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July 09, 2008
Does Brand deal put Okafor in play?
Elton Brand’s reported decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers rather than remain with the Los Angeles Clippers could be bad news for the Charlotte Bobcats regarding Emeka Okafor.
The Clippers will have a bundle under the salary cap and an obvious need for a power forward to complement center Chris Kaman in Brand’s absence.
NBA insiders expect the Clippers to consider signing one of two restricted free agents – Okafor or Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks – with the abundant cap room they possess.
Okafor’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, is Southern California-based so it would be easy for Schwartz to chat up Okafor. Last summer Okafor turned down a Bobcats offer exceeding $12 million a season. An offer sheet by the Clippers could at least raise the price for the Bobcats to retain their best big man.
Posted by rbonnell on July 9, 2008 at 01:27 AM | Permalink
Comments
If the Clippers were smart, they'd go after Okafor. If Okafor was smart, he'd leave. And if the Bobcats were smart, they'd let him.
Posted by: Nick | Jul 9, 2008 4:20:52 AM
Dude, that made no sense. At all. I am now dumber from having read your comment.
Posted by: Matt | Jul 9, 2008 4:37:01 AM
Does it really matter where his agent is based....doesn't it matter 1,000 times more who his best relationships are with? I find it hard to believe that him having his office in LA vs. DC vs. Chicago, etc, really matters a hill of beans.
Posted by: fred | Jul 9, 2008 7:21:07 AM
The bobcats can match any offer, so they will probably wait and see. The Clippers are stupid if they offer Mek Dwight Howard money. If that happens, let him go. Otherwise this may turn out to be a good thing in hastening a new contract for Mek.
Posted by: apauldds | Jul 9, 2008 8:26:50 AM
I agree that Okafor should leave the Bobcats. Actually, I hope the Clippers take him off our hands. He hasn't produced like many people thought. I can't even believe that there was a debate between Dwight Howard and Okafor in that draft. Okafor is an average NBA player who can only play defense. Paying him alot of money would be a huge mistake because he is injury prone and isn't a player you build your team around. We need to free up cap space to sign a real NBA big man.
Posted by: secrulesbig10 | Jul 9, 2008 8:48:06 AM
Okafor is a great rebounder, defender for a center. He's not a PF. If they pick him up and play him at PF, then they are just dumb.
I don't really want him to go, but I echo the comments made about letting him go if the clippers offer dwight howard money at him.
Posted by: bonnell=procton | Jul 9, 2008 8:52:26 AM
Kaman and Okafor would be a really slow version of the Twin Towers. Kaman is light years better offensively though. The Clippers would be better served to go after Josh Smith. I would love to have Smith out of the Bobcats division.
Posted by: Token | Jul 9, 2008 8:54:07 AM
Also, despite my moniker's obvious disdain of both bonnell and procton, even I have to admit the light years better job Bonnell has done from around the draft on.
Thanks, Bonnell.
Posted by: bonnell=procton | Jul 9, 2008 8:56:36 AM
I agree it would be nice to free up cap space to sign a better big, but the problem is there aren't many bigs available. Okafor is probably the best free agent center/PF this summer. If we were to upgrade it'd have to be through a sign and trade. The clip may be appealing to Mek' because he'll have a chance to play against a legit center for the first time in his career. Of course that gives the Clippers a similar problem that we've had since Mek' can't guard the quicker 4's.
If Okafor does leave do we have any shot at J-Smith? A Smith/Nazr front court is at least more versatile than last season. If Hollins can step our of his project status he might do well next to a player like Smith. He does provide a better low post scoring option.
Posted by: Jared | Jul 9, 2008 9:00:29 AM
Just so I don't get a bunch of angry responses, I say that Okafor is the best FA center/PF because the better ones(Brand) have already been signed and he has seen playing time at both positions(unlike J-Smith). Please don't rip me apart for that one.
Posted by: Jared | Jul 9, 2008 9:04:12 AM
What is Smith's current contract status?
Posted by: apauldds | Jul 9, 2008 9:10:37 AM
If Okafor leaves, regardless of position, we're totally screwed in the post. We'd have zero above average post players, offensively or defensively, and the best thing at PF out there is...Eduardo Najera? Kurt Thomas? Kwame Brown? As much as people rip on Okafor, he'd be tough as hell to replace.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 9, 2008 9:15:19 AM
Guys I am sorry but if Okafor leaves this year, the Bobcats finish with no more then 25 wins. You want to talk about having no low post presence, without Okafor there will be absoulutly nothing down low. You will see the Bobcats giving up an avg. of 110 ppg and barely avg. 90ppg. The Bobcats just need to make a long term deal to keep Okafor so they know they have a solid post presence and hope and pray that either Hollins or that french guy pan out. Okafor along with the rest of the post players on their roster would be better suited if they had a Big Man coach like most teams have to help develop and teach. With the exception of Howard's break out year last year Okafor actually has had better stats. Not by much but slightly better. No I am not saying he is anywhere better then Howard and there was no debate over Howard or Okafor because Orlando picked Howard so we took Okafor. And if we were to lose Okafor then signing Smith would be beyond stupid for this team. He is so talented but this team needs a solid post player. Smith is just another swing player. He is better suited to play the 2 or 3 then to play the 4. And last time I checked we already have 7 guys playing the 2 or the 3.
Posted by: Knewton | Jul 9, 2008 9:15:48 AM
Seriously? Smith is an RFA; his qualifying offer was $3.2 mil.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 9, 2008 9:16:28 AM
KN, you're probably right about Smith being a better fit at the 3, but he did play the vast majority of his minutes at the 4 last year, although the small-type lineup used in Atlanta is probably the farthest thing from LB's ideal situation. The problem is that he can't come close to replacing Okafor's SKILL SET. His post offense isn't great, and he plays precisely the same type of weakside anticipation defense that Gerald Wallace gets ripped for to get his steals and blocks.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 9, 2008 9:20:07 AM
MP I am glad to see someone sees what Wallace really is. And yes Smith is a smiliar player to Wallace just a better shooter and athlete. And you want to talk about bad PR, losing Okafor would cost this franchise everything. Lets see this... Charlotte lets first draft pick go leaving no post players on roster. Two weeks later, Charlotte's last home for a post player Sean May recovers from Micro-Fracture surgery but is found outside of a Crystal burger where he ate 500 burgers and now weighs 300+lbs and is unable to play this season due to the extra stress on his bad knee. Bobcats fans understand that losing Okafor would be worse to this team then Brand leaving the Clippers or Howard leaving the Magic. Unlike the Clippers and the Magic we have no other pieces here besides Okafor to be somewhat succesful. But then again isn't Tyler Hansbrough coming out next draft??? Hey maybe we figured out the Bobcats Game plan. ha ha
Posted by: Knewton | Jul 9, 2008 9:29:47 AM
knewton-my archnemesis. Funny that you are commenting with wanting to keep a player in Charlotte. You usually want all the players to go along with all the sports franchises in Charlotte. TO respond to your comments there was a debate among NBA people and the media before the draft on who should be taken with the first pick. I know there aren't any quality big men on the market now, but we can clear up cap room for next year or the year after that when Lebron, Wade and Bosh will be available. Who knows...some team might want to give a high quality player during the season. We will have more options instead of sticking with the dead end option of Okafor. As much as it pains me I don't see the Bobcats being any better than they were last year. If we have a 20-25 win season like some predict we might can get a top 3 pick next year plus sign a big free agent.
Posted by: secrulesbig10 | Jul 9, 2008 9:34:29 AM
Emeka=good college player=average NBA player. He should have took the contract during the season. Even though he's not worth that much.
Posted by: Joe | Jul 9, 2008 9:48:26 AM
secrulesbig10, this time lets keep the talk on the bobcats and not college football, But keeping Okafor here does more then gives us better defense and a solid post pressence he also shows that we are going to be loyal to guys that work hard and preform, and take the bumps and bruises for being the staple of the defense. Okafor can become a better scorer with better PG play and not crowding the lane. And you know if we get a top 3 pick we will waste it on Hansbrough. You want to free up cap space then you get rid of guys where you are overflowing, you have an overpaid Gerald Wallace and you have an overpaid Matt Carrol along with dead weight in Adam Morrison and Sean May. You want to make a better team then these are the 4 guys you start shopping. Unless we go after another PG to be a back up you must keep Felton on this team and he only plays the Point and is only subed out by DJ and vice versa.
Posted by: Knewton | Jul 9, 2008 9:52:37 AM
Hey Joe I bet Okafor gets that contract or atleast right around there. The one thing people fail to see is that post players are hard to find. The 2 and the 3's are a dime a dozen but a solid Post Player that can control the paint on defense is rare. He will get paid, let's just hope it is in a Bobcat uniform, for the sake of this team having any relevance.
Posted by: Knewton | Jul 9, 2008 9:55:10 AM
he turned down 12 million a year? who does he think he is? 14 points, 10 ten boards and close to 2 blocks. i'm not saying let him go but he's out of his mind if he thinks he's even close to that good.
Posted by: Jason | Jul 9, 2008 10:02:15 AM
Okafor want get more than 10 million from any other team. I know quality post players are hard to find, but Okafor is a slightly above average NBA post player. Here is a list of 4s and 5s that are better than
Okafor:
Brand, Duncan, Garnett, Howard, Bosh ,S. O'neal, Ming, Gasol, R. Wallace, Chandler, West, Oden, Camby, J. O'neal, Horford, Boozer. If i had more time I could probably name a 3 or 4 more.
Okafor is probably the 20th best big man in the NBA. 20th best doesn't get you the money he thinks he deserves.
Posted by: secrulesbig10 | Jul 9, 2008 10:20:03 AM
Joe, Okafor is not an average NBA player. "Average" players don't have career double-doubles. "Average" players don't play some of the best post defense in the NBA.
KN, the idea that Wallace or Carroll is overpaid is wrong.
Wallace at $9.88 mil a year (assuming he doesn't opt out of the last year) is a STEAL compared, to say, Rashard Lewis at $20.5 mil given that Wallace is a better overall player. Hell...Corey Maggette just got 5/$50 mil.
And is Matt Carroll so bad at $5 mil a year when Larry Hughes is getting $13 mil? Or Morris Peterson at $6 mil?
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 9, 2008 10:37:40 AM
Oh, and there's also Marquis Daniels at $7 mil a year. I'll take Carroll any day.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 9, 2008 10:38:07 AM
If the Clips offer him more than $10 million a year, let Okafor go. He is a good undersized center but hardly worth the $12 million a year he turned down from the Bobcats or the god knows how much the Clippers are going to offer him now that they're freaking out. Use the freed-up cap money to make a serious play at Josh Smith.
We 'May' have to suck it this year, get another questionable lottery pick next year, and use 2010's cap room (minus Mohammed, May, and Morrison) to make a serious play at James, Stoudemire, Bosh, or Nowitzki.
Posted by: The Doctor | Jul 9, 2008 10:41:21 AM
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