4:45PM
Alright, it’s all cleared up:
“In a three-way trade, Sacramento gets Will Solomon from Toronto … Toronto gets Patrick O’Bryant from Boston … and Boston gets a heavily-protected conditional second-round pick from Sacramento.”

So, see my last two explanations for my thoughts. Raptors get O’Bryant for Solomon (smart basketball move, maybe a bad business move given the potential tax considerations - it pushes the Raps about $800,000 further into the luxury), the Kings get a small expiring deal, and the Celtics get a 2nd round pick they’ll probably never see for helping to make it all happen.

4:15PM
Update: Without refuting Chris Sheridan’s Boston report, Marc Stein is reporting Solomon has been dealt to Sacramento with cash for a future 2nd round pick (basically the exact same as the Hassan Adams deal - the Raptors pay the salary but get away from any potential tax considerations, and the pick is far too protected to ever matter). From a basketball standpoint, this is worse, but from a business standpoint it’s far better. I’ll clear this up as soon as I can.

A note is that clearing a small contract like this when they’re already below the luxury tax would lead me to believe the Raptors either have another small deal going, or are planning on signing a free agent at some point in the next couple weeks.

3:30PM
According to ESPN, the Toronto Raptors have scored big man Patrick O’Bryant from the Boston Celtics for Will Solomon. The deal is significant for three reasons:

1) The Raptors obviously needed size, having dealt Jermaine O’Neal and with Chris Bosh having some injury troubles. Big Daddy V and Aussie Zach Randolph are not enough depth behind Andrea and Bosh, so adding a 7-footer makes sense.

2) O’Bryant makes $1.5M this year and $1.62M next year, compared to Solomon’s $0.7M this year alone. That means this deal takes on salary for the Raps, helping Boston get closer to the luxury tax line while pushing the Raptors above it, unless I’m missing something.

3) It is the end of the most annoying nickname I have ever come up with, Wo So In Case Y’Aint Know So. Yes, I called Solomon that, without fail, every single time I referred to him this year. It’s over now.

From a basketball standpoint, Solomon wasn’t playing and O’Bryant will, so it’s obviously a minor victory. O’Bryant has potential (Golden State made him the 9th overall pick in the 2006 draft) because, well, he’s still young (22) and he’s 7-feet tall. He’s managed just 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.9 minutes over 66 NBA games. However, he posted averages of 16.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks in the D-League last season, on nearly 60% shooting. It remains to be seen if he can translate that success to the NBA given more playing time, but it’s yet another low-risk, medium-reward deal to add to Bryan Colangelo’s resume.