unprotected players in nba for bobcats

[ducks]

Currently, the Hornets have 14 players on their roster, eight of whom are under contract for next season: guard Baron Davis, forward Jamal Mashburn, forward P.J. Brown, guard David Wesley, forward George Lynch, guard Darrell Armstrong, center Jamaal Magloire and forward David West. The Hornets have three restricted free agents under contract, guard Courtney Alexander, who missed last season with a torn right Achilles' tendon, guard Shammond Williams, obtained in a February trade with Orlando, and guard Maurice Carter, signed as a free agent late in the season. It's possible Alexander could be put on the protected list, because the team feels he has yet to reach his potential and, at 27, has more upside than Wesley, also a shooting guard, because of his size (6 feet 6, to Wesley's 6-1) and athleticism.
If that happened, the Hornets had to make a decision on whom to leave unprotected.
The most likely candidate would be Wesley. Wesley, scheduled to earn $4.455 million next season, makes his offseason home in Charlotte. Wesley, who will turn 34 in November, said Friday he had not heard anything from the Hornets.
"I've heard rumors lately that I'd be protected," Wesley said. "If I was on the (unprotected list), I'd be shocked."
New Orleans has three unrestricted free agents: swingman Stacey Augmon, forward Robert "Tractor" Traylor, and guard Steve Smith.
Those three are assured of being on the expansion list.link

[ducks]

note they have not turned in their list yet
2 days after finals


The Pistons likely will leave Elden Campbell or Corliss Williamson unprotected.
link

[ducks]

Protecting their own
The Rockets put together their list of players protected from the expansion draft, employing as many strategies as nearly any team.

The Rockets might have wanted to leave their big contracts exposed, but the Charlotte Bobcats are not likely to take anyone featured on Cribs unless it is for another team. They could have exposed players who don't play, hoping to limit the on-court damage.

In the end, the Rockets likely did a bit of both. They protected Steve Francis, Yao Ming, Jim Jackson and Cuttino Mobley. They would like to give Mike Wilks another low-cost shot, and Bostjan Nachbar is worth another look at a relatively good price. That leaves two more players to be protected.

Adrian Griffin, who barely played last season and might struggle to ever regain his form, is certain to have been left unprotected.

But now it gets tougher. Eric Piatkowski fell almost out of the rotation and is likely to be unprotected.

If he is unprotected, the Rockets would have to choose one of three frontcourt players — Maurice Taylor, Kelvin Cato and Clarence Weatherspoon — to protect. Cato makes the most money but was a starter and has just two years remaining on his contract. The Bobcats are not looking for contracts like Taylor and Weatherspoon's, and they are not expansion-team players, making them the next most likely to be exposed.

The Bobcats must select 14 players, and league teams can lose no more than one player. For the Rockets, that most likely will be Griffin.
link

[ducks]

L.A. CLIPPERS: Matt Barnes*, F, 6-7, 24; Keyon Dooling* G, 6-3, 24; Predrag Drobnjak, C, 6-11, 28; Eddie House, G, 6-1, 26; Josh Moore*, C, 7-2, 23.

[ducks]

The Pacers, according to the Observer, did not protect Jamison Brewer, Primoz Brezec, Austin Croshere, Anthony Johnson, James Jones and Scot Pollard.
www.indystar.com/articles...6-036.html

[ducks]

Memphis Commercial Appeal*: "Grizzlies center Lorenzen Wright was left exposed for the Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft later this month, the Charlotte Observer reported in its Sunday edition."