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Al Jefferson is heading to Charlotte on three-year deal $41 million

@Lockedonsports about 1 hour ago


Will be interesting to see how the Jazz do defensively without Al Jefferson. The numbers with Al on the floor were stunningly bad
 
Twin Towers said:
Ya they purposely let go of McRoberts & Mullens so they did not extend the qualifying offer to them.

Diop won't be back for sure.

So really they will have Jefferson, Bismack Biyombo, Haywood, & Cody Zeller now. Not a bad rotation for how horrible they were last year lol.
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Yep I agree. Jefferson & Zeller especially I think could work. Kinda like how Jefferson & Millsap played well together when Millsap was hitting those 15-17 foot jumper all over the place. Impossible to guard IMO if Al learns how to pass.
 
https://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/07/04/bobcats-pay-hefty-price-to-nab-jefferson/?ls=iref:nbahpt3b

From NBA.com staff reports

In a potentially perception-altering move for one of the NBA’s most moribund franchises, the Charlotte Bobcats reached a verbal agreement Wednesday with one of the most sought-after big men after Dwight Howard, Utah’s Al Jefferson, who agreed to a three-year, $40.5 million deal.

The 28-year-old Jefferson was Charlotte’s top priority in free agency, as the Bobcats sought to finally find a low-post presence that would help their perimeter players get move driving and shooting space.

Jefferson will receive $13.5 million in each of the three seasons of the contract. He will have a player option for the third season.

The Bobcats, according to a source, will amnesty forward Tyrus Thomas in order to create enough cap room to sign Jefferson, who will, along with first-round pick Cody Zeller, give Charlotte a bolstered frontcourt next season, along with second-year small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Last season, Byron Mullens (when healthy) was the de facto starting center for Charlotte, notching 41 starts in 53 games played. But the Bobcats also gave playing time in the middle to second-year big man Bismack Biyombo as well as veterans Thomas, Brendan Haywood, DeSagana Diop and Josh McRoberts.

The Bobcats are finally free of Diop, a monumental bust who played in just 92 games over the past four seasons after Charlotte took him off the Dallas’ Mavericks’ hands, and they did not make a qualifying offer to Mullens, setting the forward-center free.

Haywood and Biyombo, who started 65 games last year and will enter his third season, are both on the books at bargain rates for next season. Charlotte signed Haywood before last season after Dallas used the amnesty clause to release him. He’ll be paid $2.05 million by the Bobcats next season. McRoberts is an unrestricted free agent.

The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson is a low-post tactician on the offensive end, but he certainly is no Bill Russell on the defensive end. He averaged 17.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 1.1 bpg last season with the Jazz.

Acquired by Utah from Minnesota in a July, 2010 trade, Jefferson could be the kind of acquisition for Charlotte that Vlade Divac was for Sacramento in 1998, when he left the Charlotte Hornets for the Kings in a free agent deal. With Divac aboard and Chris Webber coming from Washington, the Kings turned their up-to-then terrible fortunes around, becoming one of the league’s most exciting teams.

Charlotte has a way to go to get to that level, but Jefferson’s presence will make things easier for everyone. Averaging 16.4 ppg over nine NBA seasons, Jefferson has never shot less than 49.2 percent from the floor. He offers a creative low-post game that utilizes both hands along with an improved jumper.

Now with four centers on the roster for next season, it will be interesting to see Bobcats owner Michael Jordan’s next move is in a possible attempt to thin out the position and seek help elsewhere for the club.

Jordan has been criticized for poor drafts and seeming unwillingness in recent years to spend money, but in signing Jefferson and eating the final two years and $18 million of Thomas’s contract, Jordan is making a significant investment in trying to turn around the Bobcats’ fortunes. They’ve been the worst team in the league the last two years, with a combined 28-120 record, including a 7-59 season in the Lottery-shortened 2011-12 campaign.

Jefferson averaged 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds last season for the Jazz, who could also lose their other free agent big man, Paul Millsap. The two sides met in the opening minutes of free agency on Monday but Utah did not make an offer to Millsap.

NBA.com’s Jeff Caplan and TNT analyst David Aldridge contributed to this report
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Jazz4ever said:
Al shows you his priorities signing with the lolcats.
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Which goes to prove what I've always said about Big Al - the guy just wants his 15-16 FGA's per game. He'll fit in well with a franchise that doesn't expect to win anything.

I wanted Al to succeed badly; but after getting the opportunity to come on to a 50 win team, replace the primary low post scorer and the dude shows up out of shape - I knew from that moment the writing was on the wall.
 
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orangello said:
My thoughts exactly. Jefferson won't lead a Western Conference team to the playoffs but in the East he can win enough games to seem competitive.
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And that's probably important to a few of these franchises with wobbling public support. They NEED to get better despite the allure of the 2014 draft treasures. Utah has built up a ton of goodwill. And savvy fans knwo exactly what has to happen. We're in a similar position as Boston where there is support for a rebuild and tolerance for a really bad season.
 
Core4 said:
And that's probably important to a few of these franchises with wobbling public support. They NEED to get better despite the allure of the 2014 draft treasures. Utah has built up a ton of goodwill. And savvy fans knwo exactly what has to happen. We're in a similar position as Boston where there is support for a rebuild and tolerance for a really bad season.
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Yep. Outright tankers are Orlando, Philadelphia and Phoenix. Semi or stealth tanker (depending on how FA goes) Utah, Detroit, Atlanta and Sacramento.
 
Well I hope the best for him. Was a great teammate and let's be honest, taught Kanter quite a bit too. However with that said, it's what's best for the Jazz and the young guys on the team.
 
The only question is now that Raja Bell, CJ, and Al are gone, who are the haters going to hate on next?
 
cowhide said:
While I am happy that AL got a new contract with another team, I don't get all the hate for AL. He only had good things to say about being in Utah, he was a mentor to Kanter, he improved his passing and played hard for the most part. Yea his defense sucked and he slowed down the offense. He wasn't a good fit but that doesn't make him a bad person. However, people make it sound like he kill their dog. Some Jazz fans are probably going to boo him when he comes back. And you wonder why people think Jazz fans can be jerks.. I wish AL all the best and hope he helps Bobcats turn around a badly run franchise (which would only benefit the Jazz in the draft). The Jazz are going to miss his scoring and the leader he was.
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i dont hate al the person.
al the basketball player sucks and should stay away from utah jazz basketball.
he is the opposite of utah jazz basketball.

he may not have killed my dog. but he killed utah jazz basketball.
and i love utah jazz basketball more than my dog
 
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