Al Jefferson to Reportedly Sign With Charlotte Bobcats for $41 Million

Free agent center Al Jefferson is taking his talents from Utah to Charlotte, ESPN reports. Jefferson will sign a three-year deal, worth about $41 million. The Bobcats will make room for Jefferson by saying goodbye to Tyrus Thomas. Per the Charlotte Observer: “Al Jefferson is heading to Charlotte on three-year deal worth estimated $41 million with opt out after Year 2, sources say … After two-day visit in Charlotte and initial indications he’d wait out post-Dwight Howard market, Jefferson and Bobcats struck deal this (morning.) […] Bobcats power forward Tyrus Thomas will be waived under the NBA’s amnesty clause, eliminating $18 million from the Bobcats’ salary cap total over the next two seasons, an informed source said. Jefferson can’t actually sign a contract until at least July 10 under NBA rules. That’s when the league’s annual moratorium on free-agent signings expires and the new salary-cap year begins. Jefferson, who played the last three seasons with the Utah Jazz, has career averages of 16.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 50 percent shooting from the field. At 28, Jefferson has already played nearly 20,000 NBA minutes, having turned pro out of high school in Mississippi in the spring of 2004. Jefferson was in the same draft class as Emeka Okafor, the first draft pick in Bobcats history. Jefferson was originally drafted 15th overall by the Boston Celtics. Over nine NBA seasons he has played for the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Jazz. A 6-10 center-forward, Jefferson’s forte is back-to-the-basket scoring. He’s averaged at least 16 points each of the last seven seasons.”