The 1988 NBA expansion draft was the eighth
expansion draft of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 23, 1988, so that the newly founded
Charlotte Hornets and
Miami Heat could acquire players for the upcoming
1988–89 season.
Charlotte and
Miami had been awarded the expansion teams on April 22, 1987.[1] In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-three other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Hornets and the Heat selected eleven and twelve unprotected players respectively, one from each team. Prior to the draft, the league conducted a
coin flip between the Hornets and the Heat to decide their draft order in this expansion draft and in the
1988 NBA draft. The Hornets won the coin flip and chose to have the higher pick in the 1988 Draft, thus allowing the Heat to receive the first selection and the right to select twelve players in this expansion draft.[2]
The Hornets were formed and owned by a group headed by
George Shinn. Former
Indiana Pacers assistant coach
Dick Harter was hired as
the franchise's first head coach.[9] The Hornets used their first pick to select former first-round pick
Dell Curry from the
Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hornets' other selections included one-time
All-StarRickey Green and three former first-round picks,
Muggsy Bogues,
Michael Brooks and
Bernard Thompson. On the draft-day, the Hornets also acquired
Kelly Tripucka from the
Utah Jazz in exchange for
Mike Brown, a draftee from the
Chicago Bulls.[10] Brooks and Thompson never played for the Hornets. Brooks left the NBA and signed with a
French team, while Thompson was traded to the
Houston Rockets prior to the start of the season.[11][12] Six players from the expansion draft joined the Hornets for their inaugural season, but only two played more than three seasons for the team. Curry played 10 seasons with the Hornets and left the league as the Hornets' career leader in points scored, games played, three-point field goals made and attempted, and three-point field goal percentage.[13][14] Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history, played nine seasons with the Hornets and is currently the Hornets' career leader in assists and steals.[14][15][16]
Prior to the day of the draft, the following
trades were made and resulted in exchanges of future draft picks between the teams, along with a particular agreement in the expansion draft.