James and Knueppel, the No. 4 pick, will remain teammates in Charlotte. Providing his best down the stretch, James had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the regular-season finale at UNC.

Charlotte reportedly has signed James to a four-year, $9.97 million deal, with the first two years being $4.7 million guaranteed. That is the maximum allowed under the new second-round exception.