Amnesty To Play Big Part In NBA Season
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Imagine seeing Elton Brand, Baron Davis, or Gilbert Arenas in a Miami Heat uniform. It's a distinct possibility thanks to a clause in the new collective bargaining agreement.
Part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the NBA owners and players includes what the NBA is describing as amnesty.
According to the NBA, each team will be permitted to waive one player prior to any season of the collective bargaining agreement, if the contract was in place when the new CBA takes effect, and have all of the player's salary removed from the team's salary cap and position with the luxury tax.
The original team will still be on the hook for the original salary, it just wouldn't be on the books for cap and tax purposes.
It could be described as the Isiah Thomas rule after he handed out huge contracts to below-average players that ended up hamstringing the Knicks for several years.
If a player is amnestied, he will then be put through a modified waivers process. The waivers system would give any team with room under the salary cap the first crack at signing the player.
The teams under the cap could then bid against each other.
Once a player makes it through the process of teams under the salary cap, then the player could become an unrestricted free agent.
For example, Gilbert Arenas of the Orlando Magic may be a prime target for the amnesty provision. He's owed more than $60 million over the next three years against the Magic's salary cap.
If the team amnestied him, it would clear up more money to re-sign center Dwight Howard.
Assuming Arenas was amnestied; then every team under the salary cap could bid on him. The highest bidder would be awarded Arenas.
If no one bid on him, he would become an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team.
Several teams have players that are could be amnestied in the coming days including: Washington Wizards forward Rashard Lewis; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Baron Davis; Cavs forward Antawn Jamison; Dallas Mavericks center Brendan Haywood; and Philadelphia 76ers center Elton Brand.
The Miami Heat has just one player who could possibly be amnestied: guard Mike Miller.
He couldn't stay healthy last season and even when he was healthy couldn't do the thing he was brought in for: hit the long-range shot to free up space for LeBron and Dwyane Wade.
Miller is guaranteed more than $22 million over the next four seasons and is an aging guard who is battling injury problems.
Miller played in just 41 games last season and hasn't played in more than 50 games since 2008.
Miller's production has also declined from a career high 18.5 points per game in 2006-2007 to just 5.6 in 2010-2011.
Still, with the Heat able to use the full mid-level exception to find a center, Miller could possibly stay with the team another season and possibly be amnestied next season if his production doesn't pick up in 2011-2012.
