The Charlotte Bobcats have been one of the worst teams in the league since becoming a franchise, but after signing forward Al Jefferson in free agency, things might be starting to look hopeful for the Eastern conference bottom dwellers for the next couple years.
The team tried to sign Monta Ellis and although they missed out, they have more moves to make, including possible sign and trades for Gerald Henderson. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the team is exploring options and some targets are rumored to be the Knicks, Raptors, Timberwolves and the Warriors.
Jefferson agreed to a contract earlier last week in the offseason and the deal finally became official on Wednesday when the NBA moratorium on contracts was lifted. According to ESPN.com, Jefferson was introduced officially on Wednesday and said that he was totally "blown away" by the presentation from the team when they met for two days during the free agency period. Jefferson said that he was excited to sign with the team despite their struggles on the court and that he couldn't even sleep while thinking about signing with the franchise.
Jefferson said the team did a good job at making him feel welcome and wanted and that he also thought the opportunity to play for Michael Jordan was one he didn't want to pass up. The Bobcats also announced that they signed draft pick Cody Zeller after selecting him in the first round with the fourth overall pick and to get the Jefferson deal done, the team used the amnesty clause on Tyrus Thomas, making him a free agent.
The team needed to waive Thomas to help the financial situation to sign Jefferson and the franchise will save over $18 million in salary over the next two seasons. The Bobcats still have moves to make this offseason and president of basketball operations Rod Higgins is planning to meet with free agent Gerald Henderson to start work on getting him back next season as well. Jefferson will help immensely with rebounding and defense next season and he also has a scoring touch, which should help the Bobcats, who ranked just 24th in the league in points per game.
The 28-year-old Jefferson is the highest profile free agent to come to the Bobcats in years and he joins the team after playing the best stretch of basketball in his career while with the Jazz after coming over from the Celtics. The Bobcats have won just 28 games over the past two years and have lost 120 games, but Jefferson is hoping to turn things around. Jefferson said he was excited to work with assistant coach Patrick Ewing and also said that talking with point guard Kemba Walker helped sway his decision. Jefferson led the team in scoring over the past three years, averaging nearly 20 points per game and he also added 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 blocks while missing just nine games.
