Michael Jordan has been mocked for his previous decisions on draft night with players like Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, but new General Manager Rich Cho left his imprint on the Bobcats' 2011 draft.
After the club successfully executed a three-team deal that netted them the seventh and ninth overall selections, the team improved in exactly the areas that they needed to with their selections.
By drafting Bismack Biyombo and Kemba Walker, the club added two prospects that are ready to play hard right away and will come out with a chip on their shoulder after other teams passed over them.
Biyombo is a freak athlete with incredible defensive skills. Despite only standing 6'9", the Congolese prospect has an incredible 7'7" wingspan that will make him an absolute menace around the rim.
The Bobcats have been in search of a stalwart down low to protect the hoop, and they successfully landed their man by trading up and nabbing the best defender that the draft had to offer. Although he is incredibly raw on the offensive end, Charlotte won't rely on him for any contribution other than what he brings defensively.
In a best-case scenario, Biyombo could have a Dwight Howard like impact in terms of both blocked shots and rebounding, so the Cats could really find themselves with a major steal if he hits on his potential.
With Kemba Walker, the team gets a pure scorer and an absolute star in the making. This kid has "winner" written all over him and I simply can't fathom how he nearly slipped out of the top 10 selections.
Walker produced in every scenario that he was put into with UConn last season, and with D.J. Augustin as the team's point guard, Walker will be able to put the emphasis on what he does best—scoring.
There are legitimate concerns about Walker's size at the professional level if he's forced to defend some bigger athletes at the shooting guard spot, but Charlotte wasn't drafting him for his defensive prowess whatsoever.
Between Biyombo and Walker, the Bobcats have really solidified the franchise's future through the draft and have taken a major step forward in setting up and maintaining success.
The draft stock of both players were among the most volatile of any prospects, but Charlotte didn't express any sort of hesitancy in grabbing two players that they clearly coveted greatly.
Both athletes represent high-risk, high-reward gambles that should really pay off in the near future for a team that needs help at both ends of the floor in a very big way.
Biyombo and Walker both represent sound investments for a team that really needed to improve itself through the draft, adding intriguing youth and talent to a team still searching for an identity.
Each player sounded overjoyed when asked about the prospect of going to work for the greatest basketball player of all time, and Jordan should really help to develop Walker's already strong scoring abilities.
The Bobcats were major winners in the 2011 NBA draft after emerging with two players that can facilitate wins for the club both now and in the future, and it wouldn't be surprising to see each in a Charlotte uniform for a very long time.
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