1. The big news in Charlotte is the trade of Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary. How does this trade affect the Bobcats?

Brett Hainline: First glance at the trade: The Bobcats struggle more to score (losing Richardson), but may improve on defense, between having an actual power forward and a defensive minded 2. Not having to send Sean May out there for his public humiliation night after night is a start. As good as he was in college, and the brief flashes he had shown previously when healthy – he is a long way from being ready to contribute consistently this year. Still slow on defense, gambling to make up for it, being out of position as a result – his being on the court is a strain on the other 4 players. While Diaw is no all-star (or fitness freak himself), he is an upgrade, and allows the Bobcats to play a more traditional lineup, rather than Gerald Wallace at the 4. Better rebounding and defense – possibly offset by losing one of the players who could get his own shot. It remains to be seen if Adam Morrison and Matt Carroll are ready to provide a bit more on a nightly basis to counteract the loss, or maybe the combination of D.J. and Raymond has it in them. Considering the team was not looking like even a 30-win team, change is good because it gives us a chance to be optimistic again.

2. DJ Augustin lit up Atlanta the last time the Bobcats were in town, hitting 7 threes. How has he been doing since then? Was that an aberration?

Brett Hainline: The Augustin 7 three game was a bit of an aberration – but it would be for most players. It was a bit of a coming out party for him – displaying the shooting ability he was projected to have. While that was his season-high point total at the time, he has since surpassed it with 28. In fact, since the Hawks game, he has had double digit scoring efforts in 11 of 13 games, taking on a more pronounced role in the offense. We can only expect that to increase with Richardson’s departure, and games like the earlier Hawks game make it seem like he is up for that task.

3. Larry Brown is known for shaking things up when he joins an organization. Do you think the Bobcats are done dealing for now?

Brett Hainline: Not a chance was this the last Bobcats deal. Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton both seem to be in play, considering those names had been more heavily discussed all season than Jason Richardson. Sean Singletary’s inclusion in the Richardson deal make Felton seem like someone who needs to be packing and the sheer volume of rumors around Gerald make it seem that it is a sooner than later proposition.

4. Charlotte has lost 6 straight coming into Monday's game - what in particular has been the cause of the recent slide?

Brett Hainline: Gerald Wallace’s absence. He missed 3 of those and the bookends to his absence were Cleveland and Detroit. This team does not have the depth to handle missing a starter, when they had been playing short-handed to start with (regarding the hole at the 4). The schedule also turned a bit tougher, with the Bobcats finally hitting the road a bit, with 4 of the 6 being roadies. Too bad the home-heavy early schedule was not taken advantage of.

5. Emeka Okafor had a huge game against Dallas with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Is he starting to play up to the contract he signed in the offseason?

Brett Hainline: Emeka has been on a relative (for him) hot streak offensively – a large part of that is the team is getting him more attempts finally. His usage rate for the season is down a bit from last year – how much of that is teammates not looking for him and how much is him being less aggressive is tough to quantify, but it has been some of both. Both parties have been working to rectify that over the last couple of weeks and the results have been promising. Emeka’s rebounding and defensive effort have not been lacking this year, as those numbers have been pretty consistent, and that was where a large part of his value is derived from. With the increased offensive output lately, it does look like the Bobcats are getting their money’s worth, if he could just cut down on the turnovers and find an open teammate more than once a week.