The Bobcats Swear Felton Is Still Starting and MJ Discusses Trading G-Force for T.J. Ford

The Bobcats, needless to say, had a curious draft. Everyone expected Brook Lopez' name to get called at nine; after all, what need does Charlotte have with D.J. Augustin if Raymond Felton is the future at point guard? (Answer: exactly.) But Charlotte reaffirmed today that Felton is going to keep starting and that Augustin was merely drafted as a backup.

"We don't think D.J. is going to come in right now and be the starting point guard," [GM Rod] Higgins said.

While Higgins dismissed talk of a Felton-to-Knicks trade, it's clear the Bobcats were in various trade discussions leading up to the draft.

Managing partner Michael Jordan confirmed Thursday that the team talked to the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped forward Gerald Wallace for point guard T.J. Ford.

Apparently, talks stalled because the Raptors wanted a draft pick included as well, which seems like a nice thing to let Wallace know (You alone, sir, are worth one T.J. Ford, but you and a draft pick? We think not.) heading into the offseason.

Higgins did point out that mentioning G-Force's name on the trading block shouldn't be offensive; in fact it should "be a good thing" for Wallace. Because it lets him know how popular he is or something ridiculous like that.

What it -- and the fact that they [are claiming they] used the ninth pick for a backup point guard -- does is show that we should probably temper expectations for any sort of Eastern Conference resurgence from the Bobcats this season.