Okafor signs 6/72 million contract

[Roscoe Sheed]

HE really isn't that great of a defensive player. I think people overrate him on D, because his offense is subpar- so the thinking is that he must be really good at something, right? Wrong

[miller31time]

I watched a good amount of Bobcats games last season, and from my observations, I noticed that Okafor is a much better offensive player than his coach gave him credit for. He was incredibly mis-used and under-used. He's a very competent offensive player and an upper-tier post defender.

[paul]

I think his offense is underrated a bit and his defense is overrated a bit. He really seems to struggle with big centers, although he may not have to guard them so much anymore I guess. Anyway reasonable signing but it was a big gamble on his part to turn down roughly the same deal last season. I'm a bit surprised they offered him $12m again, particularly as there didn't seem to be a huge market with space for him, provided his production doesn't regress again it should be an ok signing though.

[Relentless88]

12 million is right for a 13/11/2 blocks center who's still improving.

[BobbyLight]

Just out of curosity... How many people who say this is a good deal called the Bogut contract a terrible deal. Bogut only has 60mil promised, the remaining 12 mil in incentives. Looks like Okafor's deal is all guranteed. Their stats are almost EXACTLY the same (with Bogut getting 2 more assists per game than Okafor). So if the Okafor deal is good, the Bogut deal has to look even better.

EDIT:

Bogut's Stats:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrew_bo ... 2head.html

Okafor:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/emeka_oka ... 2head.html

[og15]

I'm a huge Okafor fan and this is definitely not overpaying. This is just the market price for 7 footers who have already shown something and have shown that they can be all stars. I see him being a 20/12/3 BPG big man with outstanding defense. Larry will love him and I'm sure he will get a lot more oppurtunities because of that.

Well Okafor isn't a 7 footer, but outside of that, yea he's a big man that can produce. I don't know if he's "shown he can be an All-Star" though.

[tsherkin]

Okafor re-signed; good for Charlotte, losing him would have been a terrible blow. Now all we can hope is that Brown chooses to emphasize him offensively and encourages and teaches him defensively. Optimistically, I might expect 18/11 and 2+ bpg from him this season, though a more conservative estimate would be basically his career-average production.

As far as injury-prone, the big-time injury he incurred was the result of bulking up too much and putting too much strain on his lower body, something he did at the behest of team management and that had nothing to do with his natural tendencies. 73 games as a rookie and 82 games last year are both sound numbers... and none of his injuries have been especially alarming or signs of an injury-prone body.

Okafor back in Charlotte is a very wise move for the Bobcats.

[Bernman]

I'm a huge Okafor fan and this is definitely not overpaying. This is just the market price for 7 footers who have already shown something and have shown that they can be all stars. I see him being a 20/12/3 BPG big man with outstanding defense. Larry will love him and I'm sure he will get a lot more oppurtunities because of that.

Well Okafor isn't a 7 footer, but outside of that, yea he's a big man that can produce. I don't know if he's "shown he can be an All-Star" though.

og, I'm curious who you think is the better value, Okafor at 6/72 or Bogut at 5/60?

[CBS7]

He's worth every penny if he stays healthy.

[og15]

I'm a huge Okafor fan and this is definitely not overpaying. This is just the market price for 7 footers who have already shown something and have shown that they can be all stars. I see him being a 20/12/3 BPG big man with outstanding defense. Larry will love him and I'm sure he will get a lot more oppurtunities because of that.

Well Okafor isn't a 7 footer, but outside of that, yea he's a big man that can produce. I don't know if he's "shown he can be an All-Star" though.

og, I'm curious who you think is the better value, Okafor at 6/72 or Bogut at 5/60?

I'd say that Bogut is the better value. I had no problems with the Bogut signing, and I liked what I saw from Bogut last season. He improved his shot blocking massively, he was scoring more, especially later in the year. He's not as good a rebounder as Okafor, that is true, but he still grabbed ~10 a game, and Okafor isn't really significantly better defensively. Bogut is also a much much better passer, and one could run an offense from the post/high post through him with his passing skills.

....and that's not even noting that Emeka is two years older than Bogut is.

[Bernman]

I'd say that Bogut is the better value. I had no problems with the Bogut signing, and I liked what I saw from Bogut last season. He improved his shot blocking massively, he was scoring more, especially later in the year. He's not as good a rebounder as Okafor, that is true, but he still grabbed ~10 a game, and Okafor isn't really significantly better defensively. Bogut is also a much much better passer, and one could run an offense from the post/high post through him with his passing skills.

....and that's not even noting that Emeka is two years older than Bogut is.

Thanks, well said. I knew I could count on a unbiased, informed outsider's perspective from you.

[W_HAMILTON]

The only time Okafor has had significant injury problems was his 2nd season, and as someone mentioned, we basically yanked him for the year, rather than force him back to a 20-win team and risk future injury.

He could have returned, but the team wanted to play it safe. Thats' the season everyone uses to say Okafor is injury prone, but it seems like most people don't know the story behind it. He injured his ankle, was out for a little bit, then came back and basically sprained the same ankle again, so they just held him out for precautionary reasons.

[NYKBaller]

they going for a playoff run now, he better play to his potential

[Mr Awesome]

I like this signing. Expect his play to greatly improve under Brown.

[NBAtipoff]

I think this is a smart deal, it's good to see that the Bobcats are willing to spend money. The one thing that concerns me is that fact that he seems injury prone. If healthy, I think he can perform to the standards that this contract sets for him!

[amcoolio]

Okafor was one of the players that quit on Sam Vincent. I wouldn't take last years stats as something serious...they were average, but thats because Okafor and several other players didn't care because they couldn't stand Vincent anymore. That should change with Brown.

Okafor is not a bad offensive player. He has had several 30 point games in his career. As other people have said in this thread, he is mis-ultilized. He can and probably will easily average 18-20 points a game. I think his ceiling is 20-12-2, and thats great considering his defensive strengths.

[Pats19andO]

Great deal for both sides.
If Brown can use him right, hes a 17/11/4 guy.

[doc.end]

I watched a good amount of Bobcats games last season, and from my observations, I noticed that Okafor is a much better offensive player than his coach gave him credit for. He was incredibly mis-used and under-used. He's a very competent offensive player and an upper-tier post defender.

Sam Vincent.

Sam Vincent replaced by Larry Brown - anything can happen.