I lose track. Rip Hamilton wasn't - he was bought out. But I know that these guys have: Gilbert Arenas (Magic) Chauncey Billups (Knicks) Charlie Bell (Warriors) (this is so stupid: they used up their one amnesty on a low salary guy with an expiring deal just so they could offer DeAndre Jordan way more money than he deserves) Who else?
Rashard Lewis should get amnestied. Question is whether he would be a viable option for us. He and Nate have a good relationship. It was not too long ago that he provided quality minutes on the Orlando team that went to the finals. He will probably be available cheap. He may even take a one year deal in order to restore his value. I would rather see Rashard Lewis play than one minute of Earl Barron and Luke Babbitt.
He will be picked up before we have any shot at him. I say no, just because we have Wallace and Batum. I would hate to lessen their playing time, just to fit another "Nate's blankey" player.
Wouldn't surprise me if they don't amnesty him until next offseason. There is a salary cap floor in the new CBA and from taking a quick look at their salaries on the roster I don't think they would reach it without his absurd money being paid. Using the amnesty on him now means they have to spend a sh*tload of money on the remaining FA class and the top options there are Nene (NJ reportedly offering BIG money to him), Carl Landry, and Marc Gasol (an RFA and apparently Houston is offering him max money). I think maybe they wait out another (shortened) season where they're a bottom feeder, get a nice high pick in a loaded 2012 draft, maybe even get lucky in the lottery. Then they can use the amnesty on Rashard and be a player in free agency or on the trade market. At that point Shard will only have a year left on his deal but given that their next biggest contract that could be amnestied is Blatche, he seems like a clear candidate to be let go of this coming offseason.
I would hate to see Wallace or Batum playing any minutes at the 4 and Lewis could. With our centers being the two oldest players in the league, I see LA moving to center for alot of minutes this year. You are probably right though in him getting picked up by someone.
We can speculate, but I do not have any better info. Pretty sure James Posey is going to be the Pacers amnesty.