The Charlotte Bobcats signed free agent point guard Shaun Livingston to a two-year, $7 million dollar contract today. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Cats will hold a team option for a third season. Here are links for the AP story and Bonnell’s for the Observer.
Livingston is best known for the horrific knee injury he sustained in 2007 while playing in his third season for the Los Angeles Clippers. Sadly, getting to “S-h-a-u-n L-” in a google search gets you suggestions of “Shaun Livingston” followed by “Shaun Livingston injury”.
After coming into the league straight from high school and seeing limited playing time his first two years, the skinny, 6’7″ point guard had begun to fulfill his potential during the 2006-07 season, averaging 9 points and 5 assists in almost 30 minutes a game.
However, disaster struck on February 26, 2007 as the Clippers were hosting (ironically) the Bobcats. After Raymond Felton made a clean challenge on his breakaway layup attempt, Livingston landed awkwardly. His left knee buckled medially, shredding his ACL and PCL and completely dislocating the joint in the process.
I remember being up late watching that game and cringing. Video is readily available on the internet, as is a particularly gruesome photo that’s worth seeking out if you’ve ever wondered what the distal end of your femur looked like.
Livingston spent the 2007-08 season out of basketball rehabbing. Since then, he has bounced around from the Heat to the Grizzlies to the Thunder before winding up with the Wizards late last season. It was there where Livingston seemed to get his groove back. He played in 26 games down the stretch in Washington’s lost season, starting 18 while averaging 25 minutes, 9 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Prior to today’s signing, the Bulls had shown interest in Livingston this summer, while there was sentiment in Washington that he should be resigned to back up John Wall.
Livingston makes sense for Larry Brown. Whether it’s horrific injuries or horrific off-the-court troubles, LB loves a reclamation project. He also likes long players who see the court well.
And there’s no question that the Cats needed some point guard depth, but Livingston’s signing is curious nonetheless. We now have two backup-quality point guards on the roster, both being paid backup (and not “end of the bench emergency third point guard”) money. I don’t think it’s too pessimistic to say that we are in trouble if we enter this coming season with DJ and Livingston battling it out to be the starter, nor can we realistically afford to pay one of them what they are owed for being the third point guard.
What I’m trying to say is that I think Jordan is still in the market for a starting-caliber point guard, and that the writing may be on the wall for DJ here. Just sayin…
And here’s a couple other tidbits before I hit the sack:
- Here’s a quick note by Bonnell regarding a small hitch in how we can use Dampier’s contract in a subsequent trade. Essentially, Dampier’s contract can be traded anytime, but it can’t be packaged with another player/contract for 60 days.
- Larry Hughes says he’s talked to the Bobcats about returning, but that he’s “waiting for the right situation to come up.” Replace “the right” with “any” and I think the statement will be more accurate…
-Dr. E
POLL : What Should Bobcats Do With Erick Dampier?
- Waive & Save $13 Mill
(16%, 35 Votes) - Waive & Resign
(12%, 26 Votes) - Trade For Point Guard
(55%, 124 Votes) - Trade For Draft Picks (17%, 39 Votes)
Total Voters: 224
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U lucky duck u lol im hoping i can pull it off and take the 2 hour road trip up to the Queen City to see a few games
Cleveland a 50 wins team without LBJ?? Wow not so sure about that RobC. They are at their best a 40 wins team this season. And if MJ anr Rod pull off some bright trades such as putting a scoring big guy on the roster I’m convinced we’ll be able to reach 45 wins/6 to 8 seed in the East. If they make some GREAT trades involving CP3 or Harris or Lawson and a solid 5 like B.Lopez, Nene or Kaman, we will be in the race for the 3/4 seed in the East, given GW stays.
robc-
i agree with your statements about the assets. we have desagana diop. people are saying we can possibly trade him for someone…. like you said anderson verajao. i don't think diop can go for anyone. we were the suckers that took him. you are definitely right. we dont have the right assets, but we have the right environment. we are an upcoming team in the east with a solid, not spectacular, team. we have a great owner, and a great coach, and a great city. look at capt. jack. he loves it here. loves it. and in all seriousness now, i think youre right again about cp3
possible. but unlikely. lets see if mj can work his magic one more time.
I stated that the trade of Dampier and picks would probably not be enough but he cannot be traded along with any other players. He can only be traded alone until after a certain date, i cant remember the date but its like month and half away or something. About the comment someone stated about Gilbert Arenas not keeping up with young guys was completely dumb. Who in this league can keep up with Westbrook and Rose? Noone so just to state Arenas couldnt is irrelevant. Arenas when healthy is a top 6 PG in the league. He is very clutch player, something Bobcats dont have, he can get you 25 5 8 and 2 on every night and Jax and Gerald would still get theirs because Arenas is efficient. Remember when Arenas, Butler and Jamison played together and were all healthy? Team was nice, now if Arenas Jax and Gerald Wallace played together that is better tandem with better big men. Hopefully MJ pulls something off but he might now because LB likes running Diaw and Thomas at 2 bigs spots and he could just play Nazr and Dampier for combined minutes when they have to rest. Oh and dont sleep on Shaun Livingston, word is he is healthy now and he is alot better defender than one would think. He has great court-vision is great leader when ball is in hands. Hopefully he grows out that afro again like he had back in LAC
Chuck,
ai just find it amazing how people can say that the current Bobcats roster can make the playoffs and that Cleveland current team is out of the playoffs just because they lost LBJ. Don’t take me wrong, LBJ was a really low blow to the Cavs, but all it does is take them out of the Championship hunt, not the playoffs.
Also, as you stated, the Bobcats NEED to get a above average bigman, in order to win at least 45 games and try to compete for the 7-8 seed in the East. There is no way a 45 win team will get a 6 seed the next season, too many teams in the East are far better than last season. Also, unfortunately (and I hate to admit this) the Cavs have about $12m in Cap, plus many assets to get better now; this mean they control their future.
On the other hand, the Bobcats can only get better through trades, meaning we depend on other teams agreeing to take what we can give them. Also, out of all your “hipothetical scenarios” Kaman, might be the most real and Denver could be a possibility, only if Melo doesn’t sign his extension. Other than that, the B.Lopez/D.Harris scenario is completly out of the question. What can we offer NJ for them to give us a future All-Star Center (a 20/10 guy), who is being paid as a rookie, plus a former All-Star PG who is finally healthy. The nets don’t need financial flexibility, they have plenty, and that is all the Bobcats can offer right now. Plus anyway, the Nets would be the dumbest team in the world to get rid of Lopez. I can see them giving up D.Harris, but they will never give up B.Lopez unless they get another superstar in return.
Ben,
I'm not saying the Bobcats won't make the playoffs, I'm just saying that they are not a lock for the playoffs as many want to make them look. Also, you confirm my main point, the Bobcats NEED to make at least 2-3 more moves in order to be a lock for the playoffs.
However, I don't understand how you can say that the Knicks and MIlwaukee are not better than last year. Both teams are significantly better than last year. Actually, New Jersey is better than last year. I do agree that this season we will have Tyrus and Jackson from the beginning and that should help, however, the Bobcats need a consistent big man that can play 30 minutes a game and produce at least 8-10ppg and 8-10rpg, other than Tyrus.
Also, I don't think Livingston is the right starting PG for the team, he was an amazing pick, I'm glad we signed him, but he is a downgrade from Felton, and the Bobcats need at least someone like Felton or better. And as crazy as this might look and as many people make it look, I truly believe that if we can get Arenas and McGee from Washington, Larry Brown can make it work and the Bobcats can actually become not only a playoff lock, but also a contender in the East. Larry Brown has proved to be extremely succesful with players that others consider problematic.
Also, unlike New Orleans or Cleveland, Washington is indeed looking for financial flexibility and we have plenty of that. We can offer Boris, Dampier and let's say Carroll, for Arenas and McGee. It is a risky move, but is worth the chance. Of course, that deal would have to be after Sept 15, that Dampier & Carroll can be traded w/other players.
Arenas/DJ
Jackson/Henderson/Livingston (Combo G)
Wallace/Brown/Graham
Thomas/Najera/McGuire (was he ever signed?)
McGee/Nazr/Diop
RobC –
What makes you say the Bobcats won’t be in the playoffs. They have essentially the same team as last year (Tyson didn’t play much at the end of the year, plus we get Tyrus, Jack for the whole year). The Cavs just lost all their talent…their starting lineup will resemble MWilliams-Delonte-Jamison-Hickson-Varejao….so in other words pretty terrible. Two teams would have to leapfrog Charlotte to knock us out of the playoffs, and I can’t see that. The Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, and Sixers aren’t better. Toronto lost Bosh.
You’re a fool if you don’t think we won’t make another move, we’ve never gone 5 months without making a trade and have made a trade an average of every 2 months. Dampier and Diaw are on their way out, and this team will only get better. Shaun Livingston could be the PG we always needed, he’s perfect for LB.
The only teams better then Charlotte now are Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, and maybe Atlanta. Milwaukee isn’t any better and Cleveland certainly isn’t.
I'm starting to like these proposed Washington trades. Since we'd be bailing them out of Arenas' contract and giving them Dampier, why not ask for McGee and Blatche too? We could send them Dampier, DJ, Diop and either Nazr or Diaw. We'll have a very formidable front court rotation with Tyrus, Blatche, McGee, and Naz/Diaw. Who says no?
I couldn't agree more with Ben. With Tyrus, Blatch, McGee, and Nazr the bobcats would have a killer front court as well as an established PG in Arenas.
But if we do the washington trade, I say we try to trade Diaw for Calderon like we were going to before, that way we would have 3 pretty good PG's on the roster.