The Bobcats have acquired 22-year old center Byron Mullens from the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2nd round pick in 2013.  Mullens played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats last year and he averaged 6.5 minutes, 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.  He has now played in 26 games in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 5.3 minutes, 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.  Mullens is only shooting 34% from the floor so far in his NBA career.  This is a good deal for the Bobcats as they need size.  Mullens was a first round pick just a couple of years ago and he has been buried on the depth chart for the Thunder.  It will be interesting to see what he can do when given a real chance.

The Bobcats have signed 25-year old small forward Reggie Williams to a 2-year, $5 million dollar deal.  Williams played in 80 games (9 starts) for the Warriors last year and he averaged 20.3 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 104 games (19 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 23.2 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.  This was a good pickup for the Bobcats, who are likely going to be offensively challenged this year.

UPDATE:  (12/16/2011) – The Bobcats will be without Reggie Williams for the next 6-8 weeks due to knee surgery.

The Bobcats have signed 33-year old power foward Melvin Ely to a 1-year deal.  Ely played in 30 games (2 starts) for the Broncos last year and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 373 games (55 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 16.0 minutes, 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Ely will likely play both power forward and center for the Bobcats in 2011-12.

UPDATE:  (12/23/2011) – The Bobcats have waived Melvin Ely.

The Bobcats have re-signed 24-year old forward Derrick Brown to a 1-year deal.  Brown played in 49 games (1 start) for the Knicks & Bobcats last night and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 106 games (1 start) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 10.5 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Brown will serve as a backup forward for the Bobcats in 2011-12.

The Bobcats took 21-year old, 6’1″, 172 pound point guard Kemba Walker with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft last night.  Walker played in 41 games for Connecticut last year and he averaged 37.6 minutes, 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  Walker played in 111 games in his three years in college and he averaged 32.9 minutes, 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  It will be interesting to see how much P.T. Walker can get at point guard with D.J. Augustin ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Charlotte Bobcats picked 18-year old power forward Bismack Biyombo with the 7th overall pick in the NBA Draft last night.  The 6’9″, 243 pound Biyombo sure talks a good game as he has predicted that he will lead the NBA in both rebounds and blocked shots in the future.  Biyombo played in 28 games in Spain last year and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 7.7 rebounds, 5.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game.  Biyombo played in 78 games in two years in Spain and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game.  It will be interesting to see if Biyombo can back up his big talk or not.

UPDATE:  (12/16/2011) – Bismack Biyombo can’t get out of his contract with his team in Spain.  He will miss the 2011-12 season for the Bobcats.  This is a bad break for the Bobcats.

UPDATE II: (12/19/2011) – Bismack Biyombo has come to a buyout agreement with his team in Spain ($1.3 million bucks), which will allow him to play for the Bobcats this year.

The Charlotte Bobcats have acquired Corey Maggette from the Bucks and the #7 overall pick in tonight’s NBA Draft.  The Bobcats dealt 33-year old SG/SF Stephen Jackson and point guard Shaun Livingston to the Bucks and the Bucks dealt the #19 overall pick tonight to the Kings.  31-year old small forward Corey Maggette might step right into the starting lineup for the Bobcats.  He played in 67 games (18 starts) for the Bucks last year and he averaged 20.9 minutes, 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  Maggette has now played in 777 games (450 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 16.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. 

33-year old SG/SF Stephen Jackson played in 67 games (all starts) for the Bobcats last year and he averaged 35.9 minutes, 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Jackson played in 139 games (all starts) in two years with the Bobcats and he averaged 37.7 minutes, 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Jackson was the best offensive player for the Bobcats since the day he got to Charlotte, so he will be hard to replace.  Shaun Livingston played in 73 games (0 starts) in his only year with the Bobcats in 2010-11 and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. 

The Bucks also got 28-year old point guard Beno Udrih from the Kings in this deal.  The Kings got 31-year old SF/SG John Salmons and the #10 overall pick from the Bucks. 

The Bobcats are in full rebuilding mode now as they now hold the #7 and #9 picks in the first round tonight in the NBA Draft.

Starting power forward Boris Diaw has picked up his player option worth $9 million bucks for the 2011-12 season to return to the Bobcats.  Diaw played in 82 games (all starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.  Diaw has now played in 623 games (433 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 30.5 minutes, 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.  This was a no-brainer for Diaw as he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere  near $9 million bucks on the open market.

The Charlotte Bobcats have signed 24-year old shooting guard Garrett Temple to a 10-day contract.  Temple played in 12 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Bucks & Spurs and he averaged 8.7 minutes, 1.6 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He is only shooting 30.8% (8 of 26) from the floor so far this year.  He has now played in 39 games (4 starts) in parts of two years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.2 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game.  It never hurts to give a guy like Temple a chance, so he might help out the Bobcats.

The Bobcats have waived 25-year old forward Dominic McGuire, 23-year old rookie guard Sherron Collins and 33-year old SG/SG Morris Peterson.  McGuire played in 34 games (4 starts) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 13.2 minutes, 3.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He is the player that the Bobcats will miss the most out of this bunch….but not too much.  Collins played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats this year and he averaged 3.3 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Morris Peterson didn’t get into any games after the deal with the Thunder last week.

UPDATE:  (3/3/2011) – The Bobcats have re-signed Dominic McGuire.  That was probably a smart move after last night’s game against the Nuggets.