It’s been 60 days as of Monday since the Charlotte Bobcats acquired Erick Dampier from Dallas. Which means that as of Monday they can trade him. So their phone is ringing off the hook.
Dampier did not reach a minutes played marker in his contract last season, so his deal is not guaranteed. Waive him and his $13 million contract comes right off the books. Like magic. A lot of teams would like that to get below the luxury tax by doing that. The Bobcats are one of them.
But first, they are looking around to see if there is any trade value for him, as they told the Associated Press. Maybe try to get a point guard to replace Raymond Felton (shipped to New York).
But [Bobcats GM Rod] Higgins is lowering expectations. While saying there’s no “drop dead date” to get a deal done, they may end up simply waiving him.
“The conversations have been had around the league,” Higgins said. “I don’t know if there’s going to be anything that subsequently gets done.”
The Bobcats will not take a player back at more than $5 million, to stay under the tax threshold themselves. So no, the Carmelo Anthony rumors are not true. The financial considerations limit what Charlotte can get back in terms of quality, but it never hurts to ask. I guess.
All of this means Erick Dampier is working out and wondering where he will play next season. And for how much.
“For me, it’s just limbo,” said Dampier, who had arthroscopic knee surgery in May. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
The process to answer that question starts in earnest Monday.
