The Charlotte Bobcats have exercised their third-year options on the contracts of Raymond Felton and Sean May, keeping the fifth and 13th overall selections from the 2005 NBA Draft in Charlotte through the 2007-08 season. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, rookie contracts are two years in length, with team options for the player’s third and fourth seasons.
Charlotte has also extended qualifying offers to forwards Melvin Ely and Bernard Robinson. The offer provides the Bobcats with the right to match any other NBA team’s offer for both players.
Felton played in a team-high 80 games and averaged 11.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.28 steals. He was named NBA Eastern Conference T-Mobile Player of the Month for games played in February, March and April this season and averaged 16.7 points over the final three months of the season.
May, who had arthroscopic knee surgery prior to the start of training camp, averaged 8.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 17.3 minutes in 23 games. He had a second season-ending knee surgery on Jan. 20, missing the final 43 games.
Ely, a four-year veteran posted career-best averages with 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 23.6 minutes and ranked third on the team with 44 blocked shots and .508 field goal percentage. He was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers on July 14, 2004, with Eddie House for 2005 and 2006 second round draft picks.
Robinson appeared in 66 games with 18 starts this season and averaged 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 19.7 minutes. Drafted by Charlotte in the second round (45th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft, Robinson has played in 97 total games (19 starts) in two seasons, with career averages of 5.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 16.8 minutes.
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns and operates the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and the Charlotte Sting (WNBA), and operates the widely-acclaimed Charlotte Bobcats Arena, which opened in the fall of 2005.
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