Re: NBA Lockout and Collective Bargaining Agreement Discussion
Example of how Amnesty would work:
Example of how Amnesty would work:
MIAMI—
An expected windfall for NBA contending teams in search of affordable talent could wind up short-circuited by the league's soon-to-be-approved collective-bargaining agreement.
The Sun Sentinel confirmed Sunday that instead of players being released under the league's "amnesty" provision going directly to the open market, a bidding system has been put in place for teams operating below the league's salary cap to add such players at a deep discount.
"That's what the clause is in there for," a party familiar with the impending process Sunday told the Sun Sentinel. "It's so the Lakers can't go in and scoop up all the players."
Under the amnesty program, a team can waive a player in order to remove his salary from its salary cap and luxury tax, while still paying out the balance of that contract. It had been widely assumed that such players then would immediately hit the open market
That could have positioned the Miami Heat to add players such as Baron Davis, Rashard Lewis, Brendan Haywood or Brandon Roy at the NBA salary minimum, with the players' previous teams still paying their full salaries. (Team-by-team decisions on specific players, if any, to receive amnesty releases will not be announced until after the CBA is ratified.)
However, in an outline of the proposed collective-bargaining agreement obtained by the Sun Sentinel, the NBA instead has instituted "a modified waiver process" that would allow teams operating below the salary cap to "submit competing offers to assume some but not all of the player's remaining contract."
For example, while Lewis has two years at $44 million total remaining on his contract, a team currently operating below the salary cap could bid to pay Lewis $3 million in each of those years (with the Washington Wizards, who are expected to make Lewis available, then paying the balance of his salary).
"Some of it is still not 100-percent worked out," a party familiar with the impending policy told the Sun Sentinel.
Under the about-to-be-rubber-stamped program, teams such as the Heat and Lakers that are operating well above the salary cap would therefore be precluded from bidding on such players, able to move only on amnesty players who receive no partial bids in the waiver process. For the Heat, it would be a blow in the bid to add depth around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
For teams currently operating well below the cap, such as the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets, it could provide a pennies-on-the-dollar windfall.
"This just makes it more attractive or appealing for a team to pick up a contract on waivers, because they're obviously not paying the whole thing, they're only going to be paying the part that they bid on," another party involved in finalizing the process told the Sun Sentinel.
"The notion has been, unlike last time (after the 1998-99 lockout), where you have a Michael Finley, who picks the team of his choice, collects his money, and goes to the team of his choice for a million dollars, that there's going to be a secondary-bidding process. It's going to be no different than being traded."
Because of the revised process, players who had expected an amnesty release to lead to the ability to sign with the team of their choice -- with Heat forward Mike Miller possibly to be included in such a group -- could instead find themselves forced to join small-market, small-payroll teams who have ample available salary-cap space.
Beyond Davis, Lewis, Haywood and Roy, other players linked to potential amnesty-rule releases are Orlando Magic guard Gilbert Arenas, Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva, Lakers forward Luke Walton, Phoenix Suns forward Josh Childress, Philadelphia 76ers forward Andres Nocioni, New Jersey Nets forward Travis Outlaw, San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson and Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur.
An expected windfall for NBA contending teams in search of affordable talent could wind up short-circuited by the league's soon-to-be-approved collective-bargaining agreement.
The Sun Sentinel confirmed Sunday that instead of players being released under the league's "amnesty" provision going directly to the open market, a bidding system has been put in place for teams operating below the league's salary cap to add such players at a deep discount.
"That's what the clause is in there for," a party familiar with the impending process Sunday told the Sun Sentinel. "It's so the Lakers can't go in and scoop up all the players."
Under the amnesty program, a team can waive a player in order to remove his salary from its salary cap and luxury tax, while still paying out the balance of that contract. It had been widely assumed that such players then would immediately hit the open market
That could have positioned the Miami Heat to add players such as Baron Davis, Rashard Lewis, Brendan Haywood or Brandon Roy at the NBA salary minimum, with the players' previous teams still paying their full salaries. (Team-by-team decisions on specific players, if any, to receive amnesty releases will not be announced until after the CBA is ratified.)
However, in an outline of the proposed collective-bargaining agreement obtained by the Sun Sentinel, the NBA instead has instituted "a modified waiver process" that would allow teams operating below the salary cap to "submit competing offers to assume some but not all of the player's remaining contract."
For example, while Lewis has two years at $44 million total remaining on his contract, a team currently operating below the salary cap could bid to pay Lewis $3 million in each of those years (with the Washington Wizards, who are expected to make Lewis available, then paying the balance of his salary).
"Some of it is still not 100-percent worked out," a party familiar with the impending policy told the Sun Sentinel.
Under the about-to-be-rubber-stamped program, teams such as the Heat and Lakers that are operating well above the salary cap would therefore be precluded from bidding on such players, able to move only on amnesty players who receive no partial bids in the waiver process. For the Heat, it would be a blow in the bid to add depth around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
For teams currently operating well below the cap, such as the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets, it could provide a pennies-on-the-dollar windfall.
"This just makes it more attractive or appealing for a team to pick up a contract on waivers, because they're obviously not paying the whole thing, they're only going to be paying the part that they bid on," another party involved in finalizing the process told the Sun Sentinel.
"The notion has been, unlike last time (after the 1998-99 lockout), where you have a Michael Finley, who picks the team of his choice, collects his money, and goes to the team of his choice for a million dollars, that there's going to be a secondary-bidding process. It's going to be no different than being traded."
Because of the revised process, players who had expected an amnesty release to lead to the ability to sign with the team of their choice -- with Heat forward Mike Miller possibly to be included in such a group -- could instead find themselves forced to join small-market, small-payroll teams who have ample available salary-cap space.
Beyond Davis, Lewis, Haywood and Roy, other players linked to potential amnesty-rule releases are Orlando Magic guard Gilbert Arenas, Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva, Lakers forward Luke Walton, Phoenix Suns forward Josh Childress, Philadelphia 76ers forward Andres Nocioni, New Jersey Nets forward Travis Outlaw, San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson and Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur.
Comment