Forgive me for a moment as I sound like "that guy" on the message board coming up with crazy trade ideas. Once again, as with my Blount for Dalembert idea (that was proven impossible - so there goes my credit) this idea isn't new. In fact, its been resoundingly thwarted on message boards all around. Still, I'll throw it out there for discussion. Again, this is my idea, not a rumor of any sort.
Baron Davis for Payton, Yogi, and Googs.
Would the Hornets go for it? If they are looking for talent, not likely. However, if they are indeed willing to go for expiring contracts in order to lose the Baron's salary, then we have the package to get it done.
Would the C's do it? I think so. Sure, its a gamble. But Danny has shown that he's willing to take calculated risks. A prime concern is Baron's health. However, if he can stay on the court, he's worth every penny of his salary. He's a scoring point guard, but he is a point guard. He has a great relationship with Paul and he's available.
Like the Davis deal, this would be a case of buying low. The biggest gamble, though, is the fact that this locks you into a team nucleus with long term deals (Paul, Raef, Blount, Davis, Davis) right at a time when the younger crowd is coming into its own. So I guess, your opinion on this would largely depend on how valuable you feel cap flexibility is to the future of this team.
If nothing else, this serves as an example of what we COULD do with our expiring salaries. Is there going to be a free agent this summer that would be a better pick up than Baron? (I will now wait for the pile-on of criticism)