CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kerry Kittles, Eddie Jones, Antoine Walker and their high-salaried, unprotected brethren can breathe a sigh of relief. The Charlotte Bobcats don't want them in today's expansion draft.
"We aren't taking any big contracts," coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said Monday. "We aren't taking any contracts that are longer than two years."
That means the Bobcats will select a smattering of young, unproven gym rats who can possibly be molded into stars.
Will anyone even recognize the players Bickerstaff does select?
"Basketball fans will," he said.
LAKERS: The team hopes to hire a new coach within a couple of weeks, with general manager Mitch Kupchak saying he plans to interview more than one candidate and fewer than 10.
Former Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich was reportedly en route to Los Angeles late Monday for an interview.
"I don't think we want to take the chance that we're going to experiment with an unproven coach," Kupchak said. "I'm not ruling out the possibility that our coach could be an assistant coach on our team or another team."
NETS: New Jersey will likely trade its first-round draft pick, No. 22 overall, team president Rod Thorn said.
Thorn refused to comment on a report the Nets would send the pick to Portland for backup point guard Eddie Gill and $3-million.
"We haven't done it yet," Thorn said. "That doesn't mean we might not do it later."
Meantime, the Nets picked up their contract option on coach Lawrence Frank for next season after he guided New Jersey to the second round of the playoffs. Frank, who was a Nets assistant for 31/2 years, had no head coaching experience when he took over in January after Byron Scott was fired.
ABA: The American Basketball Association granted an expansion franchise to Ontario, Calif.
