FanHouse Seanmay

A month ago, Charlotte declined to offer Sean May a scheduled $3.6 million contract for his fifth NBA season, a smart move given May's history of maladies and recent lack of fitness. Last preseason, Bobcats coach Larry Brown famously told reporters that while May tried hard to get in shape a year after devastating microfracture surgery, he just couldn't get there. May ended up playing only 300 minutes for a post-starved team last year.

But May has reportedly lost 20 pounds since season's end, and he spent last week working out for a few teams in Las Vegas. The Kings liked what they saw, and announced today they have signed the former Tar Heel to a contract. No word on length or largess, though the rumor has been one year at the league minimum salary of less than $900,000.

Free-agent time should be like Christmas for these under-30 former first-round picks. If they had played better, stayed healthy or fulfilled their potential, they would be cashing in on new contracts or contract extensions. Instead they are fighting for their NBA lives, afterthoughts in free-agent time, hoping to find one interested team for another opportunity to stay in the league.

The alternative might be Europe or perhaps even the NBDL. With each NBA team holding on tight to free-agent dollars because of the economy and the 2010 free-agent class, contracts -- especially lucrative ones -- will be difficult to procure. So while names such as Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Trevor Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu will fill the offseason newswires, these 10 players will be searching for work in virtual obscurity.

Here is the list and their stories:

The Bobcats announced Tuesday the team would not be offering forward Sean May a qualifying offer, which makes the former Tar Heel an unrestricted free agent. A one-year, $3.6 million offer would have meant that Charlotte could match any other offer sheet May signed this summer, but apparently the risk that May would sign the offer and soak up three feet of Larry Brown's bench set the franchise to freeing him outright.

May went No. 13 in 2005 after his North Carolina won the NCAA Championship. He was one of four Tar Heels -- with Marvin Williams (No. 2, Atlanta), Raymond Felton (No. 5, Charlotte) and Rashad McCants (No. 14, Twitteronia) -- to go in the lottery that year. And although McCants has been a disappointment and Felton was clearly a reach, May is certainly the worst of the bunch.

Earlier in the week, I posted on Eddy Curry's weight issues. Because Curry can't figure out a way to get himself in shape, Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni has threatened to keep Curry out of the rotation. Well, another former lottery pick is having the same struggles.

Just like Eddy Curry, former North Carolina stud Sean May is S.F.A.T. (Standing Fat and Talented). But unlike Curry, May actually has an excuse. May had microfracture surgery at the beginning of last season and was forced to stay off his feet for 14 weeks. During that time his weight ballooned, and he's been having trouble getting in game shape ever since. Here's Larry Brown with thoughts on May's struggles:

"Right now I don't think he's ready to play at all," Brown said Saturday. "I think he's trying, but I don't think he's in the kind of shape to be able to compete on this level and do all the things he's capable of doing."

Sounds really familiar to what Mike D'Antoni said about Eddy Curry. But unlike Curry, May seems to understand that he has to do better:

"I've got to get in better shape. I've got to get in better condition," May said. "I haven't played in so long that, boom, it's hit me smack dab in the face. I'm picking up some early fouls due to being out of position. My timing is a little off. Now, here in a week we're getting ready to play, so I've got to do a lot of work."

I enjoyed watching May in college, so I'm hoping that he can get his stuff together soon. The Bobcats are hoping for the same thing, as they don't really have anyone else capable of playing big minutes at the four.

With all these S.F.A.T. cats running around the NBA, VH-1 might need to create an NBA edition of Celebrity Fit Club (Hosted by Charles Barkley, of course).

Check out FanHouse's NBA Preview.

I like predictions vastly more than I do overviews. Why, you ask? Because no one cares about predictions later. That's because no one is ever right. Actually I take that back; people remember predictions if you say stupid things on national television and make it apparent that you suck at your job.

And people also remember them if you get bold and promise to remind them later. So, to make this somewhat memorable, let's get a little bold, shall we?

The Charlotte Bobcats will win the Atlantic. Okay, maybe not. But I can quasi-dream. In reality, I think the Orlando Magic will win the division. Also, reality: I lied about being "bold". Maybe. See, it turns out that even Magic bloggers agree that we could all question whether the Magic can repeat last year.

Lost in the dismal implosion of the Bobcats last season, which was neither a bang, nor a whimper, but a kind of depressing grunt, was the myriad of injuries they were forced to endure. The biggest of which was Sean May.

Now, May wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire before his succumbing to microfracture surgery last October on a knee that's been bothering him since he was drafted, but he is a valuable asset to the new Bobcats regime. On top of that North Carolina connection that the Cats are so fond of, May provides them with a scoring presence inside, which will help to ease the dismay held by Bobcats' fans after their selection of D.J. Augustin.

So it's good news then, that May is reported to be cleared for basketball activities, will be hanging around the team in Las Vegas for Summer League, and will "definitely be at camp in October." May may not be the key to unlocking the puzzle of the Bobcats' stagnant growth, but he could be a significant improvement for the team under new head coach Larry Brown.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

If NBA greatness translated to the front office, ho-boy, would the Bobcats be unstoppable. Unfortunately, it doesn't. And as such, Michael Jordan's Tarheel-homerism-fueled draft rampage will only be stopped this year by everyone flocking back to Chapel Hill. Oh wait. Larry Brown's still coming.

Picks: #9, #38

Needs: A big man who can score and/or complement Emeka Okafor in the post (read: let him play power forward). Or perhaps an aggressive, defensive minded bigger guard-forward that can keep Adam Morrison off the floor when Gerald Wallace gets hurt.

Best Case Scenario: Brook Lopez drops to number nine, although considering how guard/non-big man heavy the top part of the draft is, this seems pretty unlikely. There's chatter that people aren't enamored with Brook's lack of upside though, and nothing scares an NBA front office away from someone like "lack of upside" (see: Battier, Shane). And speaking of homerism -- I'm going out on a limb and saying the Cats should trade down in the second round and pick up local UNCG product (respect the alma mater, please) and 3/4 tweener Kyle Hines, or just roll with a Joey Dorsey/D.J. White frontcourt addition.

The Charlotte Bobcats are apparently big, big fans of that little piece of "God's country" in Chapel Hill. The Bobcats already have minority owner and former Tarheel Michael Jordan to go with head coach and former Tarheel Larry Brown and forward and former Tarheel Sean May. That's a lot of former Taheel. Tarheel tarheel.

Well, on top of that, yesterday the Bobcats hired former Tarheel player and coach Dave Hanners, and former Tarheel player and assistant coach Phil Ford for assistant coaching positions on Larry Browns staff. At this point, we're pretty sure the concession guys used to rock the baby blues.

It's a savvy marketing strategy, in a market that has been lukewarm to the NBA, especially since returning in Bobcats form. Using ties to local heroes for the revered college is a surefire way to create connections with fans between the club and the UNC crowd, of which there is no shortage of in Charlotte. Still, traditionally, teams have veered away from going overboard in selecting "local" guys, as to not pigeonhole themselves. The Bobcats seem to be bearhugging the idea.

Bobcats fans might want to thank their lucky stars there isn't a small guard from UNC in the top of this year's draft, given their need for size and scoring at the 5 spot.

(Standard disclaimer: I like ESPN's Chad Ford, and I think he's excellent at what he does.)

Ford updates his feelings on which NBA prospects are having good or bad NCAA tournaments. The bulk is on point (the Lopezes? good! Eric Gordon? bad). But one passage -- the unsurprising Part III of Ford's crusade against UCLA's Kevin Love -- must not pass without notice. Ford quotes a scout and responds:

"How many big guys can do the types of things Kevin Love can do?" he said. "His skill-set is so complete. He can't really run or jump, but once you get past that ... he's got everything. I think with the proper conditioning, he could be very good."

Sounds a lot like the analysis people started to make about Sean May after UNC won the title. That's worked out well for the Bobcats ... hasn't it?

May has suffered from knee problems during his NBA career, and had microfracture surgery this past summer. But when May has been on the floor, he's been dynamite: about 18 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes of play, on efficient shooting. On the floor, May has been a success. Unfortunately, he hasn't been on the floor enough to make Bernie Bickerstaff look smart.

To compare Love to May as a way to argue Love will be a bust is saying you think Love will be as injury-prone as May has been. No matter how much of a draft soothsayer Ford can claim to be, he cannot predict whether a guy will tear a tendon at some point.

Season-ending surgery for Sean May has, obviously, widespread ramifications. ESPN's John Hollinger docked Charlotte six wins because of the loss, and the news threatens to completely confuse Bobcats coach Sam Vincent (as well as anyone trying to follow his talking points). So confusing is the power forward situation that Ryan Hollins is being discussed as a starting center, which would shift Emeka Okafor to power forward, according to the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell.

Shoals took up the cause of cult favorite Walter Herrmann while putting Vincent's promise to run in proper perspective over at Free Darko. Hollins, if you'll remember from UCLA's 2006 title attempt, is a Dalembertesque rebounder and shotblocker with little strength and less touch. Okafor, while short, is immeasurably tough under the rim while holding enough athleticism to finish sixth in block rate among centers last season. In fact, he's the perfect running center -- he can defend, he can run, he can score. Hollins can give you 1.5 of those qualities.

With Jason Richardson's new firepower in the starting lineup, perhaps it makes sense to keep versatile Herrmann strapped to the bench as the third frontcourt player. But Herrmann is a player well worth 30+ minutes a night, and he plays well alongside Gerald Wallace. (The two blossomed together the second half of last season.) I suppose any solution which keeps Primoz Brezec and Othella Harrington out of the equation and Marc Jackson off the roster is a net positive for casual Cats fans. But Vincent needs to be very careful he doesn't overrate the offensive abilities of Raymond Felton and Okafor -- Herrmann, as a scorer, wouldn't be redundant in an up-tempo offense with Wallace and Richardson. They need another potent shooter, an extra go-to scorer considered Okafor's work-in-progress post game and Felton's failing jumpers. Charlotte's running game may be destined to fail anyways, but withholding Herrmann may cause early termination.