The Bobcats have signed 24-year old point guard Shaun Livingston to a 2-year, $7 million dollar deal. He played in 36 games (18 starts) for the Thunder & Wizards last season in which he averaged 22.1 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Livingston has now played in 193 games (79 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.8 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. If Livingston is finally healthy the Bobcats have a steal here as he should be able to beat out D.J. Augustin for the starting job at the point.

The Charlotte Bobcats have traded 27-year old center Tyson Chandler and 22-year old center Alex Ajinca to the Mavericks for 34-year old center Erick Dampier, 29-year old SG/SF Matt Carroll and 34-year old forward Eduardo Najera. Chandler played in 51 games (27 starts) in his only year with the Bobcats and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 6.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Alex Ajinca played in only 6 games (0 starts) last season for the Bobcats in which he averaged 5.0 minutes, 1.7 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. Ajinca played in 37 games (4 starts) in his two years with the Bobcats and he has averaged 5.7 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Erick Dampier played in 55 games (47 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 23.3 minutes, 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 921 games (749 starts) in his 14 years in the NBA and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 7.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. It will be interesting to see if Dampier ever suits up for the Bobcats as his contract is not guaranteed. Matt Carroll played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 4.8 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 351 games (81 starts) in his 7 years in the NBA and he has averaged 18.3 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Carroll can really shoot from long range and that likely appeals to the Bobcats. Eduardo Najera played in 46 games (5 starts) for the Mavericks & Nets last season and he averaged 14.9 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 566 games (85 starts) in his 10 years in the NBA and he has averaged 18.7 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

UPDATE:  (9/14/2010) – The Bobcats have released Erick Dampier after trying to deal him without finding any takers.  I like this trade even less now for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats have signed 25-year old forward Dominic McGuire. Details of the contract have not been released as of yet. McGuire played in 51 games (2 starts) for the Wizards and Kings last season in which he averaged 6.0 minutes, 0.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 200 games (60 starts) in his three years in the NBA and he has averaged 15.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. McGuire likely won’t get much P.T. in 2010-11 but it’s still good to have decent vets on the bench.

The Bobcats have re-signed 23-year old power forward Tyrus Thomas to a 5-year, $40 million dollar deal. Thomas played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 21.7 minutes, 10.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 279 games (95 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 20.4 minutes, 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Bobcats were smart to lock up Thomas because he has a huge upside and Larry Brown seems to bring out the best in him.