A Mavs Shawne Williams Trade? We've Narrowed It To Four Possible Partners

David Lord -- DB.com

    There are only two teams that are far enough under the cap to take on Williams’ contract: The Sacramento Kings and the OKC Thunder. Leaving out of the equation what each club thinks of Williams the player (note that Kings coach Paul Westphal was part of the Dallas organization last spring when Williams was de-invited by the Mavs). … that’s a very short list of potential partners.

    There are two more teams in a different category. Two teams are in possession of their TPE’s (traded-player exceptions), TPE’s that are large enough to take on Shawne’s salary without having to incur the additional tax to do so.

   Those two teams: The LA Clippers and the New Jersey Nets.
   Like the Kings, the Clippers and the Nets are talk-friendly when it comes to the Mavs. The trick here: The Mavs would quite likely have to give the swap partner the player and write a check to pay his salary, thus saving the new team from having to pay that tax. And of course, those teams would have to be talked out of saving their TPE’s for a body they actually want.

   There is one other option, of course: Dallas can keep Williams in its pocket, his value being that of an expiring trade filler. It doesn’t seem like much now – and it seems a shame to have to release an actual 15^th player (Jake Voskuhl) in order to do this – but let’s say there is a bigger Mavs trade in, oh, December.  The Mavs have decided to take on a talent with a fat salary. To make things match, Williams’ $2.4 mil would suddenly come in handy.

   But whether the answer is just-in-case keeping him or paying to have him moved, it’s all a steep price to pay for that second contractual year when the Mavs added Williams to their list of “Lightning-In-A-Bottle Boys’’ … still, there you have it: possible trade partners in the Kings and the Thunder and in the Clippers and the Nets … and not much else.