Expansion Draft

ESPN Insider has been laying out some interesting deals that can be made by the Bobcats.

The rules of the expansion draft:

# Unrestricted free agents are ineligible for the expansion draft.
# Each team can protect up to eight players. If a team has less than eight players on its roster to protect, it still must leave a minimum of one player unprotected.
# The Bobcats must select a minimum of 14 players and can select a maximum of 29 players overall.
# The Bobcats can select only one player from any one NBA team.
# The Bobcats are not bound to the salary cap during the draft. They can take on as many contracts as they like. However, once the draft is over, any players they've drafted and keep will count toward their cap (2/3 of regular cap, it should come in at around $31 million).
# As long as the Bobcats waive a player selected in the expansion draft before the first day of the regular season, the player's remaining contract does not count against the team's salary cap.
# Restricted free agents drafted in the expansion draft automatically become unrestricted free agents.
# Teams are allowed to entice the Bobcats to select players by offering cash, draft picks or agreeing to additional trades in return.
# If a team has a player selected by the Bobcats, the team receives a trade exception equal to the player's 2004-05 salary. This allows teams to replace a player lost in the expansion draft with another player of comparable salary.

One interesting deal had the Piston giving Charlottte draft picks and cash (3 mil is the max in a year) in exchange for them taking Elden off their hands. The point would be for Detroit to have enough cap room to resign Ohkur and Wallace.

Of course, several teams could play the same game to make room for Kobe, like Phoenix and the Clippers.

Anyway, my question is, how can the Rockets take advantage?

3 things jump out when I look at the roster and the contracts:
1) MoT is our biggest liability because he has a huge salary and it extends through 2007. Plus, he is not that good.
2) Cato is expensive and runs through 2006. At least he has played well lately.
3) Everyone else is either fair value or short term.

So, how can we convince Charlotte to take MoT?
If not MoT, what about Cato?

The most cash we can offer is 3 mil. We could add draft picks and other players, but who?
Charlotte could cut MoT, but that would cost 22 mil, so that won't happen.
IF ANYONE HAS AN IDEA ON HOW TO GET THEM TO TAKE HIM, PLEASE RESPOND.

They might take Cato. Offer them Cato + 3 mil + a lotto protected #1. They get a servicable big man and only pay 12 mil of his 15 mil in salary for 2 years. However, we might have to throw in Nachbar or something else to get them to take him.

Another benefit to them taking him would be another nice trade exception.

Ideas?