NBA Turns Down Charlotte Bobcats’ Proposed Free-Agent Camp


Since Summer League might not happen this year, Paul Silas and the Bobcats thought about having some sort of free-agent camp prior to July 1st. The NBA shut the idea down. From the AP: “With the NBA looking at a potential lockout that would wipe out July’s summer leagues, the Charlotte Bobcats thought they found a way to still get a look at young players and free agents. The league had other ideas. Coach Paul Silas said Tuesday night the NBA turned down Charlotte’s plans to host a multi-team, free-agent camp after this month’s draft and before the collective bargaining agreement expires July 1. The Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks were scheduled to bring free agents and possibly draft picks to Time Warner Cable Arena. The teams had even reserved hotel rooms for the series of workouts and scrimmages on two courts at the facility before plans changed. ‘The league wouldn’t let us do it,’ Silas said. NBA spokesman Tim Frank said it would have been too similar to July’s summer leagues, which are normally held next month in Las Vegas and Orlando. The Bobcats fielded a team in Orlando last year. ‘With what the teams wanted to do, it was really acting as a summer league,’ Frank said. ‘No summer leagues are permitted to be run until after July 1.'”