Not to be outdone, the Bobcats came to an agreement with restricted free agent Emeke Okafor on a six-year/$72 million deal.  As reported by Marc Stein, General Manager Rod Higgins told reporters on Tuesday that he expects the contract to be completed "in the next few days".  The contract is the largest single expenditure in the brief 5-year history of the team, but locks in the organization’s first-ever draft choice for the long term.  Huggins told the Associated Press, "It was very important for us to get a deal done.  He creates a sense of security around the basket for us. He's a guy that I think his skills are still developing in a lot of ways. Having Larry [Brown] as our head coach now, Emeka will benefit having a great coach to teach him."

On Wednesday, July 30, the Chicago Bulls ended their prolonged negotiation with forward Loul Deng, agreeing to a six-year contract but for $80 million ($71 million guaranteed).  The Associated Press reported the agreement Wednesday, but according to the source a formal announcement might not be made until Thursday. 

The Pistons, at the same time, announced the signing of free agent guard Will Bynum (terms not disclosed).  Joe Dumars, President of Basketball Operations, stated that, “We are pleased to add Will Bynum to our roster… (He) played well for us during summer league and we think he possesses skills that can help our team and provide depth at the guard position.”

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