So now what?
A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Emeka Okafor is ready to move on, rather than accept what the Charlotte Bobcats have offered long-term for his services.
The Bobcats can hold on to him for next season, but perhaps the best way to preserve value is to arrange a sign-and-trade. The Bobcats aren’t saying what they’d consider but here are five ideas that might be worth considering now or later:
MIAMI: Does Shawn Marion float your boat? He appears to be available, with a single, $17.8 million season left on his contract. Swapping Okafor (plus another contract) for Marion would make the Bobcats smaller, but more athletic.
CLEVELAND: Remember when the Bobcats signed Anderson Varejao to that offer sheet last season? Predictably the Cavaliers matched it in an instant. But now Varejao’s agent, Dan Fegan, is interested in moving his client to a team that would prioritize re-signing Varejao.
The Bobcats need an athletic, energetic big man, but here’s the rub: Under league rules, the Bobcats couldn’t trade for Varejao until a year has passed from the time of the offer sheet. That means after Dec. 5. It’s possible the Bobcats could wait that long to resolve the Okafor issue, but that’s a long time to sit in limbo with an unhappy star.
GOLDEN STATE: In case you haven’t noticed, the Warriors have some interesting questions regarding their big men. Andris Biedrins is another of those restricted free agents, and Al Harrington ($9.2 million this season, $10 million next season) is very available.
CHICAGO: I’m not so sure that Okafor’s performances against the Bulls would make that team’s management swoon. However, this is a team with a lot of moving parts, a lot of disenchanted employees and cause to think they’d be open to a deal.Luol Deng, another restricted from the class of 2004, would help any team. Would Deng, plus maybe one of three forwards (Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas or Andres Nocioni?) make sense as the basis for a deal?
DALLAS: I don’t have any ideal match here, but have you ever heard of a sign-and-trade scenario that didn’t involve Mark Cuban?
i could see it happening..they drafted a 7'0 footer in the draft , adn already have nazr muhammed...im not sure for how much we would sign okafor for? 12 mill a yr?...and who else would we have to take back if we traded marion?
that would be sweet...i know l.brown isnt too high on felton...he has been a underachiever his entire career, but i would love to have him start for us.
I would love to have him but can we resign him next season? Seems like he's trying to break the bank.
But otherthan price he'd be the prfect fit. With Beasly and Wade scoring the majority of the points all we need a Center for is for shot blocking and reboundng. He can do both plus he can score too.
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"...keep your ish ! don't do me no favors/ Cause when I tell you the truth you gonna call me a hater...."
With Beasley's lack of height at PF, mediocre defense and scoring mentality, a defensive, shot-blocking C is something you always need to put next to him. That's exactly what Okafor is.
I would do this trade in a heartbeat.
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2008-2009 Celtics
PG- Rajon Rondo, Stephon Marbury, Gabe Pruitt
SG- Ray Allen, Eddie House, J.R. Giddens
SF- Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, Bill Walker
PF- Kevin Garnett, Mikki Moore,Leon Powe
C- Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine
Felton's broken jumper wouldn't look too pretty in Miami.
His shot creating ability would. From what I've seen, Felton's got a pretty nice looking jumper that would only improve with the spacing hed get on this roster. He's also capable of shooting off the dribble and getting to the rack, two compliments to Chalmers' game. He's almost the ideal type of PG to be worth sliding in front of Mario while he develops, despite his poor outside shooting numbers.
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Originally Posted by HEATLUNATIC
Anyone thats seen Okafor play should know that he isn't worth anywhere near the $75-80+mill that hes asking for.
Hes a watered down version of Big Ben in his prime.
Save the $$$ for next summer or 2010!
I have a feeling he'd be willing to take less to play in Miami, if that is allowed. I think he's close to as good as we can ask for in a semi-young C next to Beasley and Wade. As has been stated, his strengths and weaknesses mesh well with those of Beasley in the front court.
I think any Heat fan should be ecstatic if we could land him for basically Marion, especially if Felton was involved.
Only thing that scares me is I honestly think we have a shot at Amare in the Summer of '10 (Duh duh DUH). I am shocked by this possibility considering that I thought that Okafor could be Theo Ratliff(76ers version) on steroids for Larry Brown in Charlotte.
Okafor may be ready to move on
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