2011 NBA Draft Lottery: Charlotte Bobcats Looking to Trade Up in First Round?

The Charlotte Bobcats traded their best player, forward Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers back in February, and as part of the deal Charlotte received two first round picks, one of which is for this year's draft.

In a Charlotte Observer article from May 14, Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins sounded confident that his team would draft a good player, saying "We will get this right."

The 2011 draft class lacks a franchise changing player such as a Derrick Rose, but it is a deep draft with many versatile players who are capable of playing multiple positions.

The Bobcats have a 1.7 percent chance of winning the lottery, and a three percent chance of moving up to a top three pick. If the lottery has little surprises, the Bobcats will likely pick ninth overall in addition to Portland's first round pick and the 39th overall selection.

The Bobcats need a center badly, and unfortunately this draft class is full of power forwards but lacks depth at center.

Must read: A pre-lottery NBA Mock Draft for the entire 1st round 

The only center who is sure to make an immediate impact is Enes Kanter from Turkey, who was ineligible to play at Kentucky this season.

Kanter is a sure top three pick, and could be the top pick depending on who wins the lottery.

Charlotte might look to trade up into the top three to draft Kanter, whose polished offensive and defensive abilities would really improve the Bobcats roster.

If Charlotte gets lucky and gets in the top three, they will select Kanter.

If not, they have their own first round pick, which is likely to be a top ten pick, and a low teens pick form Portland in addition to having two first round picks next year, their own and another from Portland.

If the Bobcats feel they have to draft a certain player, they certainly have the trade chips to entice teams to trade a top pick.