Goodbye Boris Diaw. Now that you've been traded to the Toronto Raptors, here's hoping you and Andrea Bargnani won't get utterly destroyed when you try to play defense together. That first season with the Bobcats was a shock to the system, since you -- out of nowhere -- became a monster three point shooter and had your best run of play, ever. Last season, you went back to being the guy you always were, only with more three point attempts, and that guy is going to be useful to NBA teams for a long time to come, but we're better off taking our chances that Tyrus Thomas does more with his gifts in starter's minutes.
The trade also routes Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns, and the Cats have received Dwayne Jones and part of the Chris Bosh trade exception. (What? We couldn't get Jared Dudley back?) Jones was with the Cats for a minute or two in 2008-09, and last season was a D-League monster. I'm not making this up: In 48 games, he averaged 17 points and 16 rebounds per game. Discounting for level and per-minute, he's no starter, but he might be a better rebounder than Tyson Chandler right now, which would make him an attractive candidate to soak up 10-15 minutes per night.
As for the exception, the original report doesn't say exactly how much it is, but if the Cats don't want to use it to sign someone (and luxury tax-ize themselves), it could be a good trade chip.