Charlotte, N.C. ? The candidates pursuing an NBA expansion team for Charlotte narrowed to two Wednesday after Miami Heat co-owner Bob Sturges withdrew from consideration.

Sturges was thought to be third on the list of potential ownership candidates, said Steve Belkin, a Boston-based businessman trying to land a franchise, along with a group that includes Larry Bird.

“Bob called me this morning and told me he was going to pull out and wished us good luck,” Belkin said Wednesday. “I felt he was probably in third place, and I kind of expected he would pull out at some point.”

Belkin said Sturges’ investment group “was working on other opportunities.”

The other known candidate is Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson.

Sturges, the minority owner of the Heat, told The Charlotte Observer that both Belkin and Johnson would make good owners, but that he expected Belkin to get the franchise.

“If I were a betting man, I’d give a slight edge to Belkin because of the depth of experience in the NBA around him,” Sturges said.

Aside from Bird, the Hall of Famer who would run the new team, Belkin’s group includes former Boston Celtics general manager Jan Volk. M.L. Carr, a former Celtics player and coach, would work in community relations. He already spent the summer running the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting, a job that allowed him to be in the city drumming up support for the NBA effort.