The Bobcats are giving strong consideration to signing power forward D.J. White, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. White’s name didn’t emerge as one of the players reportedly set to work out for the club last week, but he did audition around the same time with the Warriors. Charlotte has apparently been on the lookout for a third center amid the team’s assumption that Brendan Haywood will miss the rest of the season. The 6’9″ White is undersized for that role, but he did play primarily at center for the Bobcats during his 24-game stint with them in 2010/11. Charlotte returned him to power forward the next season.
White recently became a free agent following the completion of his season in China, where he played for the Sichuan Blue Whales. The Jeff Wechsler client is following a familiar path back to the NBA, as he spent much of last season playing in China and returned stateside to sign a deal with the Celtics. The 27-year-old put up 20.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for Sichuan this year, numbers that were similar to the ones he put up in China last year. He appeared for just 7.2 minutes per game in 12 appearances for Boston last season, but his most significant NBA action came with Charlotte, where he made 11 starts and averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 18.9 minutes per game in 2011/12.
The Bobcats have an open roster spot, so they wouldn’t have to cut anyone to bring White aboard. I imagine the deal would be for a 10-day contract, but given the familiarity that Charlotte’s front office has with him, and the interest from at least one other club, I wouldn’t be shocked if the ‘Cats dispensed with any 10-day offer and gave him a deal for the rest of the season.