The Bobcats are one team that have reportedly pulled back from trade talks where they?d move up and are looking to move down and that is because the value of the 13th spot has increased so significantly over the last week.
They think that there is so much value to be had in this area of the draft, and a source informed RealGM's Christopher Reina late on Monday that the Bobcats are discussing a deal with Toronto for the 7th and 16th picks.
Toronto?s guy is Danny Granger and they know Utah will not select him, regardless of who they?re drafting for, so the 16th pick is being considered as an insurance policy on getting him, similar to when the Raptors baited the Warriors into the Vince Carter-Antawn Jamison trade. If they don?t do the trade and Granger is drafted by the Bobcats at five, then they will be forced to select either Gerald Green or Martell Webster, both of whom interest the Hornets and could be used later this summer if they should strike a Jamaal Magloire deal.
These draft picks have just become too valuable for team?s with multiple selections to relinquish them so freely and that is because Andrew Bynum, Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick are now virtual locks to be drafted before the second turn of the night comes around for teams like the Bobcats and Raptors and these are three players they expected to be behind them. The result of this is of course a significant displacement of several players that they have considered at number five, most notably, Raymond Felton.
A league executive told Reina on Monday that the Bobcats are prepared to trade down from 13 if Raymond Felton is off the board.