It looks like the Bradley Beal trade rumors that dominated the hours before the 2012 NBA Draft won't come to pass after all; with the No. 2 pick in the draft the Charlotte Bobcats selected Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, leaving the Chaminade alum to go to the Washington Wizards with the No. 3 overall pick.
Kidd-Gilchrist is an interesting pick, because few see him as a player who could lift the Bobcats out of the dumps immediately. The Bobcats might be taking the route (facetiously, I think) suggested by Basketball Prospectus's Dan Feldman: Take a great complementary player, assume you'll be terrible one more year, and then go back to the lottery with... well, a great complementary player.
He's not Anthony Davis, but the Charlotte Bobcats can't be too dissatisfied with Kidd-Gilchrist; they selected him in lieu of choosing Bradley Beal and then making one of a number of trades that would have gotten them an extra first-rounder, according to some sources.