« Why Augustin instead of Lopez? | Main | Bobcats interested in Diop? »

July 01, 2008

Bobcats veterans to practice in Las Vegas

Several Bobcats veterans are being pro-active in absorbing what their new coach wants.

Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson all plan to be in Las Vegas next week, participating in some or all of the practices leading up to summer-league games the following week.

It's a smart move, considering the Bobcats will adjust to their third coach in three seasons. This gives those three a running start toward what Larry Brown will want in training camp in October.

- While it was a foregone conclusion the Bobcats wouldn't exercise Othella Harrington's option for next season, here's the part that's significant:

Not bringing him back trims about $2.55 million off the player payroll and opens a roster spot. In these times of change, that figures to come in handy as they explore the free-agent market.

It's unfortunate Harrington's knee problems were chronic because this team sure needed the experience and defensive savvy he would have provided. Injuries to Harrington and Sean May disrupted Charlotte's big-man rotation all last season.

Posted by rbonnell on July 1, 2008 at 06:56 PM | Permalink

Comments

This is good news, it shows our player's commitment to getting better. Let's just hope Gerald isn't upset he almost traded for a whiny injury prone overpaid backup point guard! They should take this roster and go. I don't think they need anymore big shake-ups; they have talent. It now is an issue of the coach making them into a team.

Posted by: Bobcat Matt | Jul 1, 2008 7:58:25 PM

our starters are what can bring the most in a trade, so lets take a look at them . mohammad, is burdened with a contract that nobody really wants, so he is here for the duration. wallace was offered, but so far he would return tj ford, so we are better to keep him then move him. richardson would bring the most back if not for the contract, and he has been stated as "untouchable", so thats a no-go. this leaves felton and okafor. there are currently 2 pg's on the roster and barring any addition thru free agency a trade would have to return a pg, so thats unlikely. this leaves our most tradeable chip, emeka okafor. there are currently 4 centers on the roster counting him as one, which he is best suited for(okafor, mohammad, ajinca, hollins). then there are curently 3 power forwards on the roster including him (okafor, may, davidson) which would allow returns at other positions.

the main reason a move is needed with okafor is that the money could be spent better. he was offered more then he was worth last season and he turned it down, so use that money on something else.

Posted by: brendan | Jul 1, 2008 9:16:42 PM

I think Felton has considerable upside in this league so I am glad we didn't make the TJ Ford trade. However, I am surprised Procton, the almighty stat god, hasn't stepped up to say that TJ Ford had the #5 or #6 PER for PGs last season while Wallace was in the low teens for SFs. Going on his arguements against Felton all season, he should have been advocating this trade all along. I just find it interesting that he hasn't commented on it....

Is it because he knows nothing about basketball???

Posted by: Mason | Jul 1, 2008 10:24:13 PM

I'd take Ford over Felton in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, that's not the deal, and (as others have correctly stated), we should get much better for our emotional leader who's also a 20 PPG scorer and the best on the ball defender on the team.

Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 2, 2008 12:12:18 AM

This is a re-post in response to Procton's misguided comparison of Felton and Rando.

Come on Procton. You have to look at the whole picture. Felton has shot the ball more in part because he's had to. This is news to no one, but Felton has played large parts of his career at the shooting guard. Guess what? Shooting guards are expected to SHOOT! So those numbers you're spitting our are highly skewed. I'm sure if Felton had his way he wouldn't be playing the 2, and he would have a front court that could score reliably. Also, it's pretty easy for Rondo's numbers to improve when Allen and Garnett change the entire chemistry on the team. If Felton were on the Celtics you'd be telling us all why we should have drafted him.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 8:05:05 AM

And forget Ford's talent. After his injuries and his awful attitude, which helped the Raps to an early exit in the playoffs last season, he's the last person we need on the team.

I'm not going to say he can't play the point, but he's been a huge headache for his teams and hasn't proven to be a winner.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 8:08:01 AM

If we don't get a decent PF LB will be forced to play Wallace at this position. I think one more hit to the head might be it for him.

Posted by: apauldds | Jul 2, 2008 8:26:41 AM

Wallace should not have to play power forward on a regular basis this year. It seems like everyone on the roster is relatively healthy. Morrison and May should be good to go by the time the season starts. May/Hollins/Davidson should be able to handle the minutes Wallace usually plays at 4.

This team has a new coach and healthier reserves. The Cats will be a lot better this year.

Posted by: Token | Jul 2, 2008 8:41:50 AM

Token, what are you smokin? May still says he has a bone bruise (whatever that means) plus he needs to drop 50 lbs. If we get him at all next season I promise you he will re-injure his knee. Davidson is a good option off the bench, but not a starter. Hollins is not a power forward and would give up too much on the defensive end.

Posted by: apauldds | Jul 2, 2008 9:17:16 AM

Good, maybe they will move to Vegas for good.

Posted by: jason | Jul 2, 2008 9:59:30 AM

May's actually lost some weight since the injury. I'm not counting on him because of his track record but there's a good chance he's healthy this year.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 11:05:22 AM

Jared, Felton has shot LESS OFTEN at a HIGHER PERCENTAGE while playing off the ball. When he doesn't dictate the shots, he gets less of them, and his shot selection somehow improves when the ball's not in his hands. Further, if you think there's a "good chance" Sean May is healthy, you must not know anything about him. He's lazy, he has no work ethic, and he has no pride in himself. That tub of lard will never contribute to an NBA team.

Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 2, 2008 11:42:29 AM

now now, gentlemen lets look at this situation, if we trade ray ray we will be left with an un-proven rookie not a chance im willing to take,if we trade gforce(again would be a dumb mistake)then you've traded away your best on ball perimeter defender,and second leading scorer,look give them some time under LB and see what happens, they are doing the right thing by going to vegas and getting some extra work in thats what leaders do,as far as okafor goes sign and trade his trynna get over paid self and morrison to the atl for josh smith(a)you get better scoring(b)you get same amount of rebounding if not more(c)you would now have the most athletic shot blocking tandem in the league with jsmoove and gforce.And the starting five would be deadly. pg-ray ray/sg-jrich/sf-gforce/pf-jsmoove/c-nazr/hollins or ajinca man if thats not a starting line-up i dont know what is,they would provide a mis-match at every position, amking them very hard to defend.

Posted by: truthbtold21 | Jul 2, 2008 12:40:41 PM

I've seen your facebook pictures Procton. You have no business calling anyone a tub of lard. May was healthy and hardworking enough to win a national title. You think his weight is the only factor to his bad knee? I'll admit that it may have contributed to it but you can't blame his weight on his knee anymore than you can blame Morrison's knee injury on his haircut.

Also where do you get those stats about Felton? If you're right you make a good point but I'd like to do some fact checking on that. I still think Felton has suffered from poor offensive schemes and unhelpful teammates. He often shoots the ball as a PG because Okafor and others don't provide him any decent options in the post. Junk buckets may have inflated Okafor's percentages but they don't make him a better shooter.

When will you learn Procton? Numbers mean something but you have to know how to interpret them.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 1:53:52 PM

from John Hollinger: I have no idea what the Cats are thinking besides "hey, we haven't messed with Raymond Felton's head for at least a couple of months now, we should probably do something about that."

Posted by: apauldds | Jul 2, 2008 3:14:22 PM

Yeah, truth...Okafor has rebounded 50% more for his career than Smith, but Smith would absolutely outrebound him.

Jared, I'm somewhat disturbed you're looking pictures of me (I don't judge homosexuals, though,) but regardless, you're dead wrong. Morrison's injury came as a result of an athletic situation. He tore a ligament while trying to defend. May's injuries have come because he's too fat for his joints to sustain his body weight. And his "fantastic work ethic" in college doesn't do us a lot of good now that we're spending millions of dollars to pay him to sit on the bench in his size 54 jackets 75% of the time, does it?. And please just check 82games.com...they'll tell you all you need to know about Felton's shot selection and willingness to help his teammates.

Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 2, 2008 5:05:01 PM

I used to wonder why people talked so much shit about you Procton, I now know why that is. Don't be pretty brother. I've always acknowledged that May has been a huge disappointment so far but the fact is that he's productive when he's healthy. You don't know any better than any of us what shape his knee is in now. I'm not promising a comeback, I'm just saying it's not out of the question.

You brought the fat comment on yourself by a)being unfair to May and b)being a pretentious fat ass stinking up the stage at GTCC.

Get over yourself.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 6:11:13 PM

pretty should read "petty"

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 6:11:55 PM

What is the point of a player who's "productive when healthy..." for 25 games a year? Particularly being as he's paid the same regardless.

And hey...you're the one stalking me and throwing around the personal attacks. Way to be above "petty" behavior.

Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 2, 2008 7:03:11 PM

You problem Procton is that you focus on one minor point and build it up like it's everything that I said. I try to have a fair attitude about May. I've never said that it's been great having him on the bench and unable to play. I also don't attack him unfairly for his knee injuries.

If you can call May fat you should have no problem having your own weight issues under scrutiny. It's not petty to point that out. You on the other hand acted like a 3rd grader and called me a homosexual because I looked at your facebook profile. So yea, you are the petty one.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 7:43:48 PM

I didn't call you a damn thing. I simply stated that I don't judge homosexuality or any other reason you'd have to check out pictures of me. And here's the difference between me and Sean May: he's a professional athlete who has been paid more than $6 million since being drafted by the Bobcats, yet has played in fewer than 25% of the possible games because he's too lazy to be in shape and is more interested in getting his drank and his swerve on in the downtown Charlotte clubs than riding an exercise bike; I'm a 21-year-old college student with no financial or professional obligation to anyone regarding my personal fitness.

Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 2, 2008 8:32:45 PM

just thought everyone who follows sports would enjoy this site.. a sports betting website that lets you bet for free, once you make more than $10, you can cash out.. it's fun if you're knowledgable.


http://www.centsports.com/?opcode=132496

Posted by: MG | Jul 2, 2008 9:05:35 PM

You did imply that I was a homosexual which is the same as calling me a homosexual. You really think you can back out of that now? You're a childish little prick.

You know nothing about Sean May or why he's been injured. The fact that you think you know is why you're the pretentious asshole that you are.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 2, 2008 9:54:36 PM

Now, now gentlemen. Let's try and keep the comments relative to the Bobcats and get over our personal gripes with eachother.

Posted by: apauldds | Jul 3, 2008 7:57:16 AM

I agree apauldds but Procton can be a real douche sometimes. I just can't help myself.

Posted by: Jared | Jul 3, 2008 9:32:57 AM

Post a comment






Advertisements