I was thinking about the trade exception and how the clippers might use it.  I figure the smartest thing to do would be to target teams over the luxury tax who are financially not so sound, and take a player that is a 2009-2010 expiring contract off their hands.

On hoopshype.com this really leaves only a few teams that aren't in "we dont care about the luxury tax we'll do it to win" , and have players under the 7 million exemption.  One of these is the hornets who are more or less ready to give tyson chandler away.   That said they have 2 players on their team that if given to the clippers marcus camby style would save them double because they are in the tax, and would be useful to the clippers.  I wonder if dunleavy is already thinking about this sort of things since he did it last year with camby.

Anyhow the hornets have Rasual butler and antonio daniels.  I am not sure how much daniels has left in him, but he probably would be useful backup both guard spots.  On top of that they have butler who is 6'7" and may or may not be small forward material.  He at least shoots 3s better than al thornton and it looks like he can also play shooting guard.  he makes nearly 4 million which would save the hornets 8 million.   daniels would save them even more, and he's also be useful as a backup SG / pg and he definitely plays defense (he's like 34 though but i dont think he's "done").  

Now I'm thinking the hornets would throw in a pick and say 3 million to have daniels taken off their hands just to not pay the luxury tax (even if they pay 3 million , they still save 9 million).  Rasual butler is their starting SG so I am not sure how possible that is, then again they were ready to give away tyson chandler.  I think rasual + hilton armstrong also fits for the exception (we'd have to waive some people) and thus gets new orleans just over the luxury tax threshold, plus maybe is enough to get butler...