Bobcats Acquire Carroll, Dampier and Najera from Mavericks
July 13, 2010
Bobcats GM Rod Higgins on Dallas Trade | Fan Poll | Carroll Gallery | Dampier Gallery | Najera Gallery | Carroll Player Page | Dampier Player Page | Najera Player Page | Matt Carroll on Trade with Mavericks | Erick Dampier on Trade with Mavericks | Eduardo Najera on Trade with Mavericks
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has acquired center Erick Dampier, shooting guard Matt Carroll, forward Eduardo Najera and cash considerations from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca.
"Our main goal this offseason was finding a way to reshape this roster and continue the momentum we have established," Higgins said. "While it’s always difficult to give up key pieces of your team, we believe this deal will give financial flexibility and the ability to improve our team at the same time."
A 6-11 center, Dampier was selected by Indiana with the 10th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. In 921 NBA games with Indiana, Golden State and Dallas, he holds career averages of 7.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, while connecting on .497 from the field. During his 14 NBA seasons, Dampier has recorded 167 double-doubles, including 16 games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He has also posted eight games of 20 rebounds or more. He has appeared in 57 career playoff games, including six games during the 2006 NBA Finals against Miami, with averages of 4.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. In 55 games last season, Dampier averaged 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, connecting on .624 of his field goal attempts.
Carroll, a 6-6 shooting guard, returns to the Bobcats after being traded by the team to the Mavericks along with Ryan Hollins on January 16, 2009, in exchange for DeSagana Diop. Carroll, who initially signed with Charlotte on February 23, 2005 as a free agent, played in 289 games with the Bobcats from 2005-09, averaging 8.8 points and 2.4 rebounds. He remains the team’s career leader in free-throw percentage (.849) and ranks second in three-point percentage (.403). Carroll saw action in 25 games for the Mavericks last season, averaging 1.8 points and 0.5 rebounds.
The 6-8 Najera was chosen by Houston with the 38th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft before having his rights traded to Dallas. The second Mexican-born player in the NBA, Najera averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 46 games played last season with New Jersey and Dallas. He has career averages of 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 566 games with the Mavericks, Warriors, Nuggets and Nets. He has also played in 59 playoff games, averaging 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.
Chandler was acquired by the Bobcats from New Orleans on July 28, 2009, in exchange for Emeka Okafor. In his lone season in Charlotte, Chandler appeared in 50 games, averaging 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. The second overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Chandler has career averages of 8.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 558 total games for the Bulls, Hornets and Bobcats.
Ajinca was selected by the Bobcats with the 20th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. In 37 career NBA games, he has averaged 2.2 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.7 minutes. Ajinca has also played in 33 career games in the NBA D-League, averaging 14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. He was selected for the 2010 D-League All-Star Game but was unable to play due to a thumb injury suffered on Feb. 2 that ended his season.
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