The Charlotte Bobcats and free agent Gerald Henderson have been looking for a way to bring the star back to the team, but with both sides being unable to come to an agreement, there is a good chance that the franchise will explore sign and trade deals instead and one possible option could be for former Bucks star Monta Ellis.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has reported that a number of teams are interested in Henderson and that a deal could get done in the coming week as the Bobcats try to get Monta Ellis to sign after he opted out with the Bucks. Ellis has said that he is interested in joining the Bobcats and after firing his agent due to the lack of lucrative offers, he may end up agreeing to a sign and trade instead to get a bigger contract. Ellis previously said that his finals four teams were the Mavericks, Kings, Hawks and Bobcats and now reports say that the Bulls are interested as well.
Henderson has reportedly said that he wants around $8.5 to $9.5 million per season, but after the Bobcats signed Al Jefferson to a free agent deal, they may not be willing to shell out that kind of cash for him and could instead try to get Ellis. Rod Higgins, the Bobcats' President of Basketball Operations, previously drafted Ellis while with the Warriors and that could be one reason why they want to sign him and since they added Jefferson, the Bobcats feel they can lure free agents.
Ellis is one of the best pure scorers in the league and last season he averaged 19.2 points, six assists and 3.9 rebounds for the Bucks and he decided to opt out of his six-year, $66 million deal after also rejecting a three-year extension from the team that would likely pay him more than what he will get. Ellis averaged a career-high 25.5 points in 2009 and any team that gets him will be hoping for similar production.
The 25-year-old Henderson could be a way for the Bucks to soften the blow of losing Ellis and they also have signed Jeff Teague to an offer sheet. The Bucks may like Henderson after he averaged 18.9 points per game in 30 appearances after the All-Star break and another option could be the Timberwolves, as Derrick Williams has been on the block all offseason and has been mentioned in a number of trade deals already.