Mavs trying to trade Brewer, Fernandez?

He’ll likely go back to Spain next summer anyway.

But Brewer has all the assets necessary to be a fantastic contributor entering his prime. Statistically he’s the third most efficient player on the roster after Dirk and Odom. We’ll need cheap players like him in the event we sign a Howard or Williams if we have to let some of these veterans walk next summer.

Getting Paul would be great, but with just him, Griffin, Butler and maybe DeAndre Jordan I can’t see them contending any better than New Orleans does right now. If he walks, they’re back to a lotto team.

I’m also thinking the owners are willing to let the Hornets tank at the end of the season if Paul walks. Why should they pay to make a competitor better? The original LA-Houston deal would have kept New Orleans in immediate contention, and it seems they would have taken on salary. So owners are paying more for the Hornets to take more quality assets in competition with their team. Better to let them tank, and sell to another owner cheap without Paul’s contract on the books – with the knowledge that the team is rebuilding – and allow them to move to any city of the new owner’s choice. Or maybe Paul would prefer the better money and will stick around. It’s a gamble I’d take if I was an owner who didn’t really have an interest in that team succeeding.

This is what happens with a conflict of interest – owners like Cuban would love to have Paul on their own team, and he gets a say in whether Paul gets traded as part-owner of the Hornets.

as the extrapunitive luxury tax doesn’t kick in yet. Dalembert might take a year contract to have a shot with a real contender.

Marc Stein: Every team in the league just received notification that Clippers have registered winning waiver bid for Chauncey Billups

Marc Stein: Every team in the league just received notification that Clippers have registered winning waiver bid for Chauncey Billups

time to just call it a day

Although we haven’t seen anything yet, we’re actually highly likely to be a better team than last year. We’ve just added four guys that are (or are nearly) double digit scorers (West, Odom, Carter and Fernandez). We could potentially have seven or eight guys in double figures nearly every game. All of these players can play at least two positions. Some, like Carter and West, are hungry for rings.

All our positions except the 5 are at least two deep with quality players, and even the five is flexible if we go with a Dirk-Odom-Marion lineup. And we never know – maybe Mahinmi will come into his own. Some of our third stringers would start on many teams.

We’ve also stolen the Lakers’ height advantage. Five guys over 6’10", and three can be on the court at the same time (Odom, Dirk and Haywood).

Carlisle has a plethora of lineup options to respond to every possible situation we can encounter.

And we have lots of moveable assets/expiring contracts in case something doesn’t work out. Most importantly, we’re still in the free agent sweepstakes.

I’ll take this situation where we are still easily contenders anyday, even with a little personnel drama, over overpaying Chandler, Butler and Barea to lock ourselves out of a future. I bet just about every team out there is envious of our depth. A few days ago, we weren’t really contenders; we had no players to package as a viable offer. I don’t know exactly who you were expecting to pick up, but I say the front office has made nothing but brilliant moves, as hard as it is to lose Chandler.