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The Shannon Brown reported signing aside (not reported anywhere but a Hoopsworld blog), I think the following snip from today's Hoopsworld morning update says a lot about where we are with the Cats:

Fiscal Responsibility: Things have really come to a halt in the NBA as virtually every GM and executive in the league is either taking a vacation or in China for the Olympics. There are a few guys still milling around the office, but most are taking a break. Although there are still free agents to be signed and deals to be made there is really no urgency to get anything done now, as more and more teams are waiting for the bargain bin. This year more than any other year, the NBA and its teams are being more cautious with the money they are spending and the dollars they are committing long term. Almost none of the hesitation comes from lack of interest in a player, rather fiscal responsibility and fiscal uncertainty. Professional sports are powered by disposable income, and with the current economic climate a lot of teams are not optimistic that this will be a good year financially, especially teams that have been losing money already. As we've covered here at HOOPSWORLD recently, the increases in the salary cap, and all of the numbers it fuels (NBA minimum and Luxury Tax) are not tied to individual team performance, rather global league performance. So when Boston and LA end up in the Finals and ticket and jersey sales go through the roof enough to drive up total revenue, that does not mean Orlando, Milwaukee, Memphis and Minnesota benefit from it. Several executives have confided that they have a fixed operating budget this year, and it differs from team to team, despite teams being able to get close to the $71 million Luxury tax, does not mean they have the authority from ownership. So when you wonder why your team is not spending an extra million more to get a certain player, keep in mind most teams are at or near their budget now, hence why most teams are taking a break and coming back looking for bargains.

MY PREDICTION: The B-Cats are only going to sign a PF if they can find a TOTAL bargain, like a blue-light special and they happen to be in the aisle when the thing goes off type special. Since that rarely happens I expect them to go to camp with the odd collection of junk in the trunk they already have, and only REACT if things get bad in the first month or two of the season.

This team should try to grab Josh Powell now and negotiate a cheap deal with his agent. I mean, he's already got guaranteed money...how much more could he want to play this season?

as of right now the bobcats have Alexis Ajinca, Jermareo Davidson, Ryan Hollins, Sean May, Nazr Mohammed, and Emeka Okafor for the frontcourt.

For right now, I'd go with that for the frontcourt. Powell and any number of the free agents still available...won't really upgrade the frontcourt. I'm not counting Josh Smith, because I don't really see him as being realistically available to the Bobcats (team would have to get a sign and trade, and I'm not sure there is anything here the Hawks would want).

I like Powell a lot, but he's really only ahead of Hollins and Ajinca of those on your list.

With all due respect, I'd place Powell ahead of Davidson also. He technically is behind a "rememberance" of Sean May when he was briefly at his best, but how good can May really be given the type of surgery he had and his history?? This is my point about getting Powell. Ajinca will go to the NBDL for sure...no way he's worthy of any minutes in the real league this year. He needs major time and coaching to hopefully rescue him into a servicable player for next season. Oak and Nazi will man the center spot. But you better have a real player ready at the 4 when May shows he's not able to handle it.

If we could just swing that Wallace for Boozer deal we would be sitting pretty.

Powell would be a great pick up for the CATS..would be a bargin player and one that could turn into a real good big for us..had a breakout season with the CLIPS and even end up starting over 20 games..had respectable numbers..i am sure someone will pick him up why not us..and I would say he would definitely push for a starting PF role here..at worst he would be a consistent backup...lets get him!!!

That's a pretty liberal definition of "breakout." He had 10.7 PER, averaging 5 and 5. Even on the games he started, he was a 10 and 8 player on sub-.500 shooting. He can't block shots either, and murdered even the Clippers' defense. He's a quintessential replacement-level player, which is to say you can get them anywhere.

He may be better than Davidson... but this really just emphasizes how sad this frontcourt is. We have one very good player (Okafor), an average one (Nazr), a good but perpetually injured one (May), and then 4 replacement-level guys, who will probably never amount to anything.

I agree Paydro, that's EXACTLY what we've got, and it's nowhere close to getting us into the playoffs. I talk about Powell, but our best chance is a trade for a quality PF. Hard to see how we pull that off without giving up Crash. Al Harrington is still my primary desired target that is "potentially" on the block, but short of a Carroll or Morrison plus May deal I don't see that happening. We really bit the pooch's bag with our draft pick at 20.

Bassman You hit it on the head... we need to do a trade, but its too late now,so Fazekas or Powell may be the the best thing available.
Its time to look back and get depressed.
Lets think back to draft night. WE traded next years first round pick for "stringbean "at #20 and then picked up weaver in the second round who now is replaced by FA Shannon Brown. We probably could have packaged both picks and fillins and got Al Harrington then. Unless stringbean puts on a hellava lot weight 35-45lbs,we might have to play him as a backup 7 foot #3? I think we screwed up royally. May better be good for 20 minutes 12 points and 8 boards a night or its ByeBye playoffs

Could we all just wait until there´s a bit more proof that Ajinca sucks before we tear down the pick?

Fact is Ajinca sucks NOW. Hopefully he'll develop via the NBDL into an average bench warmer in his 2nd year and then an actual reserve player by his 3rd year. Face it, how many players play as badly as he has coming out of the draft, then miraculously turn it around to become a star? The answer is....NOBODY. People want to look at players like wood..."oh that's hearty stock...look at those lines..just give it time, work it, shape it and it will become a piece of art". No, player advancement above their demonstrated results prior to the draft is typically marginal in most players. The exceptional advancers were already very good (Jordan, Magic, Lebron, Kobe, Deron Williams as examples) and showed exceptional potential even if they didn't have blow-out stats.

The Bobcats grabbed Ajinca based on a workout. That has always been the worst reason to pick any player in the 2nd round, much less a 1ST ROUNDER! I choose to believe all their big-man picks were gone already, EXCEPT FOR ARTHUR. Yet they wussed out and bought the kidney rumor, so no Arthur, who will turn out to be a solid player. Heck, I would have preferred Anderson ahead of AA (if you're not picking Arthur).

Still say the best choice was Lopez, then Chalmers.

Right Again Bassman... Only NOW Bobcats need to make the best of their current situation.. Somehow /Someway we must have another power forward before training camp. I don't think Haslem/Felton is the answer unless we get a veteran point back in return to start or backup Augustine. I think now we have to keep Felton. Even though Wallace is our Best player I believe "crashs" days are numbered. He is going to be injury prone the rest of his short NBA career.
Utah must really want to sign Boozer.... We need a Big 4 240lbs plus 6'10" or bigger who can score and rebound.. Thats why if we cannot trade Wallace to somebody, we need to try for a 2nd tier via FA or trade for 1-5 year veteran with upside to work with the PF rotation we got even if it is Morrison or Carroll we lose.