[ESPN / Stein] Sources: Chandler-Okafor deal in works

I would have done the same as the Bobcats. I would want out from under that long-term deal. They essentially blew lotto picks with Sean May, Raymond Felton, and Adam Morrisson. They are losing money left and right and had Okafor, Diaw, Wallace, Diop, & Nazr Mohammed signed through 2012. Wallace & Diop actually have player options for 2013.

It is time for them to tear it down and start over. Unfortunately for them, I doubt they find takers for Diop or Mohammed. I'd expect them to trade Chandler for expiring contracts at the deadline if possible.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/07/28/okafor.chandler.ap/index.html?eref=si_nba

What the heck? The Bobcats trade the better player AND a first round pick? I guess finances trump winning these days.

If that first round pick isn't lottery protected the Hornets may well be adding a very high pick next year.

 

Bobcats are stupid.... they traded a first rounder and Okafor for Chandler... turrible

 

Okafor/Chandler deal complete

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6550883.html

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The New Orleans Hornets have finally found a taker for Tyson Chandler. It took a deal with tinkering Charlotte coach Larry Brown, who was willing to jettison the Bobcats' first draft pick.

Bellaire product Emeka Okafor was dealt to the Hornets on Tuesday for Chandler in a deal involving 26-year-old centers, a trade that brought different financial relief to both teams and hopes they'll thrive under different big men.

The Hornets have been trying to unload the 7-foot-1 Chandler for several months. Last season they sent him to Oklahoma City, but the trade was rescinded after Chandler failed a physical amid concerns aver a lingering toe injury.

Brown was willing to gamble on the injury-prone big man. It comes at the expense of Okafor, who at 6-foot-10 is smaller than Chandler and had trouble guarding the NBA's top big men.

“We looked at this trade as an opportunity to improve our team,” Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said. “Tyson brings that unique level of athleticism in a 7-footer that puts us in a position to compete night in and night out with the other quality centers in the league.”

But the Hornets were intrigued by Okafor's superior rebounding and durability, giving New Orleans a reliable big man with a longer contract as they try to recover from last season's first-round playoff exit.

“Emeka is one of the premier centers in the NBA with All-Star caliber scoring and rebounding averages throughout his career,” Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. “His potential to improve is endless once you put him on the court running with Chris Paul.”

The deal is the fourth trade Charlotte has made since managing partner Michael Jordan hired Brown before last season. Brown, in his record ninth NBA head coaching job, has continued his history of numerous trades to mold the team into his defensive-minded liking.

Now it includes sending the centerpiece of Charlotte's new franchise to the city's old team.

Two years after the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans, the expansion Bobcats took Okafor with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft — after Orlando grabbed Dwight Howard.

Okafor, who won a national championship at Connecticut, had injury problems early in his career. But he has played all 82 games in each of the last two seasons while providing Charlotte with solid, if unspectacular, play.

Okafor averaged 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds last season, but his style didn't mesh with Brown, who. questioned his basketball fire at the end of the season.

Chandler gives the Bobcats a center who can better defend big players and a more athletic player who was often at the receiving end of alley-oop passes from the Hornets' Chris Paul.

But Chandler is coming off surgery, and despite their identical ages, Chandler has played four more seasons than Okafor because he came to the NBA directly from high school in 2001.

“We appreciate what Tyson has done for our club in the past and wish him the best, but our intention this summer was to improve our team and this trade is definitely a positive move in that direction,” Bower said.

Chandler, averaged 8.8 points and 8.7 rebounds in only 45 games last season. He then underwent procedures on his left ankle and toe in May after being ineffective in the first-round series loss to Denver.

The Bobcats were willing to take a chance that Chandler will be fully recovered by the start of next season and pulled the trigger on the deal that brought financial relief to both sides.

For the Hornets, it immediately lowers their payroll would reduce luxury tax payments. Okafor is scheduled to make $10.5 million next season and Chandler $11.8 million. The Hornets entered the week with a payroll of about $78 million, triggering a dollar-for-dollar tax over the NBA's luxury tax threshold of $69.9 million.

But the Bobcats unload a much longer long-term commitment. Okafor still has five years left on a six-year, $72 million deal he signed last year. Chandler would make $12.7 million in a player option in 2010-11, the final season of his deal.

Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, who is looking to sell the team after losing millions of dollars, has ordered management not to reach the luxury tax threshold. Getting Okafor's big contract off the books will help achieve that goal in future seasons.

“We'd like to thank Emeka for all that he has done for this franchise and for serving as the organization's ambassador and first-ever draft pick,” Higgins said. “His hard work and dedication to the Charlotte Bobcats will be missed, and we wish him well with his new team.”

 

Bobcats are stupid why did they trade their 1st rounder? Is it protected?

 

I don't think that article is stating that a first round pick was involved.

Okafor was the Bobcats' first ever draft pick (hence they traded their first draft pick) as he entered the league in 2004, and that was the Bobcats' first year.

 

There is no 1st round pick being traded. You need to read more carefully before posting.

 

I think they were talking about Okafor...not a future pick from what I gather

 

I'm thinking it's just a Center swap. 1st rounder meaning Bobcats' first ever pick.

Please lock or add to the Marc Stein report thread, mods.

Sorry, and thanks.

 

Good point, I stand corrected. RealGM made the same mistake, apparently.

 

done deal

 

I realize you can put this comment in the Lemonade sure taste good on a hot Summer day category, but the Bobcats are going to suck until they get a new owner and new management.

 

So who is on the next bus out of Charlotte in Bob Johnson's firesale?

Gerald Wallace?
Boris Diaw?
Diop?
I am guessing nobody wants Vlad Radmanovich (which in English means "Tim Thomas")?

Is Felton coming back?

 

It's Larry Brown at his best, guys.
When Larry hates somebody, he will get him out of the team.
I don't know why Larry hates Okafor, I like him, but judging from last year's "not trying" comment, I am guessing the hatred is ON.

 

Yes I am serious. How can you not improve significantly from your first year to your 5th? Maybe a big problem is that Okafor has been playing out of position, IMHO he's really a pf in the Duncan mode, although that's not likely to change given that West is in NO. We'll see this season if your assessment of his skills are justified, but personally I see him as just right for his 8 mill contract...a good player, but not really good enough to be considered a star. As far as playing with CP3, I'm not sure what to make of it. Okafor isn't as athletic as Chandler, but then again he's more offensively polished so he can create shots for himself unlike Chandler. Having West in there to draw double teams might make life a lot easier for him.

I think you're really underestimating Chandler. Obviously Chandler had a down year last year, so unless his toe injury continues to plague I expect his numbers to go up. I guess I'm in the minority but I believe overall a healthy Chandler is more or less equal to Okafor. Chandler is really a lot like a lesser version of DH, and that's not a bad thing to have at all.

 

gg bankrupt nba teams.
the hornets and the southwest just got way better.

 

Chandler is like a lesser version of what Ben Wallace used to be. There is no comparison at all between him and Howard. You don't even have to guard Chandler on offense. And actually, Chandler had two "up" years playing with Chris Paul. When he plays on a pathetic team without an all-world PG without an elite shooting PF and WITH a nattering coach who won't shut up even when you do good, we'll see what Chandler really is.

On the other hand, you take Okafor out of the borderline dysfunctional team and put him in the circumstances that benefited Chandler the last 3 seasons, we will see him at his best. The arguably narrow gap in their in their production will widen, maybe by a lot.

 

A straight up trade is already questionable but throwing a first round pick of a team that will surely be in the lottery is down right_____ You guys fill the blank

 

There's gotta be another move to come for Charlotte, a salary dump of Chandler. I'm guessing that the reason they wanted Chandler was because he is easier to trade than Okafor. People are saying that this deal comes from Larry Brown's tinkering, from interviews Brown is saying that he wants Chandler to come off the bench behind Boris Diaw, it sounds like Brown wants no part of Chandler.

 

They can only hope to find a taker for those guys.