I don't see Dallas happening. I can't imagine they'd be willing to give up Dirk or Josh Howard for Gerald Wallace.

I highly doubt we'd be interested in Dampier, Terry, etc...


The only legitimate deal we'd consider is Wallace for Devin Harris and Diop. That would give us a pretty quality lineup with Felton, Harris, Richardson, Okafor, Diop...

Harris would cost just as much as Wallace 2 years from now and Diop would probably get a full midlevel from someone though... so i dont see how that deal saves us much money and we'd lose a fan favorite....

Orlando wants Rashard Lewis and no one else can match 10 mil per season. Wallace is a bobcat next year unless we get an offer we cant refuse from someone...

7/2/2007 5:29:46 PM

I don't know, Wallace could easily go elsewhere. The Bobcats may think the contract hit with J-Rich is enough and try someone cheaper...

It could happen.

7/2/2007 6:10:51 PM

pretty unlikely...

if we lowballed him with like $7 million then maybe he'd choose Dallas for $6 milion.

But I really doubt he'd turn us down for $10 million just to play for Dallas for $6 million.


There's just no way we decided we'd rather have Richardson for 13-14 million than Wallace for $10 million.

That wouldn't make any sense at all, so obviously we're bringing Wallace back unless someone offers us a deal thats just too good to pass up for him.

It would take an offer like Devin Harris/Diop just to get us talking.

7/2/2007 6:13:42 PM

lol Diop was the 8th overall pick in 2001

7/2/2007 6:16:36 PM

Our high school played him when he was at Oak Hill.

We all thought his name rhymed with Lasagna and heckled him throughout.

7/2/2007 7:01:31 PM

Quote :

"if we lowballed him with like $7 million then maybe he'd choose Dallas for $6 milion. But I really doubt he'd turn us down for $10 million just to play for Dallas for $6 million."

Keep thinking that to yourself. You would be surprised.

7/3/2007 8:32:01 AM

Lewis to the Magic for max or near max money (are you fucking kidding me?) eliminates one of our big competitors for Wallace

7/3/2007 9:11:38 AM

^Haha, love the user name. That made me lol. Yeah, I saw that Lewis is going to Orlando. The Southeast division is trying to get better everyday.

7/3/2007 9:19:39 AM

We should give JR Reynolds and Zabian Dowdell a shot at making our team.

Both could be NBA backups

[Edited on July 3, 2007 at 12:30 PM. Reason : Neither got drafted]

7/3/2007 12:29:42 PM

boldfaced names are either relevant/good/UNC

Quote :

"Bobcats Summer League Roster BASKETBALL NBA Charlotte BobcatsSummer League Roster Player Pos. College Alan Anderson G/F Mich. St. Bobby Brown G Fullerton St. Elton Brown F Virginia Kevin Burleson G Minnesota Steve Burtt G Iona Jrmro Davidson F Alabama Justin Doellman F Xavier Jared Dudley F Boston Coll. Raymond Felton G UNC Brock Gillespie G Rice Ryan Hollins C UCLA Jackie Manuel G/F UNC Adam Morrison F Gonzaga Gabe Muoneke F Texas Rick Rickert F/C Minnesota Tamar Slay G/F Marshall Ayinde Ubaka G California Luke Whitehead F Louisville Jawad Williams F UNC "

7/3/2007 12:33:11 PM

why is Felton playing in the summer league?

and don't worry - manuel has no chance while williams has little chance

maybe ol mikey feels an obligation to give his boys a shot

7/3/2007 12:44:01 PM

^^Doellman can shoot great for a bigger forward, but is a lot like Herrman and probably not NBA material.

Jackie Fucking Manuel is bullshit.

And how in the hell is that fatass Elton Brown good enough to even be mentioned as a NBA prospect?

7/3/2007 1:01:54 PM

What no Damion Grant?!?

7/3/2007 2:03:34 PM

I have this really bad feeling that Gforce wont be coming back

and we will have improved little from last year

7/3/2007 2:04:40 PM

this makes me feel pretty good about our chances...this was from yesterday (July 2) and since free agents technically can't sign until July 11, assuming Lewis goes to Orlando I think you can X them off of this list

Quote :

"only Charlotte, Memphis, Milwaukee and Orlando have the NBA salary cap room necessary to sign Wallace outright, sign-and-trade options would have to be pursued should Wallace be obtained by Dallas, Golden State, Miami or Portland"

7/3/2007 2:49:30 PM

hopefully he wont want to play in Memphis (west) or Milwaukee (who would?) and no sign and trade will be tempting enough

watch Dallas put something together with Harris/Stackhouse/Diop or something

but id rather have Gforce

7/3/2007 4:15:48 PM

sign and trade for D-Wade would be alright...i guess

7/3/2007 4:26:35 PM

nah, D-Wade plays the same position as Richardson.

We should try for Michael Doleac instead.

7/3/2007 4:34:14 PM

or if the heat happen to have any really old unc alums

7/3/2007 4:36:20 PM

surely you don't think he was serious

7/3/2007 4:36:32 PM

HUGE DAY for the Bobcats.

We're now the leading candidates to bring Gerald Wallace AND Darko to the Bobcats.


Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor, Darko

with

Hermann, May, Morrison off the bench....

That's a pretty damn solid young team.

We'd probably have to trade May and or Morrison next offseason so we wouldn't break budget extending Okafor and Hermann but those guys are pretty easily replaceable.



Don't sleep on Darko. He had a strong playoff series and he's like 21 freaking years old and already posting numbers. We'd have THREE people capable of averaging 2 blocks a game in our starting lineup which Im not sure how many teams have ever been able to say that.

Think about it, we have a two way player in Felton.... an offensive/defensive combo in Richardson/Wallace (with both guys being 2 way players).... and a post player (Darko) and a trash collector (Okafor) on offense.... while both are shot blockers on defense



Now if someone can clear space to offer Darko ~10-12 million then we'll probably cheap out (and we probably should b/c Darko is no lock to be a great signing)

But if we can lock up Darko to the tune of $6.5-$8 million thats a move we absolutely HAVE to make.

To get a 21 year old thats already capable of averaging double figures and 2 blocks/game for barely more than Jerome James money is a great deal.



[Edited on July 3, 2007 at 6:11 PM. Reason : a]

7/3/2007 6:08:39 PM

first ive heard anything about the darko possibility

7/3/2007 6:19:38 PM

Well by agreeing with Rashard Lewis to an "offer" sheet(deals cant officially go through until July 11th when the CBA sets the new salary cap) the Magic have only two options.

1) Renounce the rights to Darko, effectively making him an unrestricted free agent

2) Clearing enough cap space to re-sign Darko under the salary cap.

***Clarification, technically they can go over the cap to sign Darko but then they woudlnt be able to sign Rashard Lewis******


It's going to be tough to clear any space. They could work out a sign & trade with Seattle but Seattle probably doesn't want to take any of Orlando's trash (like Hedo Turkoglu) because they are trying to rebuild.

They could trade to an under the cap team like Charlotte, Memphis, or Milwaukee but why would one of those teams want to help Orlando out if they plan on bidding for Darko.

I think Memphis will make a play for Darko also (they are rumored to be offering Varejao ~8 million but since he's a restricted free agent they might shift focus to the UFA Darko)

The Bobcats DESPERATELY need a center and it's really tough to get a competent one so cheaply. You have to realize Joel Pryzbilla makes over $6 million and Sam Dalembert makes over $10 million...

The Bobcats got some cap relief when Jake Voskuhl unexpectedly opted out of his deal to become a free agent and they cut Brevin Knight.

After next season both Primoz Brezec and Othella Harrington will be UFA's so theres another ~5 million coming off the books and two vacant big men roster spots.

Hollins will also be a free agent although he'd probably be cheap to extend if we're interested.

Adam Morrison and Sean May would make up about $7.5 million in player options and would both be easily tradeable if we're worried about expenses...

Remember, Okafor's extension would kick in next season and Felton's would be only a year away...

It's important we use this cap space now before it's all gone due to extended contracts instead of free agent acquistions.

Next year's market is deep so if we want to not re-sign Matt Carroll and trade Morrison and/or May we could go for an ELITE free agent instead but I'd rather just get Darko now and roll the dice.

7/3/2007 6:51:03 PM

ESPN news bottom line is showing that Bobcats and Matt Carroll have agreed to a 6-year deal.

7/4/2007 5:17:37 AM

Heard the deal was worth about 25 million over 6

Also, here's the first I've seen of Richardson talking since the deal

http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_6293697?nclick_check=1

7/4/2007 7:56:39 AM

Quote :

"Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor, Darko with Hermann, May, Morrison off the bench...."

^^Add Carroll to that second five and get a backup PG and we could be rolling.

But I guess MJ is going to call Ed Cota right?

7/4/2007 8:30:42 AM

link to Carroll signing

http://www.charlotte.com/bobcats/story/184513.html

6 years for 27 million?

seems like a lot of money for someone who doesn't figure to start

7/4/2007 9:03:31 AM

ugh, what an awful signing.

Now you can throw Darko out the window.

Seriously, what the fuck were we thinking...

You have to build your team by spending cap space on good players and then sign role players to mid level exceptions.

You dont waste your cap space on bit parts.... 6 years? Jesus, we're gonna regret that one

7/4/2007 11:24:32 PM

such a stupid stupid stupid move

7/5/2007 12:11:35 AM

you need shooters...and im not talking about ray felton j rich morrison shooters...im talking about shooters

7/5/2007 12:29:31 AM

i like carroll, and i'm glad we're hangin on to him...but it does seem like too long of a deal and a lot of money for basically a 7th or 8th man.

7/5/2007 12:41:00 AM

you do need shooters, but not for that much. Any team where Carrol is playing a 25 million dollar role is not winning too many trophies.

7/5/2007 2:11:56 AM

We just took ourselves out of the running for Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett, Monta Ellis, Josh Childress, etc all for the opportunity to have MATT FUCKING CARROLL.

This move is going to set us back big time because now we are capped out for the next three or four seasons.

Our goal should have been to get a center from day one. Now its season four and we still don't have one.

Now we get to throw a mid level exception at some scrub like Nazr Mohammed, Rasho Nesterovic, or Jerome James and get pissed when he doesn't work out!!!

Fuck you Jordan, you're dead to me.

7/5/2007 6:57:28 AM

I like Carroll and he is a great shooter, one of the NBA's best....but he is not worth $26 Million.

But still it gives us a backup guard who can even start and will be a good 1st or 2nd option of the bench. Hell Darko hasn't proved he can do anything yet...Carroll has.

7/5/2007 8:21:05 AM

Why are you guys talking about trades with the mavs???

all g wallace has to do is sign with them


BOOBCats aint gettin nothing in return

7/5/2007 9:53:44 AM

Mavs don't have the cap-room to sign him for what he presumably wants. Unless he signs for mid-level to play with Dallas then they would have to get him in a trade, from what I understand.

7/5/2007 10:16:49 AM

Quote :

"We just took ourselves out of the running for Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett"

your first mistake is thinking we were in the running for KG or Marion in the first place

7/5/2007 10:27:43 AM

Im not mad about the Carroll deal really

Im mad at how long it is taking to resign Gerald Wallace (which might as well mean we arent bringing him back) and why we cut BK and have no other backup PG??

Im starting to get concerned

7/5/2007 3:42:47 PM

you'd have to expect wallace to test the waters and it'd make sense that he'd take longer to sign wherever than carroll or any other bobcats...i havent seen or heard anything that implies he's leaning towards one team or another...still im fairly optimistic as of the other 29 teams in the league, less than a 3rd of them could even afford wallace, and half of those teams would require us to sign and trade him, aka if he went somewhere, we'd get other players

but we shall see...6 days until official FA signing period

7/5/2007 3:44:52 PM

yeah and then we will still not have a center or backup PG

but oh well, JRich should at least draw a bigger crowd

7/5/2007 3:48:30 PM

Wallace will be re-signing in Charlotte don't even worry about that.

If you think he'd turn down $10 million a year in Charlotte for $6 million in Dallas you're an absolute lunatic.

Dallas would have to blow us away with an offer like Diop and Devin Harris to get us to give up Wallace.

Quote :

"your first mistake is thinking we were in the running for KG or Marion in the first place"

Not a mistake at all. Shawn Marion would absolutely play for us. Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Marion, Okafor is a championship contender where he can get paid.

There's not many teams that can afford those guys if they utilize their ETO's after next season and we were one of them. Don't underestimate the value of the dollar bill.

7/5/2007 5:49:33 PM

7/5/2007 8:55:31 PM

Apparently they have a new court design. The inside of the arc is gonna be whiter, like Clevelands I think, and the court will emphasize the navy blue a little more.

7/5/2007 9:18:20 PM

^knew that was coming. Who wants to be a pal and post the article?

7/5/2007 10:21:10 PM

Charlotte Bobcats | All Bobcats sitelines

You're Welcome, Matt
All the fireworks in Matt Carroll's life popped before most of Charlotte brewed its holiday cup of coffee. By 4 a.m. Wednesday, he knew his financial future was secure, agreeing to a long-term deal with the Charlotte Bobcats. By 8 a.m., he'd boarded a plane from Chicago to China, en route to help with the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program. When he returns from that goodwill tour, Carroll will sign a six-year contract, which an informed source said is worth about $27 million. That's a feat for a player who three seasons ago was playing in the NBA's developmental league. -- Charlotte Observer

Trade Stunned And Steamed Richardson
The Charlotte Bobcats didn't wrong Jason Richardson, but it's obvious they need to do some post-trade fence-mending. Richardson told the Contra Costa Times in northern California that he was shocked and dismayed by the Golden State Warriors' decision to deal him to the Bobcats. Richardson said the Warriors kept him the dark about their willingness to move him. After experiencing losing records in five of his six seasons with Golden State, he said he had misgivings about going to a team that hasn't reached the playoffs. -- Charlotte Observer

7/5/2007 10:25:53 PM

^We've seen those links, he was talking about the grades

Here are the free agent grades for Carroll and two guys who got similar deals

Quote :

"Matt Carroll re-signs with Charlotte (six years, $27 million) Short-term B-, long-term C- Carroll is an unusual player -- he's a 3-point sniper who also has a knack for getting to the foul line -- and as such that makes him a very effective offensive role player. However, he's a poor defender and his numbers don't project to be overwhelming -- as with Walton, he's likely to have a PER in the 13-14 range the next couple seasons, but in this case without the defense. The money here isn't extravagant, though, so it's not such a bad deal short-term. As with Walton, the long-term ramifications of this deal aren't nearly as positive. Carroll should fare a little better than Walton because he's half a year younger and his foremost skill -- shooting -- shouldn't decline much with age. But paying role players into their mid-30s is normally a losing proposition."

Quote :

"Jason Kapono to Toronto (four years, $24 million) Short-term C+, long-term C+ I was a bit taken aback by the money here -- $6 million a year for a player I judge inferior to both Carroll and Walton. Kapono had a good year in 2006-07, but he's also had several duds. His projected PER next year of 12.60 is not impressive (I'll have all the projections out in a little while, if you're wondering), and he's not going to add much at the defensive end either. The reason the grade here isn't worse is because: (a) Kapono answers a short-term need, (b) he fits the system, and (c) they kept the deal short. The Raptors were running low on small forwards, especially with MoPete headed out the door, and Kapono was the best one available within their means. He also lets them space the floor with four shooters around T.J. Ford (Bosh, Bargnani and Parker being the other three), which should make him a good fit there. But most importantly, they're not paying for his decline years. Kapono is 26 now and will be 30 when the contract ends; there's a huge difference between that and paying somebody like Walton or Carroll until age 33. So while I don't think Kapono is worth $6 million a year, or anything close to it, at least the Raptors limited their downside risk."

Quote :

"Luke Walton re-signs with Lakers (six years, $30 million) Short-term B+, long-term D+ Keeping Walton eliminates the sign-and-trade possibilities that many had considered part of the Lakers' trade scenarios, but in truth that was always unlikely -- Walton would have had to agree to go someplace like Minnesota or Indiana. Fat chance. Instead L.A. keeps him for less than the midlevel exception, a pretty good deal when you compare it to the ones two inferior players got (Kapono and Carroll). Walton can defend two positions and projects to have a PER in the 13-14 range for the next few years, so he'll be a solid rotation player at reasonable money. The only downside here is the length of the deal -- six years is a risky proposition for any player, but especially with a non-star. This deal pays Walton until he's 33, at which point he's likely to be a shadow of the player he is today. So the first couple years of this deal will be good value, but the last two or three could get ugly."

Hollinger doesn't love any of the deals, as you'd expect. I think this sentence for Carroll

Quote :

"But paying role players into their mid-30s is normally a losing proposition."

best sums up how I feel about the deal. Also the fact that we're signing him to this deal when we have much more pressing concerns at the center and point guard positions. We have, if we resign Wallace, 6 guys who will get significant PT at the 2 and 3 this year. Wallace, Richardson, Carroll, Dudley, Morrison and Hermann. Hermann and Wallace can dabble at the 4, but we still desperately need another PG and another post player, or we'll once again have to rely on Primoz Fucking Brezec entirely too much this year.

[Edited on July 5, 2007 at 11:30 PM. Reason : x]

7/5/2007 11:29:43 PM

7/6/2007 6:26:16 AM

I sort of like the court

I really liked all the orange though

7/6/2007 8:12:59 AM

Quote :

"Shawn Marion would absolutely play for us. Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Marion, Okafor is a championship contender where he can get paid"

and how do we afford this lineup? Marion was never considering leaving a contender in the West like Phoenix for any team that isnt/wasnt a contender

7/6/2007 9:36:24 AM

this sounds much better

Quote :

"Richardson warms up to Bobcats CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Jason Richardson was so shocked to be traded that he wouldn't talk to anybody -- including his new boss, Michael Jordan. Once he studied his new Charlotte Bobcats teammates, his perspective changed. "It wasn't about going to Charlotte as much as it was leaving Golden State," Richardson said Thursday. "After I actually took some time and looked at the team, that changed my mind real quickly." The Warriors traded Richardson and the rights to second-round pick Jermareo Davidson to Charlotte for the rights to North Carolina forward Brandan Wright. The Bobcats' preseason goal is to make the playoffs, and part-owner Jordan thinks Richardson may be the player who can lead them there. "I'm not looking at this as my team -- I'm looking at it as our team," Richardson said. "I think it's going to be a great opportunity for me to be on this team." Richardson, who has four years and $51 million left on the contract he signed with Golden State in 2004, initially felt loyalty to the Warriors after he led them to the Western Conference playoffs and a first-round upset of top-seeded Dallas. The shooting guard averaged 18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 438 games with Golden State. "It was tough to finally get to the level you want, and then you're shipped off," he said. "But you realize it's still a business. Now it's happened. It's over with. I've still got a contract. I've got my health. And I've got a new NBA team. What more can you want?" Earlier in the day, Richardson met with his new coach, Sam Vincent -- who already is envisioning fast breaks with Richardson on one side and, he hopes, Gerald Wallace on the other. Wallace, the team's top scorer last season, remains unsigned and vice president of basketball operations Bernie Bickerstaff and Wallace's agent, Rob Pelinka, have been in talks since early Sunday. "They've got a lot of guys that play hard," Richardson said. "That's the first thing you have to do to be a successful franchise. And, in the East, I think there's an opportunity for us. ... When I arrived, they told me (signing Wallace) was their first priority. It's going to be a pretty good tandem with him on one side and me on the other.""

7/6/2007 2:31:52 PM