Bobcats' head coach/GM Bernie Bickerstaff told the Observer on Thursday he intends to pick up team options on Alan Anderson and Matt Carroll. Most likely, the team will also make qualifying offers to restricted free agents Melvin Ely, Bernard Robinson and Kevin Burleson.

Asked about re-signing Melvin Ely or unrestricted free agents Jake Voskuhl or Jumaine Jones, Bickerstaff said those decisions will hinge partially on who is drafted.

Charlotte head coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff continues to waver on whether he will return to the bench for the 2006-2007 season.

"I would be wrong if I said I hadn't thought about it," Bickerstaff said. "There's been some thought that this could be the last game. But it's not that big an issue to me because it's not that important."

Bickerstaff said he'll make a final decision after the season when he's calmed down emotionally.

"I'm going to take my time and think about it," he said. "It's really not about me, I'm just a player in the band. What's best for the team, that's all I care about."

Coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff sounds 50-50 as to whether he's going to give up the coaching part of his job and turn into a "GM only" for Year 3.

When asked on Saturday night before the Indiana game if he would be the Bobcats' coach next season, Bickerstaff paused for five seconds.

"I haven't made that decision," he said. "I'm sitting here, talking to you, and I'm emotional because of the season. I need to take a step away and decide. When I was in Seattle (as the head coach, in 1990), I drove cross country with a friend and made a decision on that trip that I was stepping down."

The Bobcats were without Gerald Wallace as they took on the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.  Wallace was forced out of the game because of his injured ribs.

Brevin Knight also sat out; this was the third straight game he has missed.

The Bobcats are looking into picking up rookie Raymond Felton's third-year option, a move that would cost them about $3.3 million in the 2007-08 season.

"No question, this makes me feel good," Felton told the Observer.

"I feel I've worked for it. You don't always get the hype right away but that's not always a bad thing: It makes you stronger, makes you better."

Felton said he feels a strong loyalty to the Bobcats: "This is a trusting organization. We have to look at getting some things worked out, but we're all close here."

Phil Jackson wasn't happy about one of his former players being released when the Bobcats let Kareem Rush go.

"I thought it was vindictive," Jackson said. "I don't like to see it because he's one of the guys that we nurtured here. He was contributing to us a lot in the championship (run) two years ago.

"When I came back, one of my first considerations was can we get Kareem Rush back here to play on this basketball club," Jackson said. "I do value his game and hope that he has a good career."

Kareem Rush disputed the perception that basketball isn't a passion and that he is lazy in an e-mail to the Observer Saturday night: "As for my work ethic being questioned, I feel people mistake my calm demeanor for a lack of effort, which is not the case."

In a surprising move, the Bobcats waived Kareem Rush.  The shooting guard did not play on Friday night against the Bulls.

"We had a conversation, and it ended abruptly," Bickerstaff told the Observer Saturday. "The young man has an abundance of talent, and I hope he realizes that."

"The Bobcats are about two things -- hard work and maximum effort," Bickerstaff said. "With that in mind, we think it's best to go in a different direction with Kareem."

The Bobcats Brevin Knight would like to stay with the club next season, but only if his role isn't significantly altered with the development of Raymond Felton.

"I'm still at a point where I want to play (a lot). I feel like my body has still got that," Knight told the Observer before Friday's game with the Chicago Bulls. "I want to be here, and I want to play."