Okafor Extension in the works

[pree]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_23009.shtml

Sorry I haven't been around lately, but Emeka has been working on an extension to stick around in Charlotte. He wants to stay and anticipates it getting done.

[tamburello]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_23009.shtml

Sorry I haven't been around lately, but Emeka has been working on an extension to stick around in Charlotte. He wants to stay and anticipates it getting done.

Us, too. We want to hear about the details of the negotiations, but we also know that Bobcats executives are extremely silent until the deal is all done.

[timang]

thanks for the news pree.

i'm sure we'll be getting it done, but how much do you think will this cost us? what are your thoughts guys...

[ALong13]

I don't see him getting more than what Crash will make, I could see an 7-8 million a year type deal though...

[Mustachio]

i think it will be around 10 to tell you the truth... IF he stays healthy and can play at least 70 games... id give him 10 million and not think twice.

[Slam]

i think it will be around 10 to tell you the truth... IF he stays healthy and can play at least 70 games... id give him 10 million and not think twice.



SNAP!!

Spectre and I were just talking about this last week and around 10 mil per is where I have him at. That was basing him market rate some where around Chandler, Dalembert, Kaman, and Nene who are all young bigs who have had injury concerns in the past.

Of course, I would hate to lose him for the sake of a couple of extra mill a year but an average of 10 per over 6 seems fair to me.

[spectre]

i think it will be around 10 to tell you the truth... IF he stays healthy and can play at least 70 games... id give him 10 million and not think twice.



SNAP!!

Spectre and I were just talking about this last week and around 10 mil per is where I have him at. That was basing him market rate some where around Chandler, Dalembert, Kaman, and Nene who are all young bigs who have had injury concerns in the past.

Of course, I would hate to lose him for the sake of a couple of extra mill a year but an average of 10 per over 6 seems fair to me.


I think he'll get a little more...say averaging 12 per as Mek is a commodity not many teams have and would be in demand. Hopefully for our sakes it appears he's going to be very reasonable.

[Mustachio]

12 is what Howard got and i could see paying Mek that... but i dont think he will.

for some reason people think Howard is much better but i dont see it. Point wise he is better but hes also the number one option on a better team. but the perception that Howard is a much better player may help us when it comes time to pay Oak.

and slam... i dont think Oak would leave if we offered 10 per over 6 do you? thats the beauty of an extension, he wont be able to test the market and drive his price up. I say offer him 10 per over 6, and throw some fluff in there to make him happy and walk away like genuises.

[tamburello]

Howard offers much more offensive potential. If he reaches his peak, he can easily be the "next most dominant" after Shaq. But Okafor is a different type player. He is more defensive, but can improve on offensive and. Either way, Oak's peak is nowhere around Howard's (I hate Howard type players though, but that's the reality in the NBA: Use your body and power, not your basketball fundamental).

I'd just like you to remind the some extension or contracts signed by young and "promising" big fellas recently(excluding Yao and Bosh type All-Stars, they received max extensions):
Dwight Howard: 2007, 80 mils for 5 years(max as well)(starting with 13 mil) (Last season before cont: 17.6 ppg, 12.3 rpg)
Nene: 2006, 60 mils for 6 years(starting with 8 mil) (Last season before cont: 1 game, 0 points)
Chris Kaman: 2006, 52 mils for 5 years(starting with 8.6 mil)(Last season before cont: 11.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg)
Samuel Dalembert: 2005, 64 mils for 6 years(starting with 8.4 mil)
Tyson Chandler: 2005, 63 mils for 6 years(starting with 9 mil)

The 76ers rewarded Dalembert after he averaged 8.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.68 blocked shots. In Chandler's best season before his extension, he averaged 8.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.76 blocked shots.
Even Theo Ratliff was able to get a 3 year 35 millions extension after leading the league in blocked shots in 2004 at the age of 31.

So, how can you even mention numbers like 7-8 million, or 10 millions? Big men always have to be overpaid. Look at the money that those guys get and with which stats they did it. Okafor averaged 14.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg and 2.6 bpg. How can Okafor be satisfied for 10 mil per year? I'm sorry guys but some of your ideas are nothing but funny to me.

We should say "hallelujah" if we can convince him for 13 or 14 millions per year. I hope you'd be right but the numbers that you figured out seem impossible.

Sidenote: Okafor's agent is Jeff Schwartz, who also represents Tyson Chandler and Al Jefferson.

Please don't mention Milicic as a reply to me(3 years 21 millions), he was hapless and desperate to find a new home, if Orlando was able to keep him, they would definitely be happy to pay him 10 mil per year at least.

[Grandmama]

I am with Tam, big me are always, always overpaid. We wont get him for less than 12-13 mil a year on average.

[Slam]

I would suggest that playing only 166 games out of a possible 246 will effect his market rate (see Chandler, Camby, Kaman etc) who all earn around the 10 per mark.

[dav7z]

Slam i agree it should hurt his value some. I dont expect a max contract but it will be close. Im thinking a six year 66milion range. I still think we should get closer to that soft cap max befor we even think of resigning OK50. That means spending about seven milion on a player first... thoughts

[tamburello]

I would suggest that playing only 166 games out of a possible 246 will effect his market rate (see Chandler, Camby, Kaman etc) who all earn around the 10 per mark.


Surely Okafor's being fragile will effect. But what I say is Okafor is much much more better than Chandler and Kaman and also has a greater upside than Camby's current form that earns him a DPOY award. But in this club, everybody suffered from injuries. I guess that shouldn't be only players' fault.

Do you know the Bobcats franchise leader in the games played? Primoz Brezec with 209 games out of possible 264 games. Gerald Wallace played 197 games. Every single player who wore Bobcats jersey had either major or minor injuries. I remember the only exception is Raymond Felton.

As I said above, Nene was injured in the first match of that season, and still was able to get a lucrative contract. Emeka is much more critical to Bobcats than Nene's being critical to Nuggets.

I'm sure you're not examining the players by the matches they played. Or the most-paid player in the NBA history should be AC Green.

[Mustachio]

jesus tamb thats a jaw dropping stat.... Primoz has played more games than any other bobcat... WOW never would have thought that but it makes sense.

and big slam i couldnt have said it any better man.... i love okafor.. hes easily one of my favorites... but his injuries and low offensive numbers scream 10 million per

[spectre]

jesus tamb thats a jaw dropping stat.... Primoz has played more games than any other bobcat... WOW never would have thought that but it makes sense.

and big slam i couldnt have said it any better man.... i love okafor.. hes easily one of my favorites... but his injuries and low offensive numbers scream 10 million per


Firing up "devil's advocate" mode (heh!)...do we let him walk if he wants 13-14?

Before you answer think back to those 15 +/- games he was out at the end of last season. I've always said that Crash was our best player but Mek is our most valuable.

[ziggy]

Firing up "devil's advocate" mode (heh!)...do we let him walk if he wants 13-14?

Before you answer think back to those 15 +/- games he was out at the end of last season. I've always said that Crash was our best player but Mek is our most valuable.

In my opinion we don't let Emeka walk away under any circumstances, even if it means paying him a max contract. If we let him walk over a discrepancy of 3 or 4 million a year, we will still likely have to invest in a max deal for someone to be an inside presence, and they will almost certainly not be as good as Emeka.

my $0.02 :)

[Mustachio]

Firing up "devil's advocate" mode (heh!)...do we let him walk if he wants 13-14?

Before you answer think back to those 15 +/- games he was out at the end of last season. I've always said that Crash was our best player but Mek is our most valuable.

In my opinion we don't let Emeka walk away under any circumstances, even if it means paying him a max contract. If we let him walk over a discrepancy of 3 or 4 million a year, we will still likely have to invest in a max deal for someone to be an inside presence, and they will almost certainly not be as good as Emeka.

my $0.02 :)


i guess it really all depends on the new coaching style.

If Vincents plan doesnt have a need for a post player in the style of Oak then 14 million is too much. and we would use to money to buy the appropriate player. but if he is in the long term Bobcats plan (the likely option of course) then i say they will pay him what it takes.

but like i said earlier, i dont think it will come to that. Okafor doing an extension means he cant truly test the water... the only price structure he can go on is recent similiar big man signins. While WE think Oak is on par with Howards ability and talent, his injury history will likely put him on a Nene or Dalembert pay scale instead.

because its an extension i think we can get him cheaper just because no one can bid for him yet and run the price up.

[Muttley]

Firing up "devil's advocate" mode


Who's got two thumbs and thinks we should keep Emeka?

[qchoops]

My two thumbs are up and that's with my belief being that his contract is certainly going to be a bigger one than Chandler got. Honestly, I could see him getting Ben Wallace type money, and I'd be ok with that. See http://charlottebobcatsblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/lock-down-okafor-now.html to get a better appreciation for just how good Okafor has been.

[pree]

I think it's going to be around 6 years, $55-million, to be honest. The Bobcats are in a bit of a pickle because there are some teams with a lot of cap space and will probably have to overpay to keep Okafor around. At the same time, he's going to have to be reasonable with his injury history.

The good news is that as of now, the Bobcats have something like $20-million under the cap. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but they can more than easily keep him around. The deal for Carroll was a little excessive, IMO, but things should work out just fine with you guys keeping him around.

[spectre]

I think it's going to be around 6 years, $55-million, to be honest. The Bobcats are in a bit of a pickle because there are some teams with a lot of cap space and will probably have to overpay to keep Okafor around. At the same time, he's going to have to be reasonable with his injury history.

The good news is that as of now, the Bobcats have something like $20-million under the cap. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but they can more than easily keep him around. The deal for Carroll was a little excessive, IMO, but things should work out just fine with you guys keeping him around.


Meant to tell you Pree, thanks for the great articles you do for the 'Cats. Much appreciated...esp. during this media blackout we seem to be experiencing.

If we get Mek for 6 yrs 55 million then I'll be ecstatic as I'd consider that a flat out steal! What did Nene' get; wasn't it like 10 average over 6? Mek is better than him and Chandler.

Seriously...Crash AND Mek locked in at those kinds of contracts AND getting JRich (for an 8th pick!!!!) would make this one stellar offseason for us!

[Mustachio]

6 years, 55 million is basically free...or am i just rating Oak too highly?

[timang]

6 years, 55 million is basically free...or am i just rating Oak too highly?


you're still rating him low IMO. hahaha

just can't get enough of his swats....


pay him up! we'll get him reasonably, but we should do it fast! before a nicer offer comes up, hehehe :biggrin:

[qchoops]

Agreed Mustachio: If we kept Mek at 6 years, $55 mil, we'd be criming him.

[dvdbumpus]

Agreed Mustachio: If we kept Mek at 6 years, $55 mil, we'd be criming him.



If he accepted it, it would be one of the biggest steals in the history of the NBA.

[davcbow]

I think Oak is as much part of the heart and soul of the team as Wallace is, he was our first pick in the draft and he has played his heart out and done a fine job for 3 seasons, so we really need to extend his contract for another 6 years because he should be part of its future and playoff runs.

[tamburello]

Recently, Sacramento Kings have signed SG Kevin Martin to a 5 year 55 million contract extension. I guess that amount is giving all of us some general but concrete idea about what an extension for Okafor would cost us. I strongly believe that after that news, we'll be all aware of that keeping Oak for further years is not as easy as we predict. Keep in mind that Martin is a guard while Okafor is a franchise big man.

Still insisting that 13 mil/year to Okafor is bargain for Bobcats.

[Mustachio]

Recently, Sacramento Kings have signed SG Kevin Martin to a 5 year 55 million contract extension. I guess that amount is giving all of us some general but concrete idea about what an extension for Okafor would cost us. I strongly believe that after that news, we'll be all aware of that keeping Oak for further years is not as easy as we predict. Keep in mind that Martin is a guard while Okafor is a franchise big man.

Still insisting that 13 mil/year to Okafor is bargain for Bobcats.


damn tamb... thats not great news. However the bobcats have shown a shrewd negotiating style. Lewis got signed for twice what Crash was signed for.

What i mean is, just because the Kings are stupid... doenst mean the bobcats will be. and thank god for that... cause we could end up like orlando.

I do agree though that IF Meks agent is listening and watching the market (as im sure he is) .. then we wont get Oak at 6 years 55 million.

[tamburello]

What i mean is, just because the Kings are stupid... doenst mean the bobcats will be. and thank god for that... cause we could end up like orlando.

We did a great job on Gerald's negotiations, that's true. However, that never means we'll sign each player under his market value(see Matt Carroll). Kings have trusted Martin, and gave the lucrative contract. After seeing his performance, we'll call him either a tanker or bargain. I believe it's too early to call Kings as stupid. First of all, we need to see the result of negortiations with Okafor.

[davcbow]

Myself if I were Oka I would want to stay with my team Ive been on for 3 years, Id know that the Cats are just a step away this season and next year could be sweet for us pending a backup big, :rock: Id want to help my team get better by agreeing to a smaller contract so maybe they can bring in better bench players to help the team go far in the future playoff runs.
I just hope he thinks the way I do. :g: