff got it.

He understood that successful expansion is about investing playing time on young talent, guarding your salary cap and refusing the temptation of shortcuts.

The Panthers didn't get it, which is why they created a mirage by reaching the NFC Championship Game their second season. To get there, they squandered millions in precious salary-cap room on veterans in the backside of their careers. That mistake plagued them for years.

Bickerstaff, departing the Bobcats after initially serving as coach and general manager, shunned shortcuts. He left the franchise stronger.

The public didn't appreciate that.

Those first three seasons, people kept asking me why this retread was coaching the team. They wanted somebody younger and fresher, I guess because in these Web-driven, instant-gratification times, if you're not new you're not happening.

Sam Vincent was new as new gets. How'd that turn out?

Bickerstaff did two jobs -- he was coach/general manager until last summer -- with wisdom and restraint.

As coach, he prodded a team of limited ability to consistently play above its talent. He did that by demanding they be accountable to each other. When Kareem Rush bucked that agenda, he was booted off the island.

As general manager, he found a gem off the clearance rack by taking Gerald Wallace in the expansion draft. Then he used salary-cap room to trade up to No. 2 and draft Emeka Okafor.

His vigilance in guarding cap room is the primary reason Jason Richardson is here. The Golden State Warriors, facing millions in luxury tax and needing to re-sign players, had to reduce payroll. The Bobcats were one of the few teams with the cap room to absorb Richardson's contract.

Sure, he made mistakes. He should have given up the fifth and 13th picks in 2005 to draft former Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul.

But at least that was an honest mistake. This idea he drafted Raymond Felton and Sean May because they were Tar Heels is a joke. Bickerstaff is such a contrarian, he would have tossed a marketing guy out of his office for suggesting where a player went to school is the best reason to draft him.

Bickerstaff spent most of the winter scouting, as Michael Jordan and Rod Higgins took charge of the front office. I don't blame Jordan for wanting people he knows and trusts working for him.

But I believe the most loyal thing an employee can do is warn his boss he's about to make a major mistake.

With Bickerstaff gone, I wonder who's left over there to do that. IN MY OPINION Rick

Bonnell