Apr. 25, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Hakim Warrick takes a shot against the San Antonio Spurs at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Rich Cho is a genius. The GM of the Charlotte Bobcats just turned Matt Carroll and his 3.5 million dollar expiring contract into Hakim Warrick, who’s got four million dollars left on his contract this year, and a team option on that contract next season.

Money isn’t the real issue here, it’s the fact that Cho stuffed Carroll, a guy who gets paid almost four million dollars to ride the bench, and pulled out a guy who gets paid four million dollars to actually play a position that Charlotte is sorely lacking depth in.

Warrick is a 6’9″ power forward who’s averaged just under 10 points and right around four rebounds per game over his seven year NBA career. He’s never played more than 26 minutes per game, but his per 36 minute numbers indicate that he could hold his own if the Bobcats want to give him more than the 4.5 minutes per game New Orleans had handed him this year. Per 36, he’s averaged 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

This move makes Charlotte more competitive in the paint, and removes a player from its roster that was literally just taking up space on the bench.

Since coming back to Charlotte, Carroll’s averaged no more than 11 minutes per game, no more than four points and no more than one rebound per game.

If you can’t tell, I think this is a very good trade for the Bobcats.

Now, Can Charlotte just get New Orleans to trade us our name back, and anyone in the league to take Tyrus Thomas off its hands?

Jan 3, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop (7) against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

Meet DeSagana Diop and Matt Carroll, two players the Bobcats acquired to get out of bad contracts. Two players who combine to make $10 million this season on the Bobcats payroll.

Carroll was traded by the Bobcats in 2009 after signing a six-year, $27million deal two years before. The player he was traded for? DeSagana Diop, who signed a contract worth over $30 million a year after Carroll. Diop made a noticeable impact on the defensive end in Dallas, but was dealt to Charlotte in exchange for Carroll and Ryan Hollins, as the Mavericks preferred Carroll’s frontloaded contract over Diop’s escalating salary and regressed play. That play, along with his health never picked up in Charlotte and Diop permanently became an immovable contract.

While Diop remains a lost cause on-court, Carroll has been the opposite as a Bobcat. Carroll was dealt back to Charlotte in 2010, and while he had a brutal season last year, management and coaches still see on-court value in the 10th-year veteran. Carroll currently has played the most seasons of any current Bobcat. If he plays in at least 58 games this season with Charlotte, he will be the all-time leader in games played as a Bobcat.

His first run with the team saw Carroll bring productive and efficient sharpshooting to the team and he was rewarded with a big contract, which he didn’t live up to initially. Currently though Carroll stands as a player coach for one of the youngest teams in the league and has been applauded for his communication and leadership skills. It’s no shocker that he was named one of the two team captains for this season.

But the most important value of these two might be on the trade market, where both combine to make over $10 million in expiring contracts. The Bobcats have a flexible payroll and could be open to taking on salary if it brings future assets or a player who could help make them better in the long-run.

We’ve seen how Rich Cho was able to use Corey Maggette’s $10M expiring contract to land Ben Gordon and a future non-protected first round pick. These are the type of deals the team is looking for, and Diop and Carroll could bring similar results. Both players could be bought out after a trade, and in Carroll’s case could be interested in returning to the team on a cheaper salary. It’s realistic both players could combine to bring nothing on the court this year statistically, but that’s not important. This time the focus is back on their monetary value, and it could potentially pay dividends this time.

Hey Matt, if you let go of the ball, you look like Jason Terry after he, you know, actually makes a three. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

The worst season in NBA history is in the books, and it’s time to look at the players who made it all possible.

In the coming days I’ll take a look at every single Bobcats player (and I mean every single one), grade their season, and take a look into their future.

The other day I looked at Jamario Moon’s (brief) season. Today, it’s Matt Carroll’s turn.

Offense: F

This season, Carroll was Charlotte’s shooter that couldn’t shoot. He played just 11.2 minutes a game, and hit less than 20 percent of his three point attempts. He also shot just 33 percent from the field, and scored less than three points a game.

His offensive rating (points produced per 100 possessions, was a dismal (but much better than Jamrio Moon’s) 84 and he averaged less than three assists per 36 minutes.

Defense: F

I never really noticed him do anything on the defensive end of the floor worth remembering, and his defensive rating (points produced allowed per 100 possessions) backs that up; It was a lousy 112 and he averaged less than half a block and one steal per 36 minutes.

Miscellaneous: F

He averaged a negative assist-to-turnover ratio per 36 minutes.

He averaged less than two rebounds a game.

He had a win share per 48 minutes (estimate of wins produced per 48 minutes) of negative 0.5.

Carroll will be with the ‘Cats for one more year unless he doesn’t pick up his player option this off season, and his role probably won’t change much. Charlotte probably won’t take him back in 2013/14, though.