June 20, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins (left) , new head coach Mike Dunlap (center) and general manager Rich Cho (right) hold up a jersey during the introduction press conference at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

The 2012 NBA draft has the potential to shape the future of the Charlotte Bobcats for the next five years… For better or for worse.

Rich Cho, Rod Higgins and Michael Jordan can’t be getting much sleep these days.

Jordan is a competitor. He hates to lose.

Sure those two sentences are cliches, but that fact doesn’t make them any less true.

The stress of owning the worst team in NBA history can’t be easy for the best player in NBA history to deal with.

His moves as an executive and owner have been questioned as much as LeBron James’ moves in the fourth quarter of playoff basketball games.

Jordan needs this draft to be the best in team history.

It seems like Higgins and Cho have been fielding offers from every team in the league for the #2 pick.

Cleveland wants it. The Thunder want it. San Antonio is said to have inquired about it. Now it looks like even Portland and Houston want it.

What should they do?

Cho is known as a guy who likes to stockpile assets. Is a trade for the three picks the Rockets now own something he would even consider?

The number two pick could turn into the next big star in the NBA… or it could turn into the next Kwame Brown.

That is the reality Higgins and Cho have to deal with. And it’s a reality Charlotte hoops fans have to live with after tonight.

When the Hornets were in town, their fans showed up like few others in the league; In tiny Charlotte (comparatively… NY, Miami, LA, Chicago, Dallas, etc) basketball fans once lead the league in attendance to root for a squad that had a hard time making it out of the first round of the playoffs.

People in Charlotte will support a team they deserve, but the one MJ and Co. have fielded recently is like a slap in their collective face.

If the Bobcats get this draft right, Time Warner Cable Arena will be full of fans.

If they get this draft wrong, those fans might not show up… and if that happens, they might not have a team to root for in five years.

Las Vegas wants a team. Seattle is going to get a team.

Don’t think David Stern won’t look at a team that’s having trouble filling its stadium to fill the empty void in those cities.

So for at least a few more nights, the Queen City will be losing sleep over a draft pick… And for good reason.