<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The white smoke rose from the NBA's chimney in New York early Saturday morning, and now the business of basketball can begin again. Free agents will sign, trades will be completed, and, for a few high-priced, underperforming lads, an involuntary change of scenery may be in the offing. For lack of a better term, call them The Amnesty Guys. One of the twists in the new collective bargaining agreement is a one-time opportunity for teams to jettison a highly paid player who, for whatever reason, is no longer remotely worth what he's earning. (Yes, we know that that constitutes 90 percent of the league, but we're dealing with NBA reality here.) The released player will still be paid his full salary. The released player's salary still stays on the team's payroll for salary cap purposes. The released player becomes a free agent and can sign with another team. So what's the benefit to cutting him loose? If you're one of the league's big (not to be confused with wise) spenders, such as New York, Dallas, Indiana, or the Lakers, you have a chance to save millions in luxury tax payments with this one fell swoop. The player's salary will not count when the luxury tax bills are computed. That can be a considerable savings. ''For those of us who are way over the luxury tax number, it's a wonderful opportunity," said Pacers president Donnie Walsh, whose team payroll will be well above the luxury tax threshold of $61.7 million. So far, the two biggest names associated with the clause have been the Knicks' Allan Houston and the Mavericks' Michael Finley. Both New York and Dallas have payrolls well above $60 million. Finley is owed $52 million over the next three years. By designating Finley for amnesty status, the Mavericks would thus stand to save that $52 million because the luxury tax penalizes teams with a dollar-for-dollar levy if you're over the threshold. And Dallas doesn't appear to be going anywhere south of $60 million in the next few years. Again, there is nothing other than potential luxury tax savings for a team. But, as just noted, Mark Cuban could save $50-plus million, although he'd also lose Finley while still paying Finley's salary and still having Finley's salary on the payroll for cap purposes. Finley and Houston (almost $40 million due for this season and next) have been the two most prominently mentioned candidates. But there are others, including the Lakers' Brian Grant, the Raptors' Jalen Rose, the Pacers' Austin Croshere (owed more than $18 million this year and next), the Blazers' Derek Anderson, and, possibly, even the Magic's Doug Christie. (The guess here is that Indiana could waive Croshere, save the luxury tax money, and never know he's gone.)</div> Source
This seems like something us C's fans don't have to worry about too too much, we're doing pretty well tax-wise. At $46 mill, we don't have to worry about it for the time being, but let's be honest...this could end up tipping the scales a little for the C's. With the 76er's considered close competition in the Atlantic, we may see a move on their part, as they are more than $10 more over the luxury cap number of 61.7. We'll take any help we can get Billy (King), so let's hear your best offer. P.S. In the above statement, I don't mean trade offers, and secondly, if anyone is wondering, this is in the C's forum because it came from the Globe.
I heard something about the C's using this on Vinny Baker's contract, but I don't know how true that is...or if it's even possible.
