The Bobcats have acquired 36-year old center Theo Ratliff from the Spurs. The Spurs wanted to just get rid of his salary so they pretty much gave him away for nothing. Ratliff played in 21 games (3 starts) for the Spurs this season and he was averaging 8.7 minutes, 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 772 games (507 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.7 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. The Bobcats wanted to improve at rebounding the ball and playing defense and I believe they did with the two trades they made today.

The Bobcats have acquired 23-year old power forward Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls for 30-year old shooting guard Flip Murray, 25-year old point guard Acie Law and a future first round pick. Thomas has played in 29 games (3 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 23.4 minutes, 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Thomas has now played in 254 games (95 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 20.3 minutes, 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Thomas will likely start at power forward for the Bobcats which would make Boris Diaw the sixth man. Flip Murray played in 46 games (1 start) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 21.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Acie Law has played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Warriors and Bobcats and he has averaged 7.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. I love this trade for the Bobcats who might just pass up the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Standings thanks to Tyrus Thomas.

The Bobcats have acquired 31-year old SG/SF Stephen Jackson and 24-year old PG/SG Acie Law from the Warriors for 33-year old SG Raja Bell and 28-year old forward Vladimir Radmanovic. Jackson will bring offense to the Bobcats and they are in dire need of it. He played in 9 games (all starts) for the Warriors this season and he averaged 33.3 minutes, 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Jackson has now played in 608 games (517 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 32.5 minutes, 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Jackson has flown to Orlando and he will play against the Magic tonight for the Bobcats. Acie Law played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Warriors this season and he averaged 13.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 0.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has now played in 116 games (7 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 12.9 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists per game. The Bobcats wouldn’t have made this trade without Law who they think has a nice upside as he was a former first round pick of the Hawks.

Raja Bell has been banged up this season as he has a partially torn ligament in his wrist which could require surgery at some point this season. He played in 5 games (all starts) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 31.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Radmanovic played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 16.6 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

The Bobcats have had such trouble scoring points that this was a good risk as Jackson is a good offensive player. Getting Law back in this trade was a cherry on top of the cake for them. The Bobcats won’t miss the gimpy Bell or the overrated Radmanovic.

The Bobcats have signed 30-year old SG Flip Murray to a 1-year, $1.99 million dollar deal. Murray played in 80 games (2 starts) for the Hawks last season and he averaged 24.7 minutes, 12.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has now played in 412 games (90 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 22.8 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. This was a smart move for the Bobcats as Murray brings offensive firepower off the bench. His main skill is putting the basketball in the basket.

25-year old point guard Raymond Felton has signed a 1-year qualifying offer worth $5.5 million bucks keeping him with the Bobcats for this season. Felton played in 80 games (54 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In four years with the Bobcats, Felton has played in 319 games (289 starts) and he has averaged 35.4 minutes, 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. This might be Felton’s last season in Charlotte as D.J. Augustin might be ready to take over the point soon.