Hmmm; Larry Brown is the coach of the Bobcats and the Knicks totally screwed him when he was here..... (sic).
(sic)The only way it might work is if there is no way Emeka is re-signing with them and they want to get something back for their efforts...
JUST WANTED T POST THE NEWS WHERE I GOT THE OKAFOR RUMOR FROM
http://www.charlotte.com/507/story/722943.html
Team could lose center without compensation in summer of 2009:
Bobcats, Okafor at an impasse
Sign and trade might be the next step
By Rick Bonnell
[email protected]
As things stand now, Emeka Okafor will be an ex-Charlotte Bobcat by the end of next season, if not sooner.
Negotiations between Okafor and the Bobcats are at an impasse, an informed source told the Observer, with the team offering less now than the $12million-plus annual salary it did a year ago. A restricted free agent, center-forward Okafor now wants a sign-and-trade to another team, the source said, and is not inclined to remain with the Bobcats long-term.
Okafor's alternative would be signing a one-year qualifying offer with Charlotte, worth roughly $7million, then becoming an unrestricted free agent in July 2009.
In that scenario, he could end up signing with another NBA team without the Bobcats receiving compensation for losing the second overall pick in the 2004 draft.
Bobcats management declined comment Monday through spokesman B.J. Evans. General manager Rod Higgins said repeatedly in Las Vegas during this month's summer league that his intent was to retain Okafor long-term.
This impasse is risky for both sides. The Bobcats could lose their best big man, the original cornerstone of the franchise. Okafor averaged a double-double last season (13.8 points., 10.7 rebounds), one of a handful of NBA players to do so. He also led the Bobcats in shots blocked (1.68 per game) and field-goal percentage (53.5 percent).
While he might not be the Bobcats' best player (Jason Richardson averaged 21.8 points), he could be the hardest to replace, as new coach Larry Brown recently acknowledged.
On a team traditionally hurting for defense and rebounding, Okafor is among the NBA's top goalies at the rim.
However, the risk is also Okafor's: If he's unsuccessful in coaxing the Bobcats into a sign-and-trade, he'd play next season for far less than the $12million-plus annual salary the Bobcats offered a year ago.
For the second year in a row, he'd risk injury without a long-term contract (although he was durable enough last season to play all 82 games).
Also, changing teams outside of a trade would sacrifice Okafor's Bird rights, lowering the maximum salary and guaranteed years a team could offer under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.
Regardless, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the negotiations' sensitivity, described Okafor as ?prideful? ? as in resolute.
If Okafor left, the Bobcats' best alternative at center might be Nazr Mohammed. Sean May could also be a factor inside, if he has recovered from microfracture surgery on his right knee.
Okafor, believed to be in New York this summer, could not be reached for comment.
In April, Okafor said he'd like to remain a Bobcat, noting he was the expansion team's first-ever draft pick. However, there were earlier signs he had misgivings.
First, he turned down a deal worth roughly $60million last October. Then, after a game in Utah on March 25 (his fourth straight playing less than 30 minutes), Okafor said he wasn't sure he'd remain a Bobcat.
He had a strained relationship with then-coach Sam Vincent, but firing Vincent and hiring Brown didn't change the contract issues.
Okafor is one of several high picks from the 2004 draft class who haven't signed contract extensions with their original teams. Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Childress is reportedly considering playing in Greece. Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala and Chicago's Luol Deng and Ben Gordon also remain unsigned.