Post by Lazy Pete on Oct 4, 2016 10:35:28 GMT -6
Based on the discussion in shout yesterday, I decided to go through the rosters and identify the most likely candidates on each roster for an amnesty waiver, similar to what was done after the NBA lockout in 2012.
Some brief rules: Each team has 1 contract they can completely wipe off the slate. The player cannot be on a rookie contract, and must have more than 1 year remaining. I am basing the years remaining on the current year (even though the season is basically over) because if I didn't, then the number of amnesties would be even fewer. If a team does not have an obvious amnesty candidate, I am allowing them to amnesty one decision in their recent past.
Credentials: Former staffer for Sen. Lindsey Graham aka Sen. Grahamnesty
Coming this afternoon or tomorrow, Amnesty: Western Conference Edition
Some brief rules: Each team has 1 contract they can completely wipe off the slate. The player cannot be on a rookie contract, and must have more than 1 year remaining. I am basing the years remaining on the current year (even though the season is basically over) because if I didn't, then the number of amnesties would be even fewer. If a team does not have an obvious amnesty candidate, I am allowing them to amnesty one decision in their recent past.
Credentials: Former staffer for Sen. Lindsey Graham aka Sen. Grahamnesty
Atlantic
Boston Celtics: Rudy Gobert C 28 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $0 $0 $0 $36,000,000
This contract isn't terrible by any means, but defensive bigs are usually not too difficult to find on the open market. The Cavs signed Wang Zhi-Zhi to the LLE last season, and the Celtics got a steal w/ LaSalle right before that. I think the Celtics take this opportunity to increase flexibility and find a cheaper alternative.
Miami Heat: Dolph Schayes PF 29 $17,187,500 $18,750,000 $20,312,500 $21,875,000 $0 $0 $0 $78,125,000
Dolph is a quality big, but he's been on the trade block for years with very little interest from other teams. He doesn't block enough shots and isn't good enough offensively to merit the full bird max, and I think the Heat cut him loose before the dollars reach the $20 mil range.
New Jersey Nets: The Pau Gasol Trade (AC Green, Ray McCallum, Nets '40 and '41 1sts, and cash considerations for Pau Gasol and Mel Hutchins)
I feel partially guilty for this, because I told Herbs that I thought a change of scenery and some TC love could turn around Pau's struggling start. Instead, Pau has been just as bad as before, and it cost Herbs two firsts that could've been used to grab a player like Koufos AND AC Green, who lit it up at SF in preseason and I think could wind up a star.
New York Knicks: George Ackles SF 34 $25,126,793 $26,383,133 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $51,509,926
Ackles has been one of the all-time greats, but his play is declining, he's no longer the efficiency beast he once was, and his salary is massive. It's not a long deal so this is probably a bit of a stretch, but Eric has $76 mil in salary committed next season and could use the extra space to shore up depth and sign tradeable salaries.
Orlando Magic: Bobby Hurley PG 30 $17,500,000 $18,750,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $36,250,000
One of the final pieces of JHB's failed comeback attempt, Hurley is undeserving of this salary and doesn't make any sense given the complete overhaul of the roster around him. He gets shown the door and plays out the rest of his career with the Bayi Rockets under GM IanBoyd.
Philadelphia 76ers: Ben McLemore SG 27 $17,187,500 $18,750,000 $20,312,500 $21,875,000 $0 $0 $0 $78,125,000
Wouldn't actually happen because he's got value and would be worth a trade, but Fason seems ready to blow it up and McLemore looks like the big money player that would be hardest to move. He had a bit of a down season this year but he's still only 27 so probably an aberration.
Washington Bullets: Hayden Edwards C 31 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $0 $0 $25,000,000
Another stretch, but Edwards is starting to get up there in age, and is making the most money of the 4 defensive bigs on the team yet plays the fewest minutes. On a team w/o any ugly long-term contracts, this is the only one I could see kn parting with.
Atlanta Hawks: Wes Matthews SG 30 $20,000,000 $21,250,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $41,250,000
Man, what idiot signed this deal? The Hawks have almost made it to the end of this contract, which would've been one of the juiciest amnesties a couple seasons ago, and it won't really kill them to wait it out. But, if given the option, they free up that extra cap space sooner and get a chance to land a marquee FA.
Charlotte Hornets: Anthony Peeler SG 28 $8,347,933 $9,043,594 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $17,391,527
I guess this is worth it? I'd rather give Fecta the chance to amnesty the RV years, but I don't think that stink will ever fully come out. The roster is almost bare, and the healing can begin.
Chicago Bulls: George Mikan C 27 $11,616,459 $12,672,500 $13,728,542 $14,784,584 $15,840,726 $0 $0 $68,642,811
Which Mikan do you believe in, the one who scored at a .441 FG% in 3037, or the one who hasn't topped .420 FG% in his 5 other seasons in the league? Mikan has value but not on this deal, and this brings the Bulls another step closer to bottoming out.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 3033 181 Cavaliers Sign SF Larry Johnson for $131,250,000 over 6 years.
Shaun isn't really carrying any bad contracts (I may disagree with him on the value of locking up Andres Nocioni for 6 years, but at least he's cheap). So I give him a mulligan on the LJ signing, which threw off his teambuilding schedule and caused him to make some short sighted moves to try and compete. Shaun had some talent that he expected to take a leap (Giannis, Gugliotta, LaSalle) and got two vets on big deals that were just leaving their prime. It put the Cavs in no-mans land and ultimately initiated another reset of the roster.
Memphis Bobcats: Eric Gordon PG 31 $13,915,000 $15,306,500 $16,837,150 $0 $0 $0 $0 $46,058,650
Yet another that I think would be a stretch, but the Bobcats have two other guards who are better and a big that is best at SF, so that leaves Gordon as the odd man out. Odin cuts ties with Gordon, who goes on to sign a cheap deal with a contender to chase a ring.
Indiana Pacers: 3035 Doug Overton non-buyout
There aren't any contracts on the Pacers that even qualify, and there's only one decision that I thought was really a miss. JW took on Overton to help Odin out with the space and intention of buying out his deal. He even posted the buyout in the thread, but mysteriously decided to retract it at the last minute. It was a curious decision, as Overton ate up $15 mil a year for the next three and wasn't going to fetch anything on the trade market or help with the tank. Now, JW gets to finally go through with it.
Milwaukee Bucks: James Worthy SF 26 $13,750,000 $15,000,000 $16,250,000 $17,500,000 $18,750,000 $0 $0 $81,250,000
The big winner of amnesty in the Eastern Conference. Trof traded for Worthy after shipping of Jimmy Butler, but his production hasn't matched his pay level. He's a solid player getting paid like a star, which makes him an easy target for the Bucks. They could also go in the direction of amnestying Luther Wright, who has less years remaining but is also closer to the downslope of his career. Either way, it gives Trof the room to make moves, which is always dangerous for the rest of the league.
Toronto Raptors: Building a team around two offensive bigs
There aren't any deals on my roster right now that I would want to purge, and I don't think there have been any major missteps recently (although I'm open to hearing them if anyone disagrees). However, I think my teambuilding model itself is a bit of a misstep. The league has a definite perimeter bias, and while I didn't do it intentionally, I ended up with an unconventional team whose ceiling is probably the conference finals.
Boston Celtics: Rudy Gobert C 28 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $9,000,000 $0 $0 $0 $36,000,000This contract isn't terrible by any means, but defensive bigs are usually not too difficult to find on the open market. The Cavs signed Wang Zhi-Zhi to the LLE last season, and the Celtics got a steal w/ LaSalle right before that. I think the Celtics take this opportunity to increase flexibility and find a cheaper alternative.
Miami Heat: Dolph Schayes PF 29 $17,187,500 $18,750,000 $20,312,500 $21,875,000 $0 $0 $0 $78,125,000Dolph is a quality big, but he's been on the trade block for years with very little interest from other teams. He doesn't block enough shots and isn't good enough offensively to merit the full bird max, and I think the Heat cut him loose before the dollars reach the $20 mil range.
New Jersey Nets: The Pau Gasol Trade (AC Green, Ray McCallum, Nets '40 and '41 1sts, and cash considerations for Pau Gasol and Mel Hutchins)I feel partially guilty for this, because I told Herbs that I thought a change of scenery and some TC love could turn around Pau's struggling start. Instead, Pau has been just as bad as before, and it cost Herbs two firsts that could've been used to grab a player like Koufos AND AC Green, who lit it up at SF in preseason and I think could wind up a star.
New York Knicks: George Ackles SF 34 $25,126,793 $26,383,133 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $51,509,926Ackles has been one of the all-time greats, but his play is declining, he's no longer the efficiency beast he once was, and his salary is massive. It's not a long deal so this is probably a bit of a stretch, but Eric has $76 mil in salary committed next season and could use the extra space to shore up depth and sign tradeable salaries.
Orlando Magic: Bobby Hurley PG 30 $17,500,000 $18,750,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $36,250,000One of the final pieces of JHB's failed comeback attempt, Hurley is undeserving of this salary and doesn't make any sense given the complete overhaul of the roster around him. He gets shown the door and plays out the rest of his career with the Bayi Rockets under GM IanBoyd.
Philadelphia 76ers: Ben McLemore SG 27 $17,187,500 $18,750,000 $20,312,500 $21,875,000 $0 $0 $0 $78,125,000Wouldn't actually happen because he's got value and would be worth a trade, but Fason seems ready to blow it up and McLemore looks like the big money player that would be hardest to move. He had a bit of a down season this year but he's still only 27 so probably an aberration.
Washington Bullets: Hayden Edwards C 31 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $0 $0 $25,000,000Another stretch, but Edwards is starting to get up there in age, and is making the most money of the 4 defensive bigs on the team yet plays the fewest minutes. On a team w/o any ugly long-term contracts, this is the only one I could see kn parting with.
Central
Atlanta Hawks: Wes Matthews SG 30 $20,000,000 $21,250,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $41,250,000Man, what idiot signed this deal? The Hawks have almost made it to the end of this contract, which would've been one of the juiciest amnesties a couple seasons ago, and it won't really kill them to wait it out. But, if given the option, they free up that extra cap space sooner and get a chance to land a marquee FA.
Charlotte Hornets: Anthony Peeler SG 28 $8,347,933 $9,043,594 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $17,391,527I guess this is worth it? I'd rather give Fecta the chance to amnesty the RV years, but I don't think that stink will ever fully come out. The roster is almost bare, and the healing can begin.
Chicago Bulls: George Mikan C 27 $11,616,459 $12,672,500 $13,728,542 $14,784,584 $15,840,726 $0 $0 $68,642,811Which Mikan do you believe in, the one who scored at a .441 FG% in 3037, or the one who hasn't topped .420 FG% in his 5 other seasons in the league? Mikan has value but not on this deal, and this brings the Bulls another step closer to bottoming out.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 3033 181 Cavaliers Sign SF Larry Johnson for $131,250,000 over 6 years.Shaun isn't really carrying any bad contracts (I may disagree with him on the value of locking up Andres Nocioni for 6 years, but at least he's cheap). So I give him a mulligan on the LJ signing, which threw off his teambuilding schedule and caused him to make some short sighted moves to try and compete. Shaun had some talent that he expected to take a leap (Giannis, Gugliotta, LaSalle) and got two vets on big deals that were just leaving their prime. It put the Cavs in no-mans land and ultimately initiated another reset of the roster.
Memphis Bobcats: Eric Gordon PG 31 $13,915,000 $15,306,500 $16,837,150 $0 $0 $0 $0 $46,058,650Yet another that I think would be a stretch, but the Bobcats have two other guards who are better and a big that is best at SF, so that leaves Gordon as the odd man out. Odin cuts ties with Gordon, who goes on to sign a cheap deal with a contender to chase a ring.
Indiana Pacers: 3035 Doug Overton non-buyoutThere aren't any contracts on the Pacers that even qualify, and there's only one decision that I thought was really a miss. JW took on Overton to help Odin out with the space and intention of buying out his deal. He even posted the buyout in the thread, but mysteriously decided to retract it at the last minute. It was a curious decision, as Overton ate up $15 mil a year for the next three and wasn't going to fetch anything on the trade market or help with the tank. Now, JW gets to finally go through with it.
Milwaukee Bucks: James Worthy SF 26 $13,750,000 $15,000,000 $16,250,000 $17,500,000 $18,750,000 $0 $0 $81,250,000The big winner of amnesty in the Eastern Conference. Trof traded for Worthy after shipping of Jimmy Butler, but his production hasn't matched his pay level. He's a solid player getting paid like a star, which makes him an easy target for the Bucks. They could also go in the direction of amnestying Luther Wright, who has less years remaining but is also closer to the downslope of his career. Either way, it gives Trof the room to make moves, which is always dangerous for the rest of the league.
Toronto Raptors: Building a team around two offensive bigsThere aren't any deals on my roster right now that I would want to purge, and I don't think there have been any major missteps recently (although I'm open to hearing them if anyone disagrees). However, I think my teambuilding model itself is a bit of a misstep. The league has a definite perimeter bias, and while I didn't do it intentionally, I ended up with an unconventional team whose ceiling is probably the conference finals.
Coming this afternoon or tomorrow, Amnesty: Western Conference Edition
