<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Ed: There has been rumors about a Wells signing. How much of this is true? Bernie Bickerstaff: We're having some ongoing conversations with his agents and we are scheduled to have a sitdown with Bonzi and our staff tomorrow. Chandler Henderson,NC: How much do you think the team has improved over the offseason? Bernie Bickerstaff: I think we've improved, for the simple reason that we've been together another year. We had some setbacks, where Emeka missed a lot of time last year, but we've improved our depth with veterans like Othella Harrington, guys who are good in the locker room. Also we added Jake Voskuhl and we'll see about Melvin Ely. We got decimated down low last year, we had times where Gerald was forced to play come center. But the year of experience was good and is getting better at playing the game and thinking about the game, what we need to do. Brad, Charlotte, NC: Hey Bernie, I was just wondering what the status of Melvin Ely was. Does he factor into the team's plans for this coming year, or is it more likely that he will be traded? Thanks! Bernie Bickerstaff: We're in the process of considering a sign and trade with Melvin. If we can't pull that off, we would not be unhappy at all, if he was still with us. The problem with us now, is the minutes at that position. We also signed Walter Herrmann. And Melvin is a restricted free agent. So, we'll see. Kellie (Summerfield, NC): How do you plan on using Walter Herrmann? Bernie Bickerstaff: Walter is a three or four. He can shoot the basketball. We've got 16 guaranteed contracts, and we want to make this a competitive training camp. We'll have an open mind and see what happens. Walter has talent. He's a good shooter, who can create spacing for some of our bigs. William(Kennesaw): Hello! Will there be a lot of battles for starting positions this year? Bernie Bickerstaff: Again, I think we're going in with a competitive training camp. Now, guys like Emeka and Primo and Raymond are established. But we want guys who perform to get minutes. That way, guys will not be able to afford to slack off. You need to earn your minutes. Our strength was our work ethic, but we now need to improve our skill level. I think Gerald Wallace is ready for a breakout year. He is ready. We just need to have the NO DIVING signs out there. So, the starters may be set, but there will be competition for minutes. You bet. Pete (charlotte): Do you plan to play Brevin and Raymond together this season, like last season? Bernie Bickerstaff: It has to do with matchups. If we have a formidable front line, we can. With Emeka and Sean out, it hurts us. We need to compensate for the lack of size in the backcourt when they both play. Raymond is doing well and learning and there were some advantages to doing it. Of course, when teams had two big guards, and we didn't have the cleanup factor down low...Emeka...then it was a bad matchup for us. </div> You can read the rest here: http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/chat_bernie_060920.html
