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The Golden State Warriors have banished disgruntled forward Stephen Jackson to Charlotte.
In a deal that NBA front-office sources said came together quickly Sunday night and received the needed league approval Monday morning, Golden State sent Jackson and guard Acie Law to the Bobcats in exchange for veteran swingmen Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic.
The teams announced that they completed the deal, first reported by ESPN.com, shortly after 11 a.m. ET.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had long been considered the favorites to land the Warriors' former captain in the wake of Jackson's trade demand late in the summer, when the 31-year-old announced that he hoped to be dealt to the Cavaliers, New York Knicks or one of the three Texas teams.
But ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Bobcats had quietly registered serious interest in Jackson and could not be dismissed as a threat to acquire him.
With its offense badly in need of a boost after failing to reach 80 points in five of its nine games so far -- the Bobcats are averaging an NBA-low 82.4 points per game -- Charlotte has been exchanging proposals with Golden State for some time. But the Bobcats were determined to make the deal without parting with playmaking big man Boris Diaw.
Bobcats coach Larry Brown told ESPN.com that Charlotte's offensive struggles factored heavily into the decision to make the deal.
"I know Stephen, he loves to play, and we've got to make it work out -- and I'm confident it will," Brown told ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan. "Stephen gives us a lot of flexibility, but we lost a lot. Raja's probably as good a defender as there is in the league at his position, and tough, and Vlade was an unbelievable teammate. But you make a trade and hope it helps your team, and you hope it helps the other team, too.
"We are struggling, we can't score," Brown added, "but one of the reasons we're struggling was because Raja and Flip [Murray] were out and missed a lot of time, and Tyson [Chandler] and Boris basically missed all of preseason. Those are four key guys, plus we didn't have rookie camp or summer league, so our rookies are a little behind. So there's a lot of factors, but yeah, we have had problems scoring the ball. We're defending well, but we just can't make a shot."
The Warriors, meanwhile, had reached the point where they felt they had to move Jackson for the first palatable trade offer they could strike in the name of team health, fearful that Jackson's discontent and uncertain future would continue to hang over a group of promising youngsters headlined by Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph.
So Golden State wound up settling for long-term payroll relief in exchange for its former captain and franchise cornerstone as well as some short-term depth to get through the injury loss of Kelenna Azubuike over the weekend.
Bell's $5.3 million contract expires at season's end, while Radmanovic is earning $6.5 million this season and due to earn $6.9 million next season. Jackson is earning $7.7 million this season before starting a three-year contract extension worth nearly $28 million.
Yet it remains to be seen how Jackson will respond to the trade, given that one of his motivations for asking out was the chance to play for a contender.
"He's happy about the trade, delighted about the trade," Jackson's agent, Mark Stevens, told Sheridan. "This is what he wanted, a new start, and this gives him a chance to compete. Plus, he's a huge fan of that team's president, Michael Jordan." Stevens also said Jackson was expected to be in uniform for the Bobcats on Monday night against Orlando.
ESPN.com reported earlier Monday that one scenario Cleveland and Golden State discussed would have involved the signing-and-trading of ex-Cavaliers forward Wally Szczerbiak -- most likely packaged with troubled guard Delonte West -- in a deal for Jackson.
Szczerbiak is a free agent after the Cavs elected not to re-sign him and recently underwent minor knee surgery. But the 32-year-old has not ruled out trying to make a comeback this season and would appear to be fully eligible to be plugged into a deal by the Cavs in a manner similar to Dallas' signing-and-trading of Keith Van Horn in February 2008 in the Mavericks' complicated trade to reacquire Jason Kidd.
But the Cavaliers ultimately decided that they were not ready to go forward with a deal for Jackson so early in the season. Golden State, meanwhile, had only intensified its efforts to find a trade partner in the midst of a 3-6 start and after Stevens harshly criticized Warriors coach Don Nelson in an interview with ESPN.com last week.
In a deal that NBA front-office sources said came together quickly Sunday night and received the needed league approval Monday morning, Golden State sent Jackson and guard Acie Law to the Bobcats in exchange for veteran swingmen Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic.
The teams announced that they completed the deal, first reported by ESPN.com, shortly after 11 a.m. ET.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had long been considered the favorites to land the Warriors' former captain in the wake of Jackson's trade demand late in the summer, when the 31-year-old announced that he hoped to be dealt to the Cavaliers, New York Knicks or one of the three Texas teams.
But ESPN.com reported earlier this month that the Bobcats had quietly registered serious interest in Jackson and could not be dismissed as a threat to acquire him.
With its offense badly in need of a boost after failing to reach 80 points in five of its nine games so far -- the Bobcats are averaging an NBA-low 82.4 points per game -- Charlotte has been exchanging proposals with Golden State for some time. But the Bobcats were determined to make the deal without parting with playmaking big man Boris Diaw.
Bobcats coach Larry Brown told ESPN.com that Charlotte's offensive struggles factored heavily into the decision to make the deal.
"I know Stephen, he loves to play, and we've got to make it work out -- and I'm confident it will," Brown told ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan. "Stephen gives us a lot of flexibility, but we lost a lot. Raja's probably as good a defender as there is in the league at his position, and tough, and Vlade was an unbelievable teammate. But you make a trade and hope it helps your team, and you hope it helps the other team, too.
"We are struggling, we can't score," Brown added, "but one of the reasons we're struggling was because Raja and Flip [Murray] were out and missed a lot of time, and Tyson [Chandler] and Boris basically missed all of preseason. Those are four key guys, plus we didn't have rookie camp or summer league, so our rookies are a little behind. So there's a lot of factors, but yeah, we have had problems scoring the ball. We're defending well, but we just can't make a shot."
The Warriors, meanwhile, had reached the point where they felt they had to move Jackson for the first palatable trade offer they could strike in the name of team health, fearful that Jackson's discontent and uncertain future would continue to hang over a group of promising youngsters headlined by Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph.
So Golden State wound up settling for long-term payroll relief in exchange for its former captain and franchise cornerstone as well as some short-term depth to get through the injury loss of Kelenna Azubuike over the weekend.
Bell's $5.3 million contract expires at season's end, while Radmanovic is earning $6.5 million this season and due to earn $6.9 million next season. Jackson is earning $7.7 million this season before starting a three-year contract extension worth nearly $28 million.
Yet it remains to be seen how Jackson will respond to the trade, given that one of his motivations for asking out was the chance to play for a contender.
"He's happy about the trade, delighted about the trade," Jackson's agent, Mark Stevens, told Sheridan. "This is what he wanted, a new start, and this gives him a chance to compete. Plus, he's a huge fan of that team's president, Michael Jordan." Stevens also said Jackson was expected to be in uniform for the Bobcats on Monday night against Orlando.
ESPN.com reported earlier Monday that one scenario Cleveland and Golden State discussed would have involved the signing-and-trading of ex-Cavaliers forward Wally Szczerbiak -- most likely packaged with troubled guard Delonte West -- in a deal for Jackson.
Szczerbiak is a free agent after the Cavs elected not to re-sign him and recently underwent minor knee surgery. But the 32-year-old has not ruled out trying to make a comeback this season and would appear to be fully eligible to be plugged into a deal by the Cavs in a manner similar to Dallas' signing-and-trading of Keith Van Horn in February 2008 in the Mavericks' complicated trade to reacquire Jason Kidd.
But the Cavaliers ultimately decided that they were not ready to go forward with a deal for Jackson so early in the season. Golden State, meanwhile, had only intensified its efforts to find a trade partner in the midst of a 3-6 start and after Stevens harshly criticized Warriors coach Don Nelson in an interview with ESPN.com last week.
