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**nutmeged3** · 06-01-2007, 09:36 AM

Quote:

New Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said he has the resources and mandate to pursue whatever would help the team.

Including a trade for Kobe Bryant.

"In this business, you go down every road, every dark alley. You shake every bush you can," Higgins said Thursday, when asked about investigating Bryant's availability.

"I don't know what's going on there, obviously," he said of the rift between Bryant and the Lakers, "(But) we're not afraid to go down that road."

He believes Bobcats ownership is prepared to spend for a star, and Bryant is all that with a star's salary: $88.6 million over the next four seasons. Bryant keeps changing signals, but late Wednesday he told the Los Angeles Times he still wants to be traded by the Lakers.

Higgins arrives from the Golden State Warriors, where he had the same title and similar responsibilities. He'll report to managing partner Michael Jordan and executive vice president Bernie Bickerstaff. Higgins said if a transaction -- a trade or a free-agent signing -- can get the Bobcats to the next level, then he's "been assured by ownership we can do that."

Higgins is seemingly making a lateral move -- he was No. 2 behind executive vice president Chris Mullin at Golden State -- but he said he's attracted to the Bobcats' salary-cap flexibility and young roster.

Also, he'll be working for one of his best friends; he and Jordan played together several years with the Chicago Bulls. Higgins befriended him when Jordan was a rookie and the two stayed close.

"He was almost like a roommate," Higgins said. "I owned a townhome, and he bought a townhome about 50 yards away."

He worked for Jordan as assistant general manager, when Jordan ran player-personnel for the Washington Wizards.

Higgins addressed other topics during a teleconference with Charlotte media:

• He thinks the team needs more big men, particularly with the experience to play right away.

• He's reluctant to deal any of the team's young core.

• He acknowledged the Bobcats are talking employment with Coastal Carolina coach (and longtime friend of Jordan) Buzz Peterson. "We look forward to having something done real soon," Higgins said.

LINK

Same thing we've heard for the past year and it's still a I'll believe it when I see it type thing.

**Diable** · 06-01-2007, 12:40 PM

It's all a bunch of noise to me.Until they actually do something I ain't believing a word of it.Of course it's hard to see the FA who really helps this club.I haven't thought about it that much.Rashard Lewis is going to cost way too much relative to his actual value.Carter is making 16 million and doesn't think that's enough

Here's a list of next year's FA's.Only one I can see who'd really fit in with our needs is Morris Peterson who probably wouldn't be that awfully expensive.I would be interested in Ruben Patterson,but I would have trouble rooting for a team that has the league's only registered sex offender.PJ Brown is one of my all time favorites(as a person more than as a player),but likely won't play here if he plays at all and wouldn't be much use to anyone who wasn't a strong playoff team.I just don't see the guy we should target that would definitely make us anything close to a contender.We're going to have some roster spots open.Derek Anderson and McInnis probably don't come back,Voskuhl eh who really cares...I don't even want to think about losing the two obvious guys who are UFA's

Charlotte Bobcats
Restricted: Alan Anderson, Walter Herrmann (T), Ryan Hollins (T)
Unrestricted: Derek Anderson, Primoz Brezec (P), Matt Carroll, Jeff McInnis, Jake Voskuhl (P), Gerald Wallace (P) Limited Salary Protection: Brevin Knight ($1,500,000 salary protection if waived before 7/1/07, thereafter full)

step · 06-02-2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

I just don't see the guy we should target that would definitely make us anything close to a contender.

Indeed.

Great speech and all, but this off season is not the time to be throwing money away. Use the cap space to facilitate trades, I'd be looking at S&T Rashard Lewis (if even possible) at the crazy money he wants ($15M) just to ship him to the Knicks, who would love to have him.

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