http://tinyurl.com/lxgstv I just got off the phone with Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who confirmed a report in the French sports daily L'Equipe linking Florent Pietrus (above left) with the Bobcats. Florent Pietrus is a 6-7 forward and the brother of Mickael Pietrus of the Orlando Magic. If the two brothers play at all alike, I can see why Brown would be interested; he loves strong, physical swingmen. Brown saw Pietrus with the French national team this summer, while monitoring Bobcats Boris Diaw and Alexis Ajinca. "A lot of interest,'' Brown said, when asked about Florent Pietrus. "But right now we're really focused on Raymond (Felton, the team's unsigned starting point guard). That affects everything else.'' I'd pay close attention to the second half of Brown's statement: The Bobcats are very cost-conscious this summer, particularly in the absence of knowing Felton's salary number. They still need a backup power forward, and were out-bid for players like Hakim Warrick and Drew Gooden to fill that need. I also spoke with Felton's agent, Kevin Bradbury, who said nothing has changed in those negotiations, but there's still a lot of time until the start of camp in late September. Bradbury believes it's in Felton's and the team's best interest to work out a long-term deal. He said Felton signing the $5.5 million qualifying offer -- making him an unrestricted free agent the summer of 2010 -- would be a last resort. If the Bobcats don't sign another power forward, I assume Brown will have no choice but to try Ajinca in the rotation. That would be an interesting experiment in whether Ajinca is strong enough to guard NBA big men without quickly fouling out. -- ╔═══╗╔═══╗╔═══╗╔═══╗╔═══╗╔══╗ ○ ║██◣╝║██◣║║██◣║╚███║║███║║██║ /╰ ★ ── ● ║█▅█╗║█▄▊╝║█▅█║║ ◢◤ ╗╚ ██ ╝║██╚╗( ＼/ ║█▅█║║█◥◣║║█ █║║█▅◣║╔███╗║███║ ╚═══╝╚═══╝╚═╚═╝╚═══╝╚═══╝╚═══╝ nyctenvoy --

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