BlogsWhich Free Agents Should the Bobcats Target?
by David Arnott
on Jul 3, 2009 4:00 AM EDT
14 comments
Ron Artest is headed for the Lakers.
Marcin Gortat is gonna hook on with the Mavs.
And Trevor Ariza is closing in on an agreement with the Rockets.
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The Bobcats need to add two players, and, ideally, they will both be better than the current options. At PG, assuming we keep Felton, that would be a player that's better than Dontell Jefferson. Various guys out there who have no business starting, but can back up, include:
Jason Hart
For the backup PF slot, there are, again, plenty of low-cost options who would be better than the current player, who is "no one". Guys who can simply soak up minutes. Expand it to "backup big man", and there are even more options, like Brian Skinner.
Rob Kurz (more of a SF, I guess)
I'm pretty sure none of these guys will get paid anywhere near $5.5 million this upcoming season, which kind of illustrates why giving Felton the QO looks like a bad idea. Not only were a bunch of guys available at both positions for less than $5.5 million combined, but other teams aren't going to want to trade for Felton unless they want him to start for them this year. That said, now that we're committed to Felton's money, it might make sense to trade him for a PF who would cost that much, since we, literally, have no one to back up Diaw adequately.
We can offer the bi-annual exception or the mid-level exception to free agents, but that would push our payroll ever higher, and at the point, I think there's a real question over whether or not it's worth it to spend extra dollars on backup positions, as those are real dollars going out of investors' pockets and into players'.
What say you? Which players does it make most sense to target?
14 comments
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Rubio Headed Back to Spain
So says Rubio's local paper in Barcelona, according to the Pioneer Press.
1 day ago
David Arnott
4 comments
0 recs
1 day ago
David Arnott
3 comments
0 recs
Zach Randolph Traded to Grizzlies
I'd forgotten that Quentin Richardson gets paid almost $9 million per year.
2 days ago
David Arnott
7 comments
0 recs
Pistons Sign Two Free Agents to Big Contracts
5 years. $90 million total. For two players. Would you rather have Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace for the next four years at $23.75 million per year, or Ben Wallace and Charlie Villanueva for the next five years at roughly $18 million per year?
2 days ago
David Arnott
18 comments
0 recs
Leon Powe is Unemployed
As someone who advocated giving Sean May another chance to come back from injury, I'd be crazy not to advocate giving Leon Powe a shot. This upcoming season will be a tough slog, but after that? Whichever team gets him should "redshirt" him for most of this year, hope he contributes down the stretch run, then give him the opportunity to go out and earn a big deal after 2010-11.
Side note: My dad says without hesitation that Leon Powe was by far the best high school basketball player he's ever seen in person.
2 days ago
David Arnott
11 comments
0 recs
Final Call for Fiction Contest Submissions
by David Arnott
on Jun 30, 2009 9:33 PM EDT
1 comment
1 comment | 0 recs
(Optimistic) Back of the Envelope Projection for the Bobcats' 2009-10 Season
by David Arnott
on Jun 30, 2009 12:23 PM EDT
45 comments
Last year, the Charlotte Bobcats finished with a 35-47 record, the best record in team history. The team certainly looked a lot better after trading Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Sean Singletary, but as I've argued before, even though they probably did improve, Dudley was the most valuable player in that trade.
We gave up Shannon Brown, a perfectly decent guard, and Adam Morrison, a useless train wreck in need of repair, for Vladimir Radmanovich, who's probably better in a one to one comparison at the two-guard and the three than either of those guys, but not by that much over Brown. To boot, we're now on the hook for his contract while Morrison most likely will never get another million dollar NBA contract and Shannon Brown will still get paid far less than VladRad to ply his trade somewhere next season. So it goes. Get a small upgrade in talent in exchange for a hit on salary value.
This strategy makes plenty of sense. While everyone else is trying to clear cap space for 2010, we may as well acknowledge that we won't be players in that game and instead try to find bargains among the teams that want to dump talented players signed to longer contracts. The problem is that we didn't really get all that more talented, and now, with the team pushing up against the luxury tax if they use their full mid-level exception, we're pretty much tied to improving the team through the draft unless we can move a large contract... which everyone else is trying to do.
So here's a back of the envelope projection for next season. I'll be optimistic, putting Augustin in the starting lineup instead of Felton, and assigning playing time based on my common sense. Like I said: back of the envelope.
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Southeast Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando
|
59 | 23 | .719 | 0 | Lost 2 |
|
Atlanta
|
47 | 35 | .573 | 12 | Lost 4 |
|
Miami
|
43 | 39 | .524 | 16 | Lost 1 |
|
Charlotte
|
35 | 47 | .426 | 24 | Lost 4 |
|
Washington
|
19 | 63 | .231 | 40 | Lost 2 |
(updated 7.3.2009 at 10:23 PM EDT)
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