Dallas-New York, and everybody wins

[SeriousSummer]

Dallas trades Shawn Bradley and Michael Finley for Allen Houston:

Why Dallas does it: Dallas is already planning to waive Finley and Shawn Bradley is retiring. Since you can only waive one player, why not make it as expensive a player as possible. Even better, Houston has only got two years left on his contract, so he comes off the salary cap as well a year earlier.

Why New York does it: Bradley is retiring on an injury exemption, so New York should get $4 of his $5 million salary picked up by injury, and can hope that he goes off the salary cap in one year on the injured unable to play exemption. Better yet, New York can now cut Penny Hardaway and make almost as much savings on the salary cap as it would cutting Houston. Finley can still play, unlike Houston or Hardaway, so New York ends up with a useful player without a large negative salary cap hit.

It's possible the deal could be sweetened by adding Malik Rose and TAW to the deal. Dallas then gets a useful player and New York saves even more money.