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Restricted free agent Raymond Felton and the Charlotte Bobcats are reportedly far apart on a new deal. According to Chris Mannix’s Twitter page, they both want a long term commitment, but are far apart on the money aspect. According to Hoopshype, there’s a qualifying offer worth about $5.5 million on the table.
What could happen, is Felton takes that one year qualifying offer, plays out that year and retests the water as an unrestricted free agent. That would allow him to sign with any team, without the possibility of the Bobcats matching an offer sheet. Another reason it might make sense for Felton is the amount of money available next summer. More teams are expected to have cap room and with big stars like Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade available, many teams will look to guys like Felton as back-up plans if they are unable to land a top tier superstar.
If I was Felton, I’d take the qualifying offer. We’ll just have to wait and see if the Bobcats are willing to give him more money. They will have to, in order to retain him for the long term.
Source: RealGM