DWIGHT HOWARD, EMEKA OKAFOR VISIT WITH BOBCATS
One day after the Bobcats acquired the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, the top two candidates for that spot visited with the Bobcats basketball operations staff and toured the city of Charlotte. BobcatsBasketball.com visited with Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Howard and Okafor on Tuesday.
GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF
(on the decision to move from fourth to second)
There were a couple kids there that we really were intrigued by, but when you ring the bell, size is important. You just can’t buy size, so when the opportunity avails itself, you’ve got to go there.
(on who the team would have selected at four)
It was between Childress, Livingston and Deng. We had gotten it down to those three and it probably would have gone right down to the deadline on Thursday.
(on the opportunity to talk with Dwight Howard)
What was important is the fact that he comes in and we get a chance to sit down. I think his dad is coming. We can sit down and talk to his dad and see if we can eradicate any personality problems or in terms of what they think about Charlotte. I’m comfortable with the fact that we’ve seen him play in terms of talent, so I’m okay with that. The important thing is that we get him here in our environment.
(on whether Charlotte will know who the Magic will select)
I really don’t know. It’s the conjecture that it’s Howard and then it’s back to Emeka. (Emeka) was terrific in his interview. To me, he was the Jameer Nelson, he wanted to get in the NBA. I like the fact that he is grounded – that is important. We all should strive to keep our feet on the floor.
(on will you attempt to work with Orlando to guarantee the Bobcats selection)
We’ve offered our cooperation. We did that a long time ago. If there is a problem with them, a dilemma, we’ll be happy to resolve it.
(on what made you think you had a real shot at trading up to number two)
It was just the fact that I just thought in terms of where the Clippers wanted to go, and what the logic seems to be, that we had a pretty good shot. We just felt good about it and the conversations from knowing Elgin (Baylor). Because we did another deal a few years ago with Antonio McDyess that came to fruition at 3:00 in the morning and this one came to fruition at 2:58 a.m. So, just talking to Elgin, I thought that they were real. Yesterday everything really started to come together on it. They wanted to move forward on it, but there were some little items that we had to work out in terms of completing the deal.
 Dwight Howard meets the media. |
(on Charlotte)
I kind of figured Charlotte would be one of the teams I’d get a chance to play with, so I really thought about coming to Charlotte and playing with an expansion team.
(on playing for an expansion team versus an established team)
(on why a team should take him instead of Emeka Okafor)
(on whether it is important to him to be the number one pick)
(on what position he will play)
(on what player reminds him of how he likes to play)
(on whether he has talked to any players that went straight from high school to the NBA)
(on whether LeBron James’ success impacted his decision)
(on whether he is relieved that the Clippers traded the number two pick)
(on things he might miss by not going to college)
(on whether fame will change him)
(on his religious values)
(on whether his religious convictions have been misconstrued)
(on his old-man center comment and Shaquille O’Neal)
(on whether he’s talked about a position with Bernie Bickerstaff)
Emeka Okafor chats with Bobcats Director of Player Programs Dell Curry and Executive Vice President Chris Weiller.
(on being chosen by an expansion franchise)
(on Bernie Bickerstaff being at UConn for five days and whether he felt Bickerstaff was working harder that other teams)
(on which team he thinks will select him)
(on reservations about playing for an expansion franchise)
(on college players versus high school players)
(on playing for an expansion team versus an established team)
(on his health)
Charlotte’s not that far from my house in Georgia, so I feel like I’m at home. I’m in the south, which is very cool to me. Charlotte’s a great place.
I don’t want to get into any discussion about me and Emeka. I think both of us are great players. He’s proven to be a great player on the college level, and I’ve proven to be the best player on the high school level. So it’s up to the general manager and the coaches to decide who they think is the better person for their team. Both of us fit into any situation. I just hope the best for him, and I’m just happy right now.”
It’s important to some extent, but one or two or three doesn’t really matter. I don’t think you’re judged on how you come out, it’s what you do in the end.”
I see myself as a three (small forward) – four (power forward). I think centers are for old guys. They just sit around the paint and take up space. I’m a person who likes to get out there and run and gun, so I think the three or four would be a great position for me.
Kevin Garnett -- that’s my man, right there. I try to do things like Kevin Garnett, watch a lot of his tapes. Him and Tim Duncan, those are my two guys -- just their demeanor on the court. They’re always playing hard. Kevin Garnett, you’ll never find him taking a day off. He’s always working to be the best, and right now he’s at the top of his game. I’d love to be in his position some day.
I haven’t talked to any guys who went straight from high school, but the college guys say the same thing. You’ve got to get accustomed to the schedule and the physical play of the NBA.
“I didn’t really watch LeBron a lot. I was focused on winning a state championship and getting myself ready for the NBA. I think he had a great season, and he proved a lot of people wrong, so I’m looking to do the same thing.”
I just want to play. I really wasn’t concerned about who gets the pick. Whatever team picks me, I’ll be happy to play for them. … If I was to play for the Clippers, I would just do my best. They’ve got four big men who play my position, so I’d just go ahead and battle with them.
This is where I always wanted to be. I’m playing against the best. That’s something that I’m really looking forward to.
I don’t think fame will change anything. I think that me and my family won’t change. I think that the people surrounding my family might change. Me and my family, we’re close-knit and nothing’s going to break that bond that we have with each other.
I just think that my character will lead people to Christ. I don’t want to go out there and just preach to people and put something on them the wrong way, but I think that my character off the court will make people want to draw close to God.
I think so. I think people see me as trying to go in with a bible and stand on a podium and try to make everybody be Christian. It doesn’t work like that. Nobody’s going to fall for that. People have tried that already. But they see how I act off the court and how I handle myself on the court. Just my actions period, may make people think, ‘He’s a good person. There’s something in him that a lot of people don’t have.
(on David Robinson)
I think David Robinson was a silent killer. He didn’t say a lot, but his actions did a lot for him. He ended on a high note. Everybody used to think he was soft, but he got his goals accomplished in life. That’s what I want.
Shaq is a different breed. I don’t think that I’m a center. I don’t like standing in the point, I like to move around. That gets boring just standing around in the paint.
I don’t think he wants me to play center. He knows I’m not a center. He’s seen my enough times to know how I like to play.
EMEKA OKAFOR
I think it’s a unique experience to be the first person chosen by a new franchise and to be there as they’re building and be there from the start. It’s a very unique and interesting situation and I’d be happy to be part of it.
I knew he was working hard. I saw him there early, he spent quite a bit of time evaluating and taking notes. He had a notebook out all the time. You could tell he was trying to do what he could to make sure to get the right personnel for the team.
I don’t know. If I could tell the future I’d be rich right now. I’d win the lottery about 50 times. I can’t read minds. … Everybody has a poker face. They’ve got the chips on the table, looking around trying to make a move.
There will be some struggles, but nothing’s ever easy. That’s the fun part, the challenge. I’ve always been a person that enjoys challenges.
I think the fact that I spent three years at Connecticut has done a lot for me. It’s made me a mature person, basketball-wise, athletically, socially, all that. The NBA is not an easy league. It’s demanding, and I think I’ve matured enough to deal with the physical and mental pressure.
You kind of have to expect what’s not expected. When my agent called and said, ‘The Bobcats want you to come in,’ I said, ‘Alright, let’s go.’
My health is good. I’m feeling healthy, feeling good. I have been the last two or three months.
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