Higgins "Bobcats Will Sign Max-Level Free Agent"

[carolina-chuck]

nope

MJ will be all over him in the offseason. It'll be up to CP3 to make the decision if he wants to come home or play in LA. But like I said, the big news will be MJ being all over CP3.

[ZB1224]

MJ will be all over him in the offseason. It'll be up to CP3 to make the decision if he wants to come home or play in LA. But like I said, the big news will be MJ being all over CP3.

Lol MJ might be all over CP3, but why would CP3 want to leave the Clippers to come play for Charlotte and play with a bunch of scrubs? Hometown side... he wouldn't even consider it imo.

[ZB1224]

http://www.hoopsworl...ba-free-agents/

Thats a monster fa class with tons of max guys. No telling what othr players are going to be available via trade.

Max contract guys

Chris Paul

Dwight Howard

Andrew Bynum

2nd tier players that don't deserve the max (based on production over the years)

Brandon Jennings

Iggy

Ellis

Kevin Martin

Josh Smith

Davis West

Paul Milsap

Al Jefferson

Pekovic

I honestly only see 3 max contract worthy players here. Players like Iggy, Smith, Milsap, and Jefferson are definitely worthy of nice contracts, but none of them deserve the max unless you want to strap yourself with bad contracts for the next half decade (which in turn limits your ability to get better). I would absolutely love to get Jefferson (really the only player that I want from that 2nd tier list besides maybe Milsap, Pek, or West). Jefferson is still young, can average 20/10 and is pretty efficient for the most part. Milsap is a guy that can get you 15/8 pretty efficiently, West is a guy that can get ya 17-18 ppg and 7-8 rpg, and he's also pretty efficient. Lastly, I would like to have Pek, but I'm pretty sure he's got a team option and is restricted anyways... don't see Minny letting him go any time soon.

tl;dr: don't want us the strap ourselves with bad contracts and be the Bobcats of old competing for 8 seeds (there is a reason we decided to rebuild).

[Captain Morgan]

" The Bobcats did chase free agents last summer, and ended up with point guard Ramon Sessions. Sessions and Kemba Walker have been the most productive Bobcats the first half of this season. Sessions has been a bargain at a total $10 million this season and next.

Higgins also pursued veteran power forwards Kris Humphries and Antawn Jamison. Humphries re-signed with the Nets and Jamison passed on a Charlotte homecoming to chase a title with the Lakers.

Obviously the Bobcats need help inside – rebounders and post scorers, either at power forward or center. Cho said in that Observer interview the team would definitely address the rebounding problem, whether at the trade deadline or over the summer.

There are some intriguing free agents at those positions starting in July. Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Indiana’s David West, Portland’s J.J. Hickson and Utah’s Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are all unrestricted free agents. Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic is a restricted free agent on a team already paying big for Kevin Love and planning for how to pay point guard Ricky Rubio down the road.

Would any of those guys sign with the Bobcats? No telling, but Higgins' email suggests the cap space and will are in place to make a pitch or two. "

any of those big guys look good to me

[Carl Spackler]

Chris Paul is not coming to the Bobcats. Forget about it. I guarantee 100% he will not sign with Charlotte, and you're welcome to bet me on it.

Why would he? Our only position where we have it figured out is PG. I know you and some others hate the fact Kemba is doing a great job and is averaging 18/6/3 per game, but he's our PG of the future.

This would be like people on the Panthers forum pining for Joe Flacco to come to Charlotte.

[d-run]

There are some intriguing free agents at those positions starting in July. Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Indiana’s David West, Portland’s J.J. Hickson and Utah’s Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are all unrestricted free agents. Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic is a restricted free agent on a team already paying big for Kevin Love and planning for how to pay point guard Ricky Rubio down the road.

QFT

This FA class has lots of good bigs. Sign Pekovic, Millsap, Jefferson or Hickson and draft best available player. I would take Pekovic over the lot. That dude is a beast, tough as nails and still young (just turned 27). We are going to have to overpay for whoever we get though, just how it goes.

[TheMaulClaw]

So what's the point of signing Chris Paul? Who is he going to distribute the ball too? We need bigs....bottom line. We can't defend the post. That's priority number 1.

[Captain Morgan]

QFT

This FA class has lots of good bigs. Sign Pekovic, Millsap, Jefferson or Hickson and draft best available player. I would take Pekovic over the lot. That dude is a beast, tough as nails and still young (just turned 27). We are going to have to overpay for whoever we get though, just how it goes.

would love to get him and McLemore in the draft. There are guys on this board saying that we should suck again next year and hope to get a Wiggins type player.

I think we're closer than people think. You have to remember how young we are...is MKG 20 yet?

Kemba will be entering his third year and has shown a ton of impovement. McLemore is perfect for Kemba and will make him even better with someone to kick out to.

That gives us the small 3 positions filled, and with a talented big like Pek (who we can afford if we can get him to come), we have a young talented squad that will only get better. Not to mention if we get Portland's pick this year, and it looks like we might, we can draft the best available rebounder.

Future looks bright...not to mention Detroit owes us a pic, and it's looking like we'll get a lottery pick

within 3 seasons from them. Let's go and try to win next season, give our first to Chicago we owe them, get a higher pick from Detroit possibly next season...and all of a sudden we're building depth.

Not to mention even more cap space opening up in a couple of years when Thomas gets released. Then we can afford to pay the young guys.

I'm excited. and I don't want us to suck next year. enough is enough

[theyhateme45]

Just saying you want to sign a max level Free agent does not make it reality. There have been a lot of small market teams that wanted to sign top level free agents but they could not. What does happen is smaller market teams over spending for a non-max level player.

Also it will be MUCH MUCH harder this season to sign free agents whose current teams wants to keep them... Why? No more sign and trade, therefore all these players current teams can offer them more $$$ and longer contracts. SO leaving their current teams will require a pay cut.

Since these teams can't get anything in the form of sign and trade I believe most of these players whom they don't plan to resign will be traded before the trading deadline this year.

[carpanfan96]

Lux tax will prevent teams from signing some players. Also those that get traded will be cheap.

[cbarrier90]

Chris Paul is not coming to the Bobcats. Forget about it. I guarantee 100% he will not sign with Charlotte, and you're welcome to bet me on it.

Why would he? Our only position where we have it figured out is PG. I know you and some others hate the fact Kemba is doing a great job and is averaging 18/6/3 per game, but he's our PG of the future.

This would be like people on the Panthers forum pining for Joe Flacco to come to Charlotte.

Flacco? More like Aaron Rodgers.

[Darknight]

If the bobcats wanted to, they can use the Amnesty clause and release Tyrus Thomas and his salary will no longer count towards their cap.

[Zaximus]

I'd love to get TWO of those bigs, honestly. I think it can be done. I doubt CP3 comes here, and plus, we have Kemba (stated above). We need some toughness down low. Biz isn't a starter, but I wouldn't mind him coming in as a firestarter for Hickson/Jefferson etc.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

why the fug would we want Chris Paul? That isn't even near a position of need. Kemba and Sessions are fine at PG. Plus Paul's leg suck. Could hardly even bowl in his bowling thingy on tv