<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Minnesota Timberwolves have bought out the remainder of Theo Ratliff's contract, and according to the Detroit News the veteran center will sign with the Detroit Pistons. The signing cannot take place until Ratliff clears waivers in 48 hours.</div> Source No real surprise here. Theo's presence is excellent off the bench for a winning team, like Detroit, but he means nothing to a rebuilding team like Minnesota. I hope Richard gets some more burn to close out the season. He has played pretty well when he has been given a chance.
Can someone explain the difference of buying out a contract and simply releasing a player to me? I have never known the difference. But anyway, it's sad to see Theo go. He brought some good energy to our defense and still has some game left in him. Detroit will be pleased.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (tim @ Mar 2 2008, 02:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Can someone explain the difference of buying out a contract and simply releasing a player to me? I have never known the difference.</div> There really isn't a difference. You can't just "drop" a guaranteed deal. You have to reach an agreement with the player and his agent to compensate for a certain amount, hence the term buyout. Once that is complete, the player is put through waivers, in which the other 29 teams have 48 hours to claim him off the waiver wire for his original contract (rarely happens). For example, nobody in their right minds is going to claim Theo Ratliff's contract, nor could many teams afford it even if they wanted to. So once he officially clears waivers, he is free to sign for as low as the veteran's minimum. At the same time, he's receiving the agreed upon amount from Minnesota. If it's a non-guaranteed deal, or a deal that is only guaranteed up to a certain point, you can release him without any red lining.
