Bobcats point guard Raymond Felton has said he would like to remain in Charlotte. The team, too, has indicated it would like to keep Felton, who is a restricted free agent. But after meeting with Bobcats officials on Tuesday in Las Vegas during the NBA’s summer league, the two sides are still a long way from coming to an agreement on a new contract.

“We’re not close,” Kevin Bradbury, Felton’s agent, told The Baseline on Wednesday. “I think we went into things feeling pretty good, feeling like a deal could get done, but right now, we’re not in the same range. There’s still time, and we’re only talking about the first meeting. But at this point, I’d classify it as far apart.”

Felton is coming off a year in which he averaged 14.2 points (on 40.8 percent shooting) and 6.7 assists, starting 81 games despite the emergence of rookie D.J. Augustin. Felton has started 289 of the Bobcats’ 328 games in the last four years. “He’s been a starting point guard,” Bradbury said. “We just want to get a fair market value for a starting point guard.”

The Bobcats, though, are in a strong bargaining position because of the rules of restricted free agency, which dictate that Felton can get an offer from another team but that Charlotte would have the right to match the offer. At this point, though, only the Blazers and Thunder have cap space available, and the Thunder -- who have Russell Westbrook at point guard -- would not be interested in Felton.

Portland is waiting to hear whether its offer to another free agent, Paul Millsap, will be matched by Utah. The Jazz are expected to match, which would leave Portland with cap space. The Blazers could be an option for Felton, but players like Andre Miller, Lamar Odom and David Lee are also on Portland’s radar.

If the Bobcats don’t reach an agreement with Felton, the next option would be a sign-and-trade deal. If one can’t be reached, though, Felton would likely accept the team’s one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.




if the bobcats don't resign felton there team will crumble no one else there can run the point.