Charlotte Hornets Blog – Page 37 – NBA Blog

Gerald Henderson to stay with Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats and shooting guard Gerald Henderson have agreed in principle to a three-year, $18 million contract extension, a knowledgeable source confirmed Friday night.

The deal, first reported by Yahoo Sports, will give shooting guard Henderson the option to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 season.

A restricted free agent, Henderson was second on the Bobcats in scoring last season at 15.5 points per game. He finished strong, averaging 23.9 points over the last 23 games, on 48 percent shooting from the field and 86 percent from the foul line.

Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats 2013-14 preseason schedule info

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield today announced the Bobcats will play regional home contests in Asheville and Greensboro, N.C., as part of the team’s 2013 preseason schedule. The Bobcats will take on the Atlanta Hawks on October 8 at Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Center and host the Dallas Mavericks on October 19 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Both games, which are presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

“We are constantly looking for ways to bring Bobcats basketball to cities across the Carolinas as we continue to build our fan base regionally,” said Whitfield. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to showcase our team in a pair of great markets like Asheville and Greensboro.”

The game in Asheville will be the team’s first preseason contest in the city, while the club will host a game in Greensboro for the third time.

NBA owners expected to give Bobcats OK to change name to Charlotte Hornets

The NBA’s rubber stamp will hit the Charlotte Bobcats’ request for a name change to the Hornets at a Board of Governor’s meeting Thursday at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas.

The Bobcats technically need approval from a majority of the league’s other 29 teams to take on the name of Charlotte’s original NBA team. But it’s clear there won’t be resistance, after the New Orleans franchise gave up that nickname to be called the Pelicans.

Incoming NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said twice during visits to Charlotte that he is for this name change if Bobcats owner Michael Jordan wants it. And outgoing Commissioner David Stern advocated a name change, according to a source familiar with Stern’s thinking.

Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Larry Jordan, brother of Michael Jordan, named Bobcats director of player personnel

Larry Jordan, older brother of Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, is being promoted to the team’s director of player personnel, a team spokesman confirmed Tuesday night.

The promotion of Larry Jordan, previously holding the title of director of special projects, was first reported by Yahoo Sports.

Jordan, who would report to team president of basketball operations Rod Higgins and general manager Rich Cho, is in Las Vegas this week for the Bobcats’ participation in summer league. He’ll be doing various scouting assignments in this new job.

Reported by the Charlotte Observer

Kemba Walker helped convince Al Jefferson to sign with Bobcats

Big Al is headed to Charlotte after three seasons with the Jazz and, by looks of it, one man in particular swayed his decision.

Kemba Walker, the Bobcats’ starting point guard and go-to scorer, scouted Al Jefferson this offseason, according to the Charlotte Observer. Walker envisioned Jefferson capably filling Charlotte’s low-post needs, and with trust in their second-year point guard, the Bobcats encouraged Walker to reach out the Utah Jazz free agent.

With the go-ahead from his team, Walker met with Jefferson in New York to hopefully persuade the big man to consider Charlotte. Apparently it worked, that or the three-year, $41 million contract was too good to pass up.

Reported by Whitney O’Bannon of the Deseret News

Jeff Taylor bulks up, gets into good shape

Charlotte Bobcats guard-forward Jeff Taylor had a weight problem. Just not the kind most of us experience.

After traveling around the country last spring for predraft workouts, he wasn’t himself. He had dropped about 15 pounds from his playing weight at Vanderbilt and he never gained it back during his rookie season.

“Last year I felt weak and never had a chance to build back up,” Taylor said at a practice Saturday on UNLV’s campus. “During the season it’s hard to start gaining weight.”

Last season the 6-foot-7 Taylor was down to 208 pounds. Now he’s back up to 222, and he’s performing better.

Reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer

Charlotte Bobcats re-sign Josh McRoberts

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has re-signed forward Josh McRoberts.

“Josh is a quality big man who can both score and distribute the ball, and he was integral in our improvement late last season,” Higgins said. “In addition to his play on the floor, he provided a strong presence and example for our younger players. We are happy to have him back on our team.”

The Bobcats acquired the 6-10 McRoberts from the Orlando Magic on February 21, 2013 in exchange for forward Hakim Warrick. McRoberts appeared in 26 games with the team last season, averaging 9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.

A six-year NBA veteran, McRoberts was the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He has played in 272 career games with the Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, L.A. Lakers, Orlando Magic and Bobcats, posting averages of 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.0 minutes per game.

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.

Charlotte Bobcats waive Tyrus Thomas via amnesty clause

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has requested waivers on forward Tyrus Thomas, designating him as the team’s amnesty player. The one-time amnesty provision allows a team to waive a player and not have his salary count against the salary cap or luxury tax.

The Bobcats originally acquired Thomas from the Chicago Bulls on February 18, 2010 in exchange for Acie Law, Ronald “Flip” Murray and a future first-round draft pick. Thomas appeared in 26 games with the team last season averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes.

A seven-year NBA veteran, the 6-10 Thomas has played in 400 career games with the Bulls and Bobcats, posting averages of 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 19.8 minutes.

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.

Charlotte Bobcats sign Al Jefferson

It took a while, but the Charlotte Bobcats finally have a big guy that can play some basketball.

Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed free agent center Al Jefferson.

“We are ecstatic to add Al to our roster,” Higgins said. “He gives us a low post presence that we have not had on our roster and brings a skill set that does not become available very often. He is a veteran leader who helps his teammates get better, but at the same time he is only 28 years old so he can be part of the core of this franchise for several years to come.”

The 15th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, the 6-10 Jefferson has played in 628 games for the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz during his nine-year career. He has career averages of 16.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocks in 30.6 minutes, while shooting .500 from the field.

Jefferson is one of only two players in the NBA to have averaged at least 17.0 points and at least 9.0 rebounds in each of the last six seasons, joining Dwight Howard in doing so. No other player has posted those averages in more than four of the last six campaigns.

Over his last three seasons, all with Utah, Jefferson missed just nine regular season games, playing in 221 of a possible 230 contests. During that span, he averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 blocks in 34.4 minutes, while shooting .494 from the field and .767 from the free-throw line. He has finished the season in the NBA’s top 10 in defensive rebounds in each of the three seasons and has been among the league’s top eight in field goals in each of the last two years.

Last season with the Jazz, Jefferson averaged 17.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steal in 33.1 minutes played. He led all NBA centers in field goals, ranked second among NBA centers in scoring average and ranked fourth among NBA centers in defensive rebounds, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Al Jefferson to join Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats have been trying to put themselves on the NBA map for a long time. For far too long, they’ve been a doormat, suffering big loss after big loss. And apparently they’ve had enough. And will now overpay a bit to get a big guy who can score and rebound in a Charlotte jersey.

Free-agent big man Al Jefferson is headed to the Charlotte Bobcats, according to sources close to the process.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Utah Jazz center, after a two-day visit with the Bobcats, has verbally agreed to a three-year contract with Charlotte worth an estimated $41 million.

The deal contains a player option in Jefferson’s contract after the second year, sources said.

Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com