Mr.Bottomtooth
10-03-2006, 07:04 PM
Ely takes Bobcats' offer
Forward will stay put, battle for playing time at crowded position
RICK BONNELL
Charlotte restricted free agent Melvin Ely signed a one-year qualifying offer with the team Monday, worth about $3.3 million.Melvin Ely said his heart won out over his head.
Ely chose a one-year, $3 million qualifying offer from the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday over a multiyear contract from the Phoenix Suns. While hardly a bad decision financially, his choice throws him into a crowded pool of power forwards entering training camp today at UNC Wilmington.
Ely, a restricted free agent all summer, doesn't sound rattled by the competition with Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Othella Harrington and Walter Herrmann.
"I know coach's system and I know what he wants," he said. "Why start over somewhere else?"
Coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff had agreed to sign-and-trade scenarios with the Suns and the Golden State Warriors, concerning Ely. The challenge was Ely's agent, Dan Fegan, working out an acceptable contract with one of those teams.
"Both those teams had interest in me, and I'm happy to be loved, but I didn't feel comfortable making a move," Ely said. "There was a crowd last year, too, and I ended up getting time. I don't mind earning it."
Ely played extensively last season, averaging 23.6 minutes in 57 games. He had the best training camp of any Bobcat, Bickerstaff said, and benefited from injuries to other players at his primary position.
Okafor was limited to 26 games by a severe ankle sprain and May was held to 23 games by knee surgery. The situation grew so extreme that small forward Gerald Wallace filled in at power forward, and he wants nothing to do with that again.
Ely signing the qualifying offer means the Bobcats have 16 players under guaranteed contract. The maximum NBA roster is 15, so barring some unlikely two-for-one trade, there's a good chance the Bobcats will eat a contract by the start of the regular season.
Bickerstaff said that's not a concern, in part because they had to get up to a minimum payroll of $39.9 million this season under NBA rules, which Ely's signing helps accomplish.
Ely said he gained 10 pounds of muscle (up to 245 pounds), playing extensively in Las Vegas during the summer with the likes of Kevin Garnett and Antoine Walker. He is probably the Bobcats' best low-post scorer; the issue with him has always been pedestrian rebounding (4.9 per game last season).
"I know I need to be a good rebounder," Ely said. "Do that on this team and you stay on the court."
Forward will stay put, battle for playing time at crowded position
RICK BONNELL
Charlotte restricted free agent Melvin Ely signed a one-year qualifying offer with the team Monday, worth about $3.3 million.Melvin Ely said his heart won out over his head.
Ely chose a one-year, $3 million qualifying offer from the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday over a multiyear contract from the Phoenix Suns. While hardly a bad decision financially, his choice throws him into a crowded pool of power forwards entering training camp today at UNC Wilmington.
Ely, a restricted free agent all summer, doesn't sound rattled by the competition with Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Othella Harrington and Walter Herrmann.
"I know coach's system and I know what he wants," he said. "Why start over somewhere else?"
Coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff had agreed to sign-and-trade scenarios with the Suns and the Golden State Warriors, concerning Ely. The challenge was Ely's agent, Dan Fegan, working out an acceptable contract with one of those teams.
"Both those teams had interest in me, and I'm happy to be loved, but I didn't feel comfortable making a move," Ely said. "There was a crowd last year, too, and I ended up getting time. I don't mind earning it."
Ely played extensively last season, averaging 23.6 minutes in 57 games. He had the best training camp of any Bobcat, Bickerstaff said, and benefited from injuries to other players at his primary position.
Okafor was limited to 26 games by a severe ankle sprain and May was held to 23 games by knee surgery. The situation grew so extreme that small forward Gerald Wallace filled in at power forward, and he wants nothing to do with that again.
Ely signing the qualifying offer means the Bobcats have 16 players under guaranteed contract. The maximum NBA roster is 15, so barring some unlikely two-for-one trade, there's a good chance the Bobcats will eat a contract by the start of the regular season.
Bickerstaff said that's not a concern, in part because they had to get up to a minimum payroll of $39.9 million this season under NBA rules, which Ely's signing helps accomplish.
Ely said he gained 10 pounds of muscle (up to 245 pounds), playing extensively in Las Vegas during the summer with the likes of Kevin Garnett and Antoine Walker. He is probably the Bobcats' best low-post scorer; the issue with him has always been pedestrian rebounding (4.9 per game last season).
"I know I need to be a good rebounder," Ely said. "Do that on this team and you stay on the court."