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.

The Bobcats have not done enough this off-season to improve the team. Larry Brown likes defense and that was the reasoning for the trade of Emeka Okafor bringing in Tyson Chandler. Chandler’s game is defense and rebounding but where will the Bobcats get points from this season? That is a good question that wasn’t answered in the NBA Draft when the Bobcats selected SG Gerald Henderson and forward Derrick Brown who are both known more for their defense. The Bobcats did let former first round pick Sean May leave the team to join the Kings as a free agent. He won’t be missed.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE THIS OFF-SEASON SO FAR: D

The Bobcats have traded 26-year old center Emeka Okafor to the Hornets for 26-year old center Tyson Chandler. Okafor played in 82 games (81 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 13.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. In 5 seasons with the Bobcats, Okafor played in 330 games (326 starts) in which he averaged 34.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. The bottom line in this deal is that Chandler’s contract is for less cash and years and that’s why this trade was made as Okafor is a vastly superior basketball player. The 7’1″, 235 pound Chandler played in 45 games last season for the Hornets and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 8.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Chandler has now played in 537 games (364 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 8.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Bobcats defense might have got better with this trade but they aren’t a better basketball team because of it.

The Bobcats selected another solid and experienced player in Derrick Brown of Xavier. Brown played three years at Xavier appearing in 106 games in which he averaged 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Brown will be a back up on the Bobcats this season but he could develop into more than that down the road.

The Bobcats got themselves another good athlete when they selected 21-year old shooting guard Gerald Henderson with the 12th pick in the NBA Draft last night. Henderson played in 103 games in three years at Duke in which he averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Henderson is a player with a good motor as he always plays hard especially on the defensive end of the floor. This was a good pick for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats have added guard Donell Taylor and forwards Andre Brown and Marcus Williams to the training camp roster with the hope that they can help out this season off the bench. 26-year old Taylor played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Taylor has now played in 98 games (2 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 8.5 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. 27-year old Andre Brown is a talented guy that hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he can do in the NBA. Brown played in 33 games (1 start) with the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 8.7 minutes, 3.0 points. 2.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Brown has now played in 71 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he has averaged 7.8 minutes, 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Brown is a paint player as he has made 53.3% of his field goal attempts but only 48.4% of his free throws. 21-year old Marcus Williams didn’t do much as a rookie last season for the Clippers and Spurs. He played in 11 games (0 starts) and he averaged 3.3 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. These three guys have some talent and they could help the Bobcats out next season off of the bench.