NBA Trade Deadline 2012: The One Trade the Charlotte Bobcats Must Make

BOBCATS TRADE: Tyrus Thomas — to ANY TEAM for ANY EXPIRING CONTRACT and a No. 1 Pick

Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas have a lot in common, both on the court—which they can both be proud of—and off the court, which they can both be ashamed of.

Thomas destroyed the New York Knicks with financial blunders that would make any accountant scream in horror, while Jordan wasted high draft picks on players who turned out to be closer to the D-League than being named to an All-Star team. Both former greats have proven to be as inept off the court as they were magnificent on it.

However, unlike Thomas, Michael Jordan is still in a position to do great things in the greatest basketball league on earth as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. If there is one thing all basketball fans know, it is that Jordan has a great desire to succeed.

At present, the Charlotte Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA and quite possibly the worst team in the league's history. They also have the horrible contracts of players like Corey Maggette, DeSagana Diop and Matt Carroll on the books through the end of next season.

Tyrus Thomas, however, is the one player Michael Jordan and the Bobcats need to trade immediately.

Thomas needs to get moved as fast as possible, to any team willing to trade a player with an expiring contract, or even a contract that expires at the end of next season, along with a first-round draft pick.

There is absolutely no need for the Bobcats to try and win this season or even next—no need at all.

Michael Jordan and the Bobcats' entire front office needs to have their sights solely set on the summer of 2013, when the contracts of the aforementioned Maggette, Diop and Carroll come off the books.

They will have an enormous amount of cap space to spend on free agents to surround young stars like Kemba Walker and hopefully Anthony Davis, the Kentucky freshman phenom and shot-blocking machine, who they just might be able to draft this year if the ping-pong balls bounce their way.

The Bobcats need to trade Tyrus Thomas now for a player or players with contracts that expire at least by the end of next year, if not sooner, in order to have around $50 million dollars to spend on free agents in the summer of 2013, to add to the likes of Walker, Bismack Biyombo and whatever talented youngsters they draft this year.

That is a plan that all Bobcats fans should get behind.

As for the teams who may be open to trading for Thomas, I believe the Celtics (for Jermaine O'Neal and the Clippers' No. 1 pick), Nuggets (for Andre Miller and their No. 1 pick) and Hawks (for Kirk Hinrich and their No. 1 pick) would be the three most likely teams to be interested.