While the fear of the NBA’s new luxury tax penalties may have scared off teams from making major deals at the deadline, it has created a greater incentive to shave off as much excess salary as possible.
Heat send Dexter Pittman to Grizzlies with a draft pick
Miami makes a move to shave off some of their luxury tax bill.
Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
The first of those deals went down a little over an hour before the trade deadline on Thursday, when the Heat agreed to send Dexter Pittman and their 2013 second-round pick (No. 59) to the Grizzlies for a trade exception.
Pittman, a third-year center from Texas known mostly for his flying elbow on Lance Stephenson in last season's playoffs, had been shuttling back and forth from the NBDL all season. He's played in only three games for Miami this year.
The deal allows Miami, a team deep into the luxury tax, to save almost double the cost of Pittman’s $854,000 salary. For Memphis, it’s a risk-free move that allows them to take a flyer on a young center while adding a second-round pick in this year’s draft.
As a part of the deal, the Heat also get the rights to Ricky Sanchez, a former second-round draft pick of the Nuggets currently playing in Argentina. He’s unlikely to ever play in the NBA.
Can’t you feel the excitement?
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