Per the Charlotte Observer…

The Charlotte Bobcats and Raymond Felton’s agent both confirmed this morning that Felton has signed the one-year, $5.5 million qualifying offer for this season, which will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.

This amounts to an acknowledgement that the team and Felton couldn’t work out a long-term deal. Agent Kevin Bradbury said Felton isn’t upset by that and wants to remain in Charlotte.

The solid play of D.J. Augustin has made Felton expendable in Charlotte. Felton averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 assists last year, but shot less than 41% from the field and less than 29% from long range.

When restricted free agents are unable to work out a long-term deal, it’s a sign that they will be moving to a different zip code within a year. We’ll see if that holds true for Felton.

According to a Dime source, Allen Iverson is headed to Charlotte to reunite with former head coach Larry Brown.

Friday night, Dime’s Aron Phillips spoke to an unnamed source who works in the NBA and said that Allen Iverson has worked out the details of a contract with the Charlotte Bobcats, but the deal won’t be official until next week. The general consensus surrounding A.I. is that the 34-year-old is too stubborn to blend into a contender’s system, and at the same time, will stunt the development of any up-and-coming young team. But Iverson in Charlotte could be a win-win for both sides: The ‘Cats need a go-to scorer on the perimeter, and Raja Bell and Gerald Henderson are more than expendable as far as coming off the bench while Iverson starts at two-guard.

Iverson is one of the league’s all-time most popular players, so he should help the Bobcats move some jerseys as well. Depending on what the team decides to do with D.J. Augustin, this could greatly impact Felton’s bargaining position heading into next summer. If Augustin starts, then Felton will have to come off the bench in a reserve role, and that will hurt his numbers.

Raymond Felton is having a tough time coming to terms with the Charlotte Bobcats on a new deal.

“We’re definitely not close as far as what we’re discussing and what we think fair market [value] is for Raymond,” Bradbury said Wednesday, a day after the meeting.

While Bradbury declined to discuss numbers, he indicated there was a surprisingly hefty difference in the deals he and Higgins proposed for the restricted free agent point guard.

Felton, the Bobcats’ first-round pick in 2005, has maintained he wants to stay in Charlotte. After averaging 14.2 points and 6.7 assists last season and winning over coach Larry Brown, the Bobcats have made re-signing him a top offseason priority.

The Bobcats could match any offer he receives, and Bradbury said he’s had some informal talks with teams. Felton could also sign the one-year tender of $5.5 million and become an unrestricted free agent next season.

Here’s what I wrote about Felton for our 2009 NBA Free Agency Preview:

8. Ray Felton, G (25)
PER: 13.80
Felton has been a 14/7 guy the last three seasons, but his shooting (41% from the field, 29% from long range) is fairly brutal. He’s a pretty good playmaker and his overall efficiency would benefit if he focused more on distribution than scoring. He spent much of last season playing out of position alongside D.J. Augustin in the backcourt, but given the right situation and the right guidance, he has the potential to be a very good point guard. His rep is bigger than his game right now, which might lead to a wake up call when it’s time to talk turkey.
Value: $4.5 – $5.5 million per year

Unfortunately for Felton, those 14.2 points and 6.7 assists don’t tell the whole story. In four seasons, he has cracked a Player Efficiency Rating of 14.00 just once, and that was in his rookie year. His PER of 13.80 last season was 31st amongst point guards, so the numbers say that he is a fringe starter.

I’m guessing that Felton and his agent look at his overall numbers and his age (25) and think that means his market value is somewhere in the range of $8-$9 million per year. The problem here is that Felton posted those solid numbers for a bad team. Since Felton’s arrival, the Bobcats are 126-202 (.384), so it’s not like he’s posting 14 points and seven dimes for a playoff team. Last year, instead of drafting for need, they selected D.J. Augustin, who is off to a great start statistically with a PER of 14.95. The Bobcats don’t really need Felton, so they’re probably looking for a deal averaging around $5-$6 million per season.

This is a classic case of the two sides having vastly different opinions on a player’s worth. My guess is that Felton plays out the season in the final year of his rookie contract and hits free agency in 2010.