Okafor to Re-Sign; 6 Year/ $72 Million Deal

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Charlotte Bobcats have agreed in principle on a six-year contract worth at least $72 million with restricted free agent Emeka Okafor.

General manager Rod Higgins confirmed the agreement Tuesday to local reporters, saying that he expects the contract to be completed "in the next few days" after an ESPN.com report said the sides had made significant progress in the past week and were on the verge of a deal.

The agreement with Okafor by far represents Charlotte's biggest expenditure on one player as the club readies for its fifth season. Okafor turned down a five-year deal with a similar $12 million annual average before last season, preferring to wait for restricted free agency.

"It was very important for us to get a deal done," Higgins told The Associated Press. "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."


Okafor was the Bobcats' first-ever draft choice with the No. 2 overall pick in 2004 and was widely viewed around the league as a prime sign-and-trade candidate, on the premise that the Bobcats wouldn't spend to keep him. Charlotte raised questions about its own interest in retaining the 25-year-old Okafor by making what sources say was a five-year contract offer starting at the $5.6 million mid-level exception to veteran center DeSagana Diop early in free agency.</div>

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