The Bobcats have lost 28-year old cetner DeSagana Diop for the rest of the season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.  Diop played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats this year and he was averaging 11.3 minutes, 1.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Diop has now played in 74 games (1 start) in three years with the Bobcats and he is averaging 13.9 minutes, 2.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  In those 74 games, Diop has been absolutely brutal from the free throw line where he is only shooting 28.1%.  This is not a big loss to the Bobcats as Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown are both better centers than Diop is.

The Bobcats are likely going to be without starting forward Gerald Wallace for at least a week due to a bone bruise in his left ankle.  Wallace has played in 26 games (all starts) for the Bobcats so far this year and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 16.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  The Bobcats are really going to miss Wallace who is the best overall player on the team because he hustles all out on both ends of the basketball court.

The Bobcats have signed 67-year old Paul Silas to take over as the interim head coach.  Silas last coached in 2004-05 for the Cavaliers in LeBron James’ early days.  Silas has a career regular season record of 355-400 (47%) in his 10 years as a NBA head coach.  Silas is also 13-16 (44.8%) in the post season, but I don’t think he’ll be adding to those numers this year.  This was a good move for the Bobcats as Larry Brown seems to get burned out after staying more than 2 years anywhere.

70-year old head coach Larry Brown has decided to step down as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.  The Bobcats are 9-19 this season and they are 11 games behind the Miami Heat in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.  In Brown’s three years in charge for the Bobcats he was 88-104 (45.8%) during the regular season and 0-4 in the playoffs.  Brown has a NBA career record of 1,098-904 (54.8%) during the regular season in his NBA career and he is 193-100 (51.8%) in the post season.  Brown’s 1,098 career wins has him sixth all-time in wins as a head coach in NBA history.  He is already in the Basketball Hall of Fame and he is the only coach in the history of basketball with a NBA Championship and a NCAA Championship.  The Bobcats have yet to name a successor to Brown.

The Bobcats will be without backup small forward Dominic McGuire for the next six weeks with shin splints. Eduardo Najera & Matt Carroll will likely see a small bump in minutes while McGuire is out of action. McGuire wasn’t expected to have a big role with the Bobcats this season so he won’t be missed too much while he is out of action.

The Bobcats have invited 22-year old point guard Javaris Crittenton to training camp. Crittenton didn’t play at all last season and he was one of the Wizards’ players who was part of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Wizards’ locker room). He has played in 113 games (10 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Hopefully he doesn’t pull a gun on Stephen Jackson this year.

UPDATE: (10/15/2010) – The Bobcats have released Javaris Crittenton.

The Bobcats have invited 28-year old small forward Darius Miles to training camp. Miles last played in the NBA in 2008-09 with the Memphis Grizzlies. Miles has played in 446 games (190 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.3 minutes, 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. If Miles is sound health wise he could help the Bobcats off the bench this year. If he’s not healthy they will just cut him.

The Bobcats have signed 28-year old PF/C Kwame Brown to a 1-year, $1.3 million dollar deal. Brown played in 48 games (1 start) for the Pistons last season and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Brown has now played in 510 games (217 starts) in his nine years in the NBA and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 6.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. This signing has the fingerprints of Michael Jordan all over it as Brown was picked by him with the first overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Wizards. Jordan should adhere to the old adage of learning from past mistakes but he obviously didn’t in this case.

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.