The deal appears to have been made because it also allowed the Hornets to unload the final two years on James Posey's contract, when he was due $6.5 million and $6.9 million.

To me, that makes New Orleans' end of the deal a salary dump. If you are Paul and your team is involved in salary dumps, how could that create optimism for your team's near-term outlook?

Nope, they're not history - they're cutting the fat and (hopefully) about to add another impact player like Carmello Anthony...



Because they're freeing up needed money to sign another player...