Hooped Up

Another van glorious season of NBA basketball is about to begin and Hooped Up does a quick and dirty preview of all 30 clubs.

Head coach Larry Brown is known for making a non contender a playoff bound team, and that’s exactly what he’ll try to do again in his second year in Charlotte. The Bobcats made a big move this summer trading Emeka Okafor for the more athletic Tyson Chandler, but will that be enough for the Bobcats to finally make it into the playoffs for the first time? Probably not. Read More »

Restricted free agency is only getting tougher, and Bobcats guard Raymond Felton is the latest to figure that out. After discussing a long-term deal last week, talks between Felton and Charlotte have broken down, and multiple sources now say that rather than continuing negotiations, Felton will simply sign the one-year, $5.5 million qualifying offer put forth by the Bobcats.

That will allow Felton to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, putting another name into the already deep pool of 2010 free-agent players. In the meantime, Felton will look to boost his value with a good season.

Sporting News

Larry Brown likes his players for 10 minutes then he wants to trade them.  It’s a good thing nobody ever bought him a Pony when he was a child for his birthday like he repeatedly asked for, because the same thing would have happened.

“Could Raymond Felton end up a Golden State Warrior, in a trade that might acquire Anthony Randolph or Brandan Wright? The Warriors and Bobcats have had discussions about Felton, an NBA source told the Observer, and the Warriors appear open to giving up either Randolph or Wright to make a deal work. Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins would neither confirm, nor deny, talks with the Warriors involving Felton. Higgins came to the Bobcats two years ago from a similar role with the Warriors.”

Charlotte Observer