The NBA amnesty clause agreed to in the lockout deal reached Saturday is even crazier than once believed. Sam Amick of SI.com published the memo officially outlining the deal for teams, and Cowbell Kingdom’s James Ham noticed something in the amnesty rundown previously undisclosed.
NBA Amnesty Clause Includes Auction For Waived Players
The NBA’s amnesty clause includes a mechanism under which teams with cap space can bid on waived players’ contracts.
A modified waiver process will be utilized for players waived pursuant to the Amnesty rule, under which teams with Room under the Cap can submit competing offers to assume some but not all of the player’s remaining contract. If a player’s contract is claimed in this manner, the remaining portion of the player’s salary will continue to be paid by the team that waived him.
What that seems to mean: if the Portland Trail Blazers waived Brandon Roy, teams with cap space -- like the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers -- could put in silent bids to take over a portion of Roy's contract, with the biggest bid getting his services. The entire contract would be wiped off Portland's cap sheet, and the Blazers would be responsible from the difference in Roy's contract and the winning bid in actual salary paid out. The bid amount (say it's 50 percent for the Pacers) would then be paid by the winning bidder, and that amount would also go on that team's cap sheet.
This is a pretty incredible wrinkle for everyone involved. These things could turn out like blind baseball trades.
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