The Bobcats traded away their best two scorers from last season in Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson and also let Kwame Brown leave in free agency. That’s by design. The plan is to get their young players more playing time and experience this year before venturing into free agency this summer, when they could have up to $21 million in space under the salary cap.

"Panic doesn't exist for us," president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said Wednesday. "Once we made those trades (exchanging Wallace and Jackson for packages that included draft picks), we have to see it through, the path we've taken: Get assets, create (cap) flexibility.

"The season is going in a direction that maybe some of us didn't envision. A disappointment, you might say. But with that being said, you cannot make that hard right and forget about what you've already done."

Higgins and general manager Rich Cho shared what each values most in evaluating players. Higgins said "a fiery passion for the job. Being a competitor."

Cho is attracted to what he referred to as the four C's: "Guys who compete, guys with character, guys who have consistency and guys who cover (play defense)."

He looks to avoid what he calls the four S's: "Guys who are slow, guys who are soft, guys who are stupid or guys who are selfish."