With Elton Brand’s departure from Los Angeles, the market for a free agent Power Forward has just skyrocketed. Considering the money available to the Clippers, it appears that at least one player will receive larger contract than they anticipated this off-season. While Emeka Okafor was a priority to for the Bobcats, his price tag may rise considerably with an offer from the Clippers.
If a huge contract is prepared for Okafor by Los Angeles, would Charlotte be able to match it? Would it be wise to do so? If they don’t, what are the alternatives?
At the moment, Charlotte is struggling to find the right Power Forward to compliment Emeka. If he leaves town, that formula is obsolete. The ‘Cats will then need to find a starting Center and Power Forward. It’s going to be hard to find that kind of talent before training camp. Okafor’s departure would likely result in a full reconstruction of the team’s roster. This might be a bit more than Larry Brown had hoped to instigate.
In the case that the Bobcats do match a hefty contract that the Clippers are likely to offer, they risk entering quite a commitment to Okafor after such a disappointing season. He was the face of the franchise during the expansion season, but a lot of faces have left since then. There’s really not a lot of nostalgia around the ‘Cats organization these days. Does he stay or does he go?
On one hand, I've got to believe the reports that the Clips will primarily target Josh Smith. He would be a much better fit at PF for the Clips than Okafor, basically for all the same reasons I've previously suggested that Okafor works better as a C than a PF.
However, free agency does strange things to teams and the Clips are certainly desperate enough for a PF. After Brand spurned them for the 76ers, who knows what could happen
Also, check this link for a great story about the seamy underbelly of agents and NBA free agency: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-brandfal…
The Clippers aren't the smartest run team in the NBA so perhaps they are targeting Okafur. However, Josh Smith makes much more sense for the Clippers. Josh Smith is a very athletic PF who can play some SF. Kaman is the Clippers' big starting center. Kaman can only play center. Kaman and Okafur are too similar to play well together. They are both centers with strengths of rebounding and defense. Neither has much range or diversity on offense.
Why does Charlotte need a power forward to compliment Okafor? Is Okafor so insecure that he needs a PF to tell him that his harcut looks sharp or that he's a great guy? I don't get why his self-esteem is so low.
Haha. Tried to be a smarta$$ and I misspelled "haircut." Pot calling the kettle black. I'll shut up now.
It looks like Andrew Bogut is going to get a huge deal from the Bucks.
Emeka's price is rising day by day. Despite that weak first half of last season, he could still make a killing during these negotiations.
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