The San Antonio Spurs have traded 36 year old center Theo Ratliff to the Bobcats for a future second round pick, per multiple sources.

Ratliff, who was drafted 18th overall in the 1995 draft by the Detroit Pistons, played for Larry Brown in Philadelphia, and is well-known for his shot blocking skills. The Wyoming graduate has also played for the Hawks, Trail Blazers, Celtics, Timberwolves, and Spurs before making his way to the Queen City. The Spurs were looking to save money on their luxury tax bill and as Ratliff, who is making the veteran minimum of 1.3 million dollars, wasn’t playing much at just 8.7 minutes a game, the 2.6 million in savings outweighed Ratliff’s bench production. The Bobcats however, will need a body like Ratliff’s down the stretch run and into the playoffs, especially with each current Bobcat center (Nazr Mohammed, Tyson Chandler, DeSagana Diop, and Alexis Ajinca) suffering from injury. He will also be a body at power forward if necessary behind Boris Diaw and the newly acquired Tyrus Thomas.

Also, if you haven’t stopped by the forum, a trade between the Pacers and Bobcats almost went down earlier. That trade would have sent Nazr Mohammed, DJ Augustin, and Gerald Henderson to Indiana for TJ Ford and Brandon Rush, but it appears the Bobcats nixed the negotiations.