MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jason Richardson carried them as a scorer the second half of the season, particularly with Gerald Wallace injured much of that span with a concussion and later a groin strain. He had the fourth-most three-pointers (243) in an NBA season.
MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: The Bobcats signed Earl Boykins at mid-season, hoping he'd offer a pop as both a scorer and playmaker. Not much happened, but in Boykins' defense, he hadn't played in over six months and his minutes were sometimes sporadic in what was always a chaotic rotation of point guards. FREE AGENT FOCUS: The major focus is obviously on Emeka Okafor, who becomes a restricted free agent after turning down a long-term contract extension before this season. Okafor already turned down over $12 million a season, and though he says he wants to remain here long-term, it wouldn't be shocking if he signed a one-year qualifying offer to reach unrestricted free agency in July of 2009.
Ryan Hollins, Derek Anderson and Boykins are also free agents and it's a given the Bobcats won't exercise a team option on Othella Harrington for next season. Of those four, restricted free agent Hollins -- a young, athletic, but unpolished, big man -- seems the most likely to return to the Bobcats.
PLAYER NOTES:
--F Adam Morrison, who missed all last season following major knee surgery, could struggle as much as any Bobcat under Larry Brown's defensive expectations. Wings, in Brown's system, are expected both to help in the lane and run out to defend the three-point line. It's hard to imagine Morrison having the quickness and reflexes to do that.
--F Gerald Wallace is a fine defender, but is he Larry Brown's type of defender? Wallace is a risk-taker, looking to turn takeaways into dunks at the other end. Brown typically prefers wings who play more conservatively, staying between the man they're guarding and the basket.
--It will be interesting to see what Brown thinks of Matt Carroll. He has the pluck and the three-point shooting ability Brown values. But he's not a great athlete or someone who can be an above-average defender.
