by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Despite Michael Jordan’s preseason optimism, things aren’t exactly looking up in Charlotte for the Bobcats. The team is seven games below .500, and Larry Brown is even more miserable than usual.
Luckily for them, it’s trade season in the NBA, and according to the local paper, the team’s top two players are being shopped.
Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace could soon be wearing different uniforms.
The Observer reports:
The Charlotte Bobcats have been gauging the trade value of various players, including co-captains Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace, two NBA sources confirmed Thursday. “I had to get on them at halftime – beg them to play. That’s not what I’m supposed to be doing,’’ Brown said. “No effort, no teamwork, guys don’t run back. They blame it on the referees.’’
With that as a backdrop, Bobcats management is apparently assessing its trade options. The two sources – executives with other NBA teams – spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. “It would not surprise me at all’’ if the Bobcats move one of their top players, one source said. “I will say I think they’re asking for a lot.’’ … “I’d think they’re proposing different scenarios to different teams; maybe 15 or 20,’’ said one of the sources, adding that Chicago and Detroit might be two teams receptive to making a deal.
Jackson and Wallace are owed close to $60 million combined on their current deals, and their respective numbers have taken a noticeable dip this season.
The two big names aren’t the only ones Michael Jordan is looking to unload; the report claims that basically anyone on the roster (with the exception of Tyrus Thomas) could potentially be moved.
