CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Charlotte Bobcats had pulled off three deals and used an NBA-high 23 players this season. But as the trade deadline came Thursday, they decided to keep impending restricted free agent Raymond Felton.
The starting point guard had been mentioned in numerous trade talks after Charlotte took fellow playmaker D.J. Augustin with the ninth pick in last year's draft. Managing partner Michael Jordan openly discussed last week the dilemma Felton posed with his improved play coupled with the fact he could leave without compensation this summer.But in the end, the Bobcats didn't pull the trigger.
"I think Raymond has shown improvement from what we've seen over the last few years in terms of being that lead guard," general manager Rod Higgins said. "I think coach (Larry) Brown has held him accountable for that improvement as well as holding him accountable for getting our team to the point where we're starting to improve."
The Bobcats have won three of their last four games and are 15-14 since mid-December when the team acquired Raja Bell and Boris Diaw from Phoenix for top scorer Jason Richardson.
Felton, often playing with Augustin in a small backcourt, is averaging 13.7 points and 6.6 assists per game. He nearly had his first triple-double in a win last week over Washington.
So even with Felton's uncertain summer ahead, the Bobcats decided to keep their former first-round pick.
"We've decided that we are obviously not going to do anything in terms of trading," Higgins said. "I think the other part of it is to see how it goes come the summertime, what both sides' goals are. We envision, as Michael has stated, that we will go forward in negotiating."
The Bobcats could match any offer Felton receives in the offseason, or sign him to a one-year qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2010.
Higgins said he fielded calls right until the trade deadline Thursday, but decided against making yet another move.
Earlier this season, Charlotte also acquired Vladimir Radmanovic and DeSagana Diop in separate deals and signed Juwan Howard. All have become part of Brown's rotation as the Bobcats try to make a push for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"The beauty of the deals is we had a chance to change the face of our team," Higgins said. "Couple that with Coach feeling more comfortable with the depth on our team and now having the last 28 games to view it and see how we finish up, we feel comfortable that way."
