The Charlotte Bobcats are keeping their center, at a considerable cost.

Early this morning, Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins confirmed to the Observer that the team has agreed to a six-year, $72 million deal with Emeka Okafor. Higgins expects the contract to be signed in the next few days.

The deal was first reported on ESPN.com overnight.

Higgins said he felt it was crucial for the Bobcats to retain Okafor, their best defensive player at the rim.

“You need that big guy to defend the Tim Duncans, the (Shaquille) O’Neals, the (Kevin) Garnetts,’’ Higgins said. “The big guys control the game in the post, and that’s our guy when it comes to doing that.

“The way this team is set up with (new coach) Larry (Brown), this was important. Larry is very defensive-oriented.’’

The Bobcats significantly raised their offer – both in dollars and contract length – to make this happen. A source familiar with the situation said last week the Bobcats were offering closer to $10 million this summer than the $12 million average that ultimately got the job done.

That lower offer ticked off the Okafor camp and caused some hurt feelings. Higgins told the Observer Friday that he wasn’t interested in any sign-and-trade of Okafor, but acknowledged it was also not in the team’s best interest for Okafor to sign a one-year, $7 million qualifying offer.

As other big men signed (Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut and Golden State’s Andris Biedrins) it became apparent that a long-team deal, in the $12 million-average range, was a fair number.

“It was a long time coming – actually about a year of negotiations,’’ Higgins said. “Any time you have a player like Emeka – a rebounder (10.8 per game), a defender at the rim, it’s imperative for a team to keep a guy like that.’’