The man on the right is Rodney Carney, he's about to enter his third year in the NBA after being selected in the middle of the first round by the Chicago Bulls in 2006, before being shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers. He's not a good player, but he's worth a roster spot on an NBA team. Rodney's a horrible rebounder, a solid mid-range shooter with some defensive skills, and he's already 24 so there's not a whole lot left to uncover.

And he might end up putting Elton Brand in a Philadelphia 76er uniform, or Josh Smith, or he might end up crippling the Atlanta Hawks' ability to re-sign the team's litany of young talent. Or, he might not make a lick of difference.

Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the 76ers have already decided to trade Carney to the Minnesota Timberwolves with Calvin Booth (who, in a real shocker, recently picked up his own option to get paid to play basketball) and a future first round pick (the Sixers have heaps of them) for Minnesota's 2.8 million dollar trade exception.

The Timberwolves have a few more months to use the thing, and though I'm surprised that Rodney Carney and a pick was the best they could get, I did just remember the whole "Kevin McHale runs things"-bit. The Sixers, on the other hand, want to pay Minnesota a draft pick to take Carney and Booth of their hands so that the team has a few more million to throw at a potential free agent.

Which brings us back to Brand, while considering that he has been awfully quiet and pretty patient since the Golden State Warriors offered him a big contract that most assumed would inspire EB to say "thanks, but no thanks" to within a day or two. If Brand passes on Philly for either the Warriors or the Clippers, the Sixers could then (assuming they don't start with Smith first) turn their attention to restricted Hawk free agent Josh Smith, offering him in excess of 14 million dollars as a first year starting salary and forcing Atlanta to pass on matching due to the front-loaded offer and the team's own financial issues.

And here's where everyone needs to take a deep breath. 14 million for Josh Smith? Throwing the bank at Elton Brand, paying him until he's 34? And all this because Philadelphia ... can?

Since trading Allen Iverson, the 76ers have had such an odd makeup, and it's hard to tell just what distinct direction they plan on heading in. Philadelphia GM Ed Stefanski has been hell-bent on clearing cap space since taking over last winter, but he also clung onto prime trading piece Andre Miller all season. Miller's a fine point man who was big in helping Philly get to the playoffs, but he's 32, and dumping him on Miami for Jason Williams or for some other expiring contract could have landed Philly even more cap space.

If Stefanski is thinking that good point guards are hard to get, he's right. But Miller is also past his prime, due for a new contract after 2008-09, and he would clearly represent the yin (along with someone like Brand) to Philly's yang. The "yang" being the fact that this is an alternately a very young team with some top-heavy, older talent. It's a weird makeup that, even with Brand or Smith on board, and one that wouldn't seem to be worth more than a first round exit.

And, with Brand or Smith on board, the team would be boasting four guys (assuming Andre Iguodala stays) making about eight figures a year next season. And look at that roster. It shouldn't really have the Celtics, Heat, Cavs, or Bulls shaking.

There's a reason I bring up the Heat and Bulls. They have potential. They have a series of players who are all around the same age, and the standouts that aren't (Shawn Marion, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni) are all on the trade block. Philly has some nice talent, an inspiring coach, while Brand and Smith are quite good, is that worth the price tag?

Go after Smith. Create interest among the sports talk radio bunch by going after Brand. Just understand that recent big splashes like this (Chicago signing Ben Wallace, Orlando paying Rashard Lewis - the team's third-best player - 75 million over the next four seasons) haven't exactly worked out. There's no shame in chopping that cap space up, or seeing if you can trade for a series of players for draft considerations or Willie Green in what would be a cap legal move with all that space.

Just be careful. Because a team with Smith, Sam Dalembert, Iguodala, Miller, and a host of young players sounds great (if not 55-win worthy) and would be fun to watch, but paying nearly 70 million dollars for that lot next season before having to extend all the rookie contracts for Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith, Marreese Speights, et al doesn't seem nearly as appealing.