Matt Carroll

[T]he amnesty clause (that we're having to pretend will exist here, but which almost certainly will exist in some form) will further expand the range of available talents. A lot of decent players are going to become available, not because they can't play the game, but because they can't justify their contract. A lot of the candidates are obvious and inevitable, some perhaps less so. Here's a potential list:

- Charlotte: DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera - Even after the Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor trades, and the other thing that we're about to come to, Charlotte will still be caked in salary. Diop spent most of last season inactive, and has more than $14 million remaining over the next two years. Carroll has only $7.4 million remaining over the same time frame, but is similarly unwanted. And the aging Najera will cost $2,750,000 next season to further prop up the inactive list.

- The magical, mystical, my-God-this-is-such-a-unique-contract-and-a-history-making-trade-chip Erick Dampier unguaranteed contract DUST chip thing - I hate unnecessarily abbreviations almost as much as I like hearing myself talk - was used last month in an underwhelming trade that brought Tyson Chandler to Dallas, while sending the non-expiring contracts of Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera the other way. Bizarrely, Charlotte preferred this Chandler deal to a prospective one that would have sent him to Toronto, even though this trade saw them taking on significant salary for players they won't (or shouldn't) play. John Hollinger summed up the deal thusly:

I'd like to congratulate Michael Jordan on being the first executive in history to avoid saving money in a salary dump. Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca have one year left at a combined $14.1 million, while Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll are owed a combined $17.1 million over the next three years. Throw in cash (presumably the maximum allowable $3 million) from Dallas, and they managed to break even while giving away their starting center for two guys who will occupy seats 11 and 12 at the end of the bench. Strike up the band.