The expansion draft for the construction of the Charlotte Bobcats, recognized at the time as the 30th NBA franchise, was held on June 22, 2004.^[1] The Bobcats selected 19 players from other teams' unprotected players lists and constructed their squad for what was regarded at the time as their inaugural season.^[2]

This was the second time an expansion draft was held for a Charlotte NBA franchise; prior to starting the 2014–15 season, the Bobcats reacquired the history, and name, of the original Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002) franchise. The original team had relocated to New Orleans prior to starting the 2002–03 season, operating as the New Orleans Hornets. Prior to starting the 2013–14 season, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the New Orleans Pelicans, and relinquished the rights to the Hornets name and pre-New Orleans history after season's end.^[a]

Player	Pos.	Nationality	Previous team	NBA years[a]	Career with the franchise[b]	Ref.
Lonny Baxter[FA]	F	United States	Washington Wizards	2	2006	[3]
J. R. Bremer[FA]	G	Bosnia and Herzegovina[d]	Golden State Warriors	2	—[c]	[4]
Primož Brezec	C	Slovenia	Indiana Pacers	3	2004–2007	[5]
Maurice Carter[FA]	G	United States	New Orleans Hornets	1	—[c]	[6]
Predrag Drobnjak[A]	C	Montenegro[e]	Los Angeles Clippers	3	—[c]	[7]
Desmond Ferguson[FA]	G/F	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	1	—[c]	[8]
Marcus Fizer[FA]	F	United States	Chicago Bulls	4	—[c]	[9]
Richie Frahm[FA]	G	United States	Seattle SuperSonics	1	—[c]	[10]
Brandon Hunter	F	United States	Boston Celtics	1	—[c]	[11]
Jason Kapono	F	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	1	2004–2005	[12]
Zaza Pachulia[C]	C	Georgia	Orlando Magic	1	—[c]	[13]
Aleksandar Pavlović[D]	G/F	Serbia[f]	Utah Jazz	1	—[c]	[14]
Jamal Sampson	F/C	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	2	2004–2005	[15]
Tamar Slay[FA]	G	United States	New Jersey Nets	2	2004–2005	[16]
Theron Smith	F	United States	Memphis Grizzlies	1	2004–2005	[17]
Jeff Trepagnier[FA]	G	United States	Denver Nuggets	3	—[c]	[18]
Gerald Wallace+	F	United States	Sacramento Kings	3	2004–2011	[19]
Jahidi White[B]	F/C	United States	Phoenix Suns	6	2004–2005	[20]
Loren Woods[FA]	F/C	United States	Miami Heat	3	—[c]	[21]

• In 2014, the Hornets reacquired the history and records of the original Hornets from 1988 to 2002 as part of an agreement with the NBA and the Pelicans. The records from 2002 to 2013 remained with the Pelicans franchise.^[22]
• ^FA Denotes player who would be a restricted free agent in the 2004–2005 season. According to the expansion draft rules, a restricted free agent who was selected in the expansion draft would become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2004.
• ^a Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft
• ^b Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player
• ^c Never played a game for the franchise
• ^d J. R. Bremer was born in the United States, but became a naturalized Bosnia and Herzegovina citizen. He has represented Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.^[23]
• ^e Predrag Drobnjak previously played for the Serbia and Montenegro national team, but has represented the Montenegro national team after Serbia and Montenegro dissolved in June 2006 into two independent countries.
• ^f Aleksandar Pavlović previously played for the Serbia and Montenegro national team, but has represented the Serbia national team after Serbia and Montenegro dissolved in June 2006 into two independent countries.

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.

• ^A The Charlotte Bobcats acquired the second pick in the 2004 draft and agreed to select Predrag Drobnjak in the expansion draft from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the fourth and 33rd picks in the 2004 Draft.^[24]
• ^B The Charlotte Bobcats agreed to select Jahidi White from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a future first-round pick and cash considerations.^[25]

The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.

• ^C The Charlotte Bobcats traded Aleksandar Pavlović to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a lottery-protected first-round pick.^[26] This pick was ultimately executed as the #22 pick in the 2007 draft, with which the Bobcats selected Jared Dudley.
• ^D The Charlotte Bobcats traded Zaza Pachulia to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for the 45th pick in the 2004 Draft.^[26]

General

Specific

• NBA.com
• NBA.com: NBA Draft History
• Charlotte Bobcats: Draft Central 2004