Free Agents Jason Hart, Tamar Slay Sign With Bobcats

July 14, 2004 – The Charlotte Bobcats today signed guard Jason Hart and forward Tamar Slay, it was announced by Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff. The two signings mark the first-ever free agent signings in franchise history.

“We’ve added two young players in Jason Hart and Tamar Slay who will be fine representatives of the Charlotte Bobcats both on and off the court,” Bickerstaff said. “On the court they possess the qualities – work ethic, competitiveness, unselfishness, commitment to defense – that will be the core of our team.”

Hart appeared in 53 games during the 2003-04 season and averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 12.5 minutes. He also recorded single-game career highs in points, assists and rebounds, including 14 points against the L.A. Lakers on Nov. 6, 2003 and eight assists and eight rebounds against Memphis on Nov. 3, 2003.

“One thing I really like about Jason is that he really studies the game,” said Bickerstaff. “He has a good understanding of the defensive concepts and knows who he should get the ball to so as not to compromise his teammates. We like his basketball IQ. He played significant minutes in San Antonio behind Tony Parker and played in some pretty big ballgames with a good team.”

Selected by Milwaukee with the 49th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, Hart has career averages of 3.2 points, 1.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 11.9 minutes in 64 career games. He played two seasons with San Antonio and one career game with Milwaukee. During the 2003-04 season, Hart participated in seven playoff contests for the Spurs.

Slay was one of 19 picks made by Charlotte in the Expansion Selection on June 22, but he became an unrestricted free agent with his selection by the Bobcats. He played his first two seasons in the NBA with New Jersey, including a trip to the 2003 NBA Finals. Slay was originally drafted with the 54th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft and he played in 58 career games with averages of 2.5 points and 1.0 rebounds. In 2003-04, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds.

“We are excited to sign Tamar and have him become a part of our basketball team. We liked him very much when we were picking our team for the Expansion Selection and signing him was at the top of our priority list,” Bickerstaff said. “Tamar has a good feel for the game, he can play multiple positions, he has the ability to create his own shot and he has an excellent concept of defense.”

The 6-8 forward was a member of the Bobcats’ entry in the Minnesota Summer League he averaged 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 19.0 minutes. He tallied a team-best 15 points in the opening game against Toronto and paced the squad with 11 points against Milwaukee.