A little surprise nobody has posted this article yet since we've been talking about this stuff for the last week. 
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/0112suns0112.html
Charlotte again could play role in landing Kobe
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 12, 2004 12:00 AM
The road to Kobe Bryant always seems to go through Charlotte.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to land Bryant as a rookie in 1996 by dealing Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for his draft rights.
And if the Suns truly have desire to go after the embattled NBA superstar - or other top-level free agents - this summer, their best bet may be dealing with the league's newest franchise - the expansion Charlotte Bobcats.
After trading Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks, the Suns could get as much as $7 million below the projected salary cap of $45 million this summer.
That's assuming they keep both of their first-round draft picks, which could be in the lottery.
To sign a player such as Bryant, the team would have to clear another $7 million or so.
So how do the Bobcats fit in?
The expansion draft.
Each NBA team can protect eight players from the Bobcats in the June expansion draft.
The Suns have 14 players on their roster. Four, Scott Williams, Antonio McDyess, Donnell Harvey and Tom Gugliotta, are unrestricted free agents. Those players are assigned to a separate "pool" and cannot be selected by Charlotte.
With eight of the remaining 10 protected, the Bobcats will have two Phoenix players they could select.
Ed Tapscott, Charlotte executive vice president, has made it clear that his strategy will be to build with young, inexpensive players - not take on high-priced castoffs.
Of course, it's the pricey players who are likely to be left unprotected.
The Suns, for instance, are likely to protect the youngest players on their roster.
Their long-term plan is to add to the nucleus that is now made up of Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson, Casey Jacobsen, Zarko Cabarkapa, Jake Voskuhl and Maciej Lampe.
"That's the key," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We like our core of players, and we're going to develop them. I just hope the fans have a little patience and understand what we're trying to do."
Based on the numbers, the two players likely to be exposed by the Suns in the expansion process are guard Howard Eisley and center Jahidi White.
Eisley, 31, will have three years remaining on his contract after this season. The final year is not guaranteed. He will earn $6.375 million next season and $6.906 million the following season.
White, who will be 28 next month, has only one year left on his deal at $5.884 million.
The Bobcats, following their stated strategy, probably would not take either player.
Here's the catch:
They can be bribed.
It's all perfectly legal and above board.
NBA rules allow teams to offer draft picks and up to $3 million in cash to Charlotte as an incentive to select their player in the expansion draft. Thus, the Suns could offer one of their first-round picks and the cash to the Bobcats to take a player such as Eisley or White off their salary cap.
That number, combined with the money saved on a first-round pick, would put the Suns close to that maximum number needed to shop for free agents.
What's more, it could fit in Charlotte's long-term plan, which is to free up free-agent money for 2006. That's the first season the Bobcats will be allowed to have a full salary cap.
Of course, other teams will be lining up to make offers to the Bobcats this summer, too.
Charlotte is only allowed two-thirds of what other teams get in salary-cap space next season, but the team is allowed to waive players taken in the expansion draft and erase them from their cap.
"I would like to think we'll get some calls on this," Tapscott told the Charlotte Observer earlier this season. "To clean up somebody else's cap, what price could we extract?"
NBA rules don't allow teams to comment on free agents, and Suns President Bryan Colangelo would speak only in general terms about the expansion process.
The team could use it to its advantage, but D'Antoni cautions there are no quick fixes and that the club's priority will continue to be developing its young players.
"Those days are gone," he said of a quick fix. "We have a great opportunity ahead of us, and I just hope the fans appreciate the road, the journey to where we're going."
If it goes through Charlotte and leads to a superstar, they just might.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/0112suns0112.html
Charlotte again could play role in landing Kobe
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 12, 2004 12:00 AM
The road to Kobe Bryant always seems to go through Charlotte.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to land Bryant as a rookie in 1996 by dealing Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for his draft rights.
And if the Suns truly have desire to go after the embattled NBA superstar - or other top-level free agents - this summer, their best bet may be dealing with the league's newest franchise - the expansion Charlotte Bobcats.
After trading Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks, the Suns could get as much as $7 million below the projected salary cap of $45 million this summer.
That's assuming they keep both of their first-round draft picks, which could be in the lottery.
To sign a player such as Bryant, the team would have to clear another $7 million or so.
So how do the Bobcats fit in?
The expansion draft.
Each NBA team can protect eight players from the Bobcats in the June expansion draft.
The Suns have 14 players on their roster. Four, Scott Williams, Antonio McDyess, Donnell Harvey and Tom Gugliotta, are unrestricted free agents. Those players are assigned to a separate "pool" and cannot be selected by Charlotte.
With eight of the remaining 10 protected, the Bobcats will have two Phoenix players they could select.
Ed Tapscott, Charlotte executive vice president, has made it clear that his strategy will be to build with young, inexpensive players - not take on high-priced castoffs.
Of course, it's the pricey players who are likely to be left unprotected.
The Suns, for instance, are likely to protect the youngest players on their roster.
Their long-term plan is to add to the nucleus that is now made up of Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson, Casey Jacobsen, Zarko Cabarkapa, Jake Voskuhl and Maciej Lampe.
"That's the key," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We like our core of players, and we're going to develop them. I just hope the fans have a little patience and understand what we're trying to do."
Based on the numbers, the two players likely to be exposed by the Suns in the expansion process are guard Howard Eisley and center Jahidi White.
Eisley, 31, will have three years remaining on his contract after this season. The final year is not guaranteed. He will earn $6.375 million next season and $6.906 million the following season.
White, who will be 28 next month, has only one year left on his deal at $5.884 million.
The Bobcats, following their stated strategy, probably would not take either player.
Here's the catch:
They can be bribed.
It's all perfectly legal and above board.
NBA rules allow teams to offer draft picks and up to $3 million in cash to Charlotte as an incentive to select their player in the expansion draft. Thus, the Suns could offer one of their first-round picks and the cash to the Bobcats to take a player such as Eisley or White off their salary cap.
That number, combined with the money saved on a first-round pick, would put the Suns close to that maximum number needed to shop for free agents.
What's more, it could fit in Charlotte's long-term plan, which is to free up free-agent money for 2006. That's the first season the Bobcats will be allowed to have a full salary cap.
Of course, other teams will be lining up to make offers to the Bobcats this summer, too.
Charlotte is only allowed two-thirds of what other teams get in salary-cap space next season, but the team is allowed to waive players taken in the expansion draft and erase them from their cap.
"I would like to think we'll get some calls on this," Tapscott told the Charlotte Observer earlier this season. "To clean up somebody else's cap, what price could we extract?"
NBA rules don't allow teams to comment on free agents, and Suns President Bryan Colangelo would speak only in general terms about the expansion process.
The team could use it to its advantage, but D'Antoni cautions there are no quick fixes and that the club's priority will continue to be developing its young players.
"Those days are gone," he said of a quick fix. "We have a great opportunity ahead of us, and I just hope the fans appreciate the road, the journey to where we're going."
If it goes through Charlotte and leads to a superstar, they just might.
