Bonnell: "midlly interesting article" on Okafor

[dnbman]

tomorrow.

ugh.

He just posted this on the Observer board.

I'm guessing there's big news about to be announced. Considering there's no trade rumor flying around (some source would have leaked, right?), he must have reached an agreement.

Or, Bonnell was serious, and the article is about Okafor's favorite brand of shoes.

[bfer]

http://www.charlotte.com/bobcats/story/722943.html



He is pretty much gone

[dnbman]

Man... I don't know what this is all about from the Bobcat's perspective. I know you don't want to throw crazy cash at the guy, but what could he possibly be demanding?

The only thing I can figure out is his agent has compared Okafor's overall performance to Bogut's, suggesting that Okafor shouldn't get a dollar less than $15M a year, which would definitely make me a little hesitant if I was in management.

I just can't believe a reasonable deal can't get worked out.

[BIGCatBobcat]

Oh well, bye bye Mek. Wish we could have worked something out, but it sounds like it's not going to happen.

[Icky Thump]

Looks like the link moved or something... here is the link that worked for me...

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_th...ext-for-o.html

July 21, 2008
What next for Okafor?

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?

[aznjustice14]

there were two articles...one just disappeared. but yea the other one just went more in depth about why he's not happy. mainly we offered him less than we offered him last year..which would be obvious considering his lowered productivity

[Icky Thump]

I'm not a huge Okafor fan to start with. He has never been as productive as a top 3 pick should be and last season he appeared to play like he didn't care to be playing basketball at all.I wouldn't mind having him here to pair with another offensively talented post player. I know he has some defensive and rebounding ability but I think it's best to move on. He OBVIOUSLY doesn't want to be here and wants too much money for his talent (at least what he has shown thus far).

We have to work a sign and trade NOW. We have to be careful about the money and talent we receive in return though. I'm not real confident given our team's management thus far so who knows how it will all turn out... I suppose there is a small chance something good could happen for us...

Probably would have been a good thing to have drafted a big that can contribute NOW if you wanted to play hardball with Okafor.... Good going management.

[Icky Thump]

there were two articles...one just disappeared. but yea the other one just went more in depth about why he's not happy. mainly we offered him less than we offered him last year..which would be obvious considering his lowered productivity

Strange I never saw that one.... Wonder why the Observer pulled it?

[aznjustice14]

a okafor/wallace/richardson/morrison/may combo for garnett/allen/pierce? hahaha

[Proudiddy]

F*** Okafor. Honestly man, he's not that nice. He's good but not great. Defensively he is a huge presence when he wants to be, but he couldn't improve offensively after working out with Olajuwon. He apparently never really wanted to be here. So be it... We better get something good in return, how about Okafor for Artest and Brad Miller or something like that? I really wish our stupid a** management would have went after Turiaf before all of this crap... Way to go guys! They better make a move or I'm gonna be pissed.