First of all, credit where credit is due.  Citizen John R is the first person who suggested the sign-and-trade as a way for the Clippers to have their cake (Davis and Brand) and eat it too (keep their cap exceptions, allowing them to add other pieces around them, certainly including Shaun Livingston).

It's very complicated, but here's how it might work.  The simplest would be a straight up, Maggette for Baron double sign and trade.  The math on this one is pretty inflexible.  Maggette gets a 20% raise to avoid becoming a base year compensation player, from $7M to $8.4M starting salary.  Baron then gets 125% plus $100K over that, the maximum allowable for a trade between two teams over the cap.  (Remember that both teams are working over the cap in this scenario, since neither team would have renounced their rights to their players.)  That comes out to a starting salary of $10.6M - the offer on the table from the Clips is rumored to start at $11M, so we're in the ball park.  Bear in mind that since Baron would be signing with the Warriors in this scenario, he'd be eligible for a sixth year (maybe that's unlikely) and 10% annual increases versus 8%.  The 10% increases alone would more than make up for the slightly lower starting salary.  In other words, the Clippers can offer Baron a slightly better 5 year contract in a straight sign and trade for Maggette.

Of course, if the Warriors want Maggette, they can sign him outright for $8.4M or even more.  So there has to be something in it for them.  That something would be a lottery protected first round pick.  So in this fairly straightforward scenario, the Clippers give up a future pick to get their exceptions back (freeing up Donald Sterling to spend more money this summer, so maybe they're not fighting so hard for this after all), the Warriors get an extra pick for playing along, and everyone gets paid.  Not bad.

Of course, Maggette's options now are seemingly (a) get paid on a bad team or (b) get the MLE and play for a title contender (the Spurs, Hornets, Magic and Celtics would all like to get him).  The power of the S&T scenario for Maggette and those teams is that it potentially allows him to get paid AND play for a title.  If one of those teams is REALLY interested in Corey, what would they be willing to give up to get him? 

The problem is, none of those guys has the assets they're willing to part with to get this done.  The closest thing on that list might be Hedu Turkoglu of the Magic.  Do the Magic have enough interest in a Maggette reunion that they'd be willing to part with the reigning Most Improved Player of the NBA to get it done?  And do the Warriors want Hedo? 

John R originally brought up the Pistons, which is interesting because it puts Maggette on a good (though in the midst of reforming) team for greater than the MLE.  Not to mention that the Pistons have stated publicly that they intend to make major changes.  Either Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton (who play the wing where Maggette would go) would slot into this trade without any other players being involved.  Baron to the Clippers, Corey to the Pistons, Prince or Rip to the Warriors works fine.  So that's interesting, right?  The Clippers would have to include some filler salary to make this work for Billups or Rasheed Wallace.

Chicago is the other team that immediately comes to mind.  With the Warriors losing Davis, they suddenly become the team desperate for a new starting point guard.  We in ClipsNation have some familiarity with this situation as well.  Baron to the Clippers, Maggette to the Bulls, Hinrich to the Warriors - done.  Let's face it - that's not bad.  The Warriors are only really looking at Maggette because they HAVE to spend their money on someone.  But with Stephen Jackson, Brandan Wright, Marco Bellinelle and even Al Harrington, not to mention the fact that Monta Ellis isn't really a point guard, the Warriors are loaded down with wings.  They need a point guard or a power forward.  They're not getting Brand; they're not getting Josh Smith.  Hinrich may be a better consolation prize for them than Maggette.

I don't think the absence of news means that people aren't working on these angles.  Of course, Hoopsworld (a site that tends to make stuff up) is the only place other the ClipsNation where I've seen a reference to the S&T scenario, so if someone is actually working on this, they're being pretty tight lipped.  But don't forget that a key ingredient in all of this is the realization on the part of the Warriors that they're cooked.  Right now, they're throwing money at every wall to see what sticks, and they're certainly in no mood to help either the Clippers or Baron Davis.  When reality sets in and they realize it may be their best (only?) option, that's when something could get done.