We love order and predictability. Days before something happens, we feel comforted hearing someone say, "This is how it all lines up," regardless of whether that guy has a clue.

So if you care about Thursday's NBA Draft, specifically what the Charlotte Bobcats will do with the No. 9 pick, you'll be a little uneasy the next few days.

Because nobody knows.

Pundits (myself included) can bluff through a top-10 mock draft, but once you get past Memphis guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, you might as well throw eight to 10 names in a box, shake well, then choose -- however those names fall out will be your mock draft.

At least that's how Bobcats coach Larry Brown sees it.

"I'm pretty confident that Derrick will go first, but every day you hear a different story, so you've got to be prepared for that," Brown said Monday.

"I've never been surprised, when I participated in drafts, by any selection. It only takes one team to fall in love with a guy, and that can change everything."

A month ago, people thought they knew more than they did. Stanford center Brook Lopez seemed a top-five pick. Now the Bobcats are wondering if he will be around at No. 9. Meanwhile, UCLA guard Russell Westbrook, perceived as mid-teens pick back then, could be gone before the Bobcats can even consider him.

The draft process fluid and confusing, so it is surprising that just a handful of lottery prospects chose to work out in Charlotte. Five guys who could get serious consideration at No. 9 have been here: Westbrook, West Virginia's Joe Alexander, LSU's Anthony Randolph, Texas A&M's DeAndre Jordan and Kansas' Darrell Arthur.

Unless something changes, it is unlikely any other lottery prospects will pass through the Queen City before Thursday.

It's obvious why Rose and Beasley were not in town, It is even understandable why Southern California's O.J. Mayo and UCLA's Kevin Love skipped the trip.

But it's a head-scratcher why Lopez, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless, Indiana's Eric Gordon and Texas guard D.J. Augustin did not show up in Charlotte.

The Bobcats won't talk specifics about this, but they are neither offended nor rattled by a player's or, more likely, an agent's decision not to schedule a workout. It happens in other places, too. Brown said the Bobcats won't hesitate to draft a player that has not visited.

This is the time of year when agents flex their muscle. As Brown said, it's an attempt to control the draft, directing their clients away from certain markets and teams.

It is the agent's job to place his client in the best situation, but there is some fuzzy math going on, don't you think?

If eight players didn't work out in Charlotte, then all eight must go before Charlotte's ninth pick, or some agent messed up, right?

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