Brown a fan of versatile Graham

Whenever Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown compares a player to George Lynch, it defines praise.

Brown has started calling Stevie Graham this team's George Lynch.

“He's my George Lynch or Raja (Bell) when he was younger,'' Brown said of Graham, a rugged 6-6 forward. “He can make a shot, he understands how to play, he can handle the ball and can guard a lot of different positions.''

Lynch, a North Carolina alumnus, played for Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen Iverson was the star of those teams but Lynch was the yin to Iverson's yang, focused on defense, rebounding and passing.

Brown first noticed Graham as a gritty player on Eddie Sutton's Oklahoma State teams. Graham's twin brother, Joey, played the last three seasons with the Toronto Raptors. Steve Graham is on his sixth NBA team, most recently with the Indiana Pacers.

“I was always a fan,'' Brown said of Graham. “Now I've been with him three days and my respect has grown even more.''

Graham's versatility and toughness could come in handy this preseason, with so many big men hurt. Brown said Gerald Wallace or Graham might occasionally fill in at power forward while Boris Diaw and Vlade Radmanovic recover from ankle sprains.

Brown said he'd prefer not to play Derrick Brown at power forward this preseason, so that the rookie can concentrate on learning the small forward position.

Radmanovic sat out a second day of practice to rest his sprained right ankle. Brown said the ankle looked quite swelled.

Cute moment at the end of morning practice Friday, when the rookies and second-year players sang “Happy Birthday'' to center Tyson Chandler. Chandler turned 27 and has already played seven NBA seasons.

Chandler said one of the benefits of becoming a Bobcat is the chance to finally watch his sister play basketball. Erica Chandler is a 6-4 center at Ardrey Kell High who accepted a scholarship offer from George Washington.

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