Inside the NBA

A wee bit of news on Brandon Bass

I contacted Brandon Bass' agent, Tony Dutt, by email Saturday and he confirmed he has had conversations with Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins about Bass.

I'd heard some NBA team had offered Bass a five-year deal worth in excess of $25 million. Dutt declined to confirm whether the Bobcats made such an offer, but I'm told elsewhere the Bobcats wouldn't be that team.

It's clear the Bobcats have interest in Bass as their backup power forward. It's complicated, because the Bobcats already have tied up a lot of money in reserves DeSagana Diop, Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic. I'm told one potential solution could involve a sign-and-trade with Bass's previous team, the Dallas Mavericks.
 

Felton, $12 million man (temporarily)

 Some of you have emailed me, wondering why it would be so hard for the Bobcats to get under the salary cap. Temporarily, at least, it would be just about impossible because of Raymond Felton's cap hold.

Restricted free agent Felton counts over $12.4 million against Charlotte's salary cap. That's more than twice the qualifying offer -- about $5.5 million -- the Bobcats made to restrict Felton's free-agency.

No one thinks Felton will make that much next season, but it's a safeguard against teams manipulating the system by signing free agents off other rosters before re-signing their own. You might remember the trouble the Miami Heat got into years ago when Alonzo Mourning let it slip he had a handshake deal to re-sign there. That voided the Heat's agreement with then-Washington Wizard Juwan Howard.

Now prominent free agents are assigned these artificially high "holds'' until they're either signed or renounced. If Felton's cap hold sounds high, consider the Mavericks' situation: Until Jason Kidd's free-agency is resolved, he counts over $22 million against Dallas' cap.

Lakers repeat in 2010

    Ron Artest is signing with the Lakers for the mid-level? Wow. It's over in July. Short of injury, the Lakers are going to have such an advantage that everyone else is playing for second. If you have Kobe, Gasol, Bynum and Artest, it's a joke.

Higgins on free-agency, etc.

 I just got off the phone with Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins. No big revelations, but here's a quick update two days into the free-agency period:

 -- With the backup power forward spot the obvious hole in the depth chart, Higgins has contacted agents for Antonio McDyess and Brandon Bass. Like most teams over the cap, the Bobcats are locked into exceptions as the only way to sign people. And like most teams, it sounds like the Bobcats are addressing free agency with a deliberate pace.

 -- Higgins said he's not been in touch with agents for Allen Iverson or Rasheed Wallace.

 -- The Bobcats cleared just over $736,000 off next season's payroll by choosing not to exercise the team option on reserve point guard Sean Singletary. Can't say I'm at all surprised by this. Singletary wasn't activated for a game after Feb. 11, and Dontell Jefferson better fits coach Larry Brown's desire for a tall third point guard.

 -- Higgins has been in touch with Raymond Felton's agent and plans another conversation soon. Since the Bobcats are over the cap whether or not Felton is signed, the Bobcats don't have to finish Felton's deal before addressing other potential signings.

 -- I emailed with Sean May, who said the Bobcats have spoken with his agent but, to his knowledge, no offer has been made. May said four or five other teams have inquired about his availability.

ESPN cheers Brown, disses Johnson

ESPN, the Magazine just did its annual ranking of all 122 major-league franchises. The Charlotte Bobcats were in the top half -- barely -- at No. 59, while the NHL Carolina Hurricanes were second overall and the NFL Carolina Panthers were 28th.

Not surprisingly, coach Larry Brown was ranked as the Bobcats' greatest strength (28th overall) and ownership (the soon-departing Bob Johnson?) was perceived as the greatest weakness (90th ranked).

ESPN's review did note that the Bobcats' struggles to sell tickets make this a particularly affordable night out among major-league experiences. And there was an interesting bit of trivia: If not for the NFL Houston Texans, the Bobcats would be the only major-league franchise yet to reach the post-season.

On salary cap, free-agency

Based on some emails I got from readers, many of you are unclear on whether the Bobcats entered free-agency over the salary cap. Although the cap number for next season won't be finalized until next week, I assure you they're over the cap.

Projections I've seen suggest the cap number will be something in the range of $57 million per team. The 11 players under contract to the Bobcats add up to more than $58 million in salary, and that does not include the $5.5 million qualifying offer to Raymond Felton or what they'll pay rookie Gerald Henderson (in excess of $1.6 million next season, based on him being the 12th pick).

That leaves the Bobcats above the cap, but below the luxury tax threshold, which is the norm for NBA teams these days. That means their ways to add talent are cap exceptions -- the mid-level exception (about $5.5 million) and the bi-annual exception (just under $2 million) are both available to them. And based on a document provided by an NBA source, the Bobcats also have a $1.2 million trade exception from last season's deal with Phoenix. As the name suggests, that exception can be used only to acquire a contract in trade.

Recall what general manager Rod Higgins said before the draft: That there's no way this team is getting into luxury-tax territory (which I hear will kick in at about the $68 million range).

Bottom line: Once they do what it will take to re-sign Felton, I'd be surprised if they also make some huge, expensive signing. They'd need to be more surgical in their approach. If an Antonio McDyess or Allen Iverson wants to play here, and would accept the Mid-level, I'd think the Bobcats would have to consider that. But as coach Larry Brown pointed out last month, wouldn't Iverson be best served this late in his career by finding a title contender?

Rookies loaned out for summer league

 Looks like the Bobcats are loaning Gerald Henderson to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Derrick Brown to the Utah Jazz, to get their rookies some summer-league experience.

Just saw the rosters, and Henderson is with the T'Wolves in the Las Vegas league, while Brown is with the Jazz in Orlando. The Bobcats chose not to field a summer-league team to save money. Coach Larry Brown indicated before the draft that they'd look for alternatives so the rookies could get some run in July.

By playing with the T'Wolves, Henderson will be sharing time at shooting guard with high-school teammate Wayne Ellington, who played at North Carolina.

New D-League affiliate: Portland, Maine

       The trip between Charlotte and the Bobcats' Development League affiliate just got a little shorter.

       The Bobcats and Boston Celtics will be affiliated with the D-league's new Portland, Maine, franchise. Last season, the Bobcats sent rookies Alexis Ajinca and Sean Singletary to D-league assignments with the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Skyforce.

        Bobcats coach Larry Brown wasn't big on sending rookies to the D-League last season, but ultimately was happy with how the experience worked out, particularly for Ajinca. I doubt Gerald Henderson ends up in Maine next season; he's got a great chance to be in the rotation as Raja Bell's backup. Derrick Brown could spend some time there, but considering how mature he seems, and how delighted the Bobcats were he was available 40th, he could stay with the Bobcats all next season.

The latest entering the draft

Some educated guesses, as of Tuesday night:

-- I don't believe the Bobcats have made a promise to draft Louisville's Terrence Williams with the 12th pick. However, I do believe Williams is the frontrunner, should he last that long Thursday. There's no good reason for the Bobcats to make a promise, because they have no idea who else might last to 12 in this crazy draft.

-- Wake Forest's James Johnson is coming in Wednesday for a second workout with the Bobcats. While they could trade down, don't dismiss the possibility they use the 12th pick on Johnson. They need a Plan C, should Williams and Duke's Gerald Henderson both be gone.

-- Syracuse's Jonny Flynn will be gone by Milwaukee's 10th pick -- count on it. The other thing that would be good for the Bobcats is New Jersey drafting Tyler Hansbrough with the 11th pick. Unlikely as that would seem a month ago, Hansbrough wowed Nets management with his Tuesday workout. The Nets think Hansbrough is good enough to be the 11th pick; the issue is more the abundance of big men already on New Jersey's roster.

-- As general manager Rod Higgins said Tuesday, they're looking at trade possibilities. It's conceivable they'd trade down for Chicago's 16th and 26th picks in the first round. But I'd say that, unlike the NFL, trading quality for quantity is a dicey tactic in the NBA.

 -- This draft gets squishy as early as No. 2, but I hear the Memphis Grizzlies will take Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet. Don't be surprised if Ricky Rubio lasts a while Thursday, not because he lacks talent, but because his Spanish contract issues complicate everything. If Sacramento drafts Tyreke Evans, it gets complicated for the Minnesota Timberwolves, because new Wolves GM David Kahn craves Evans.

 -- A stab in the dark: Stephen Curry is a Golden State Warrior come draft night.

May still wants to be a Bobcat

Sean May told the Observer Tuesday that he'd like to re-sign with the Bobcats, despite their decision not to make him a $3.6 million-plus qualifying offer.

"Obviously I am a little disappointed that I wasn't extended my qualifying offer. As I do understand that this is a business, I can't be mad at the Bobcats,'' May said via e-mail. "I know they have to do what is best for their organization.  I am still open to being here in Charlotte.

"Regardless of what happens, this is home for me so it would be easier to stay here and play here, but just as they have to do what's best for their organization, I have to do what's best for me and my family.

"And all I want is an opportunity to play and contribute.  Last year was really tough because I felt like I could play and help this team.  Right now I'll sit and wait and see what happens in the draft, see what teams do.  Then, if and when the Bobcats make an offer, my agent will let me know.  If it's a fair deal, I will definitely look hard at it because I do want to finish what I came here to do, and that's help this organization win games and reach the playoffs.

"Due to some misfortune and injuries, I haven't been able to live up to that!. I feel better than I've felt in years.  This is the first summer that I've been healthy at the end of the season. I only took six days off to go home at the end of the season, so for June 23, I feel like I'm in pretty good shape.  Whatever happens, all I know is a team is going to get a healthy Sean, and a player with a lot to still prove. So we'll see what happens.''