NBA teams are bracing themselves for a sizable plunge in the salary cap with the huge economic hit that the league is taking, and one way to help ease the blow could be gaining momentum.
NBA front office insider Bobby Marks of ESPN reported this week that some executives want the amnesty clause, a past provision that allowed teams to rid themselves of one contract without it counting against the cap, to be restored.
The amnesty clause was most recently included in the league’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement as a means of effectively providing teams relief from a single albatross contract of their choosing. Some notable players who were waived under that provision were Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Brandon Roy, and Metta World Peace. Former All-Star big man Carlos Boozer was the last player to be “amnestied” back in July 2014.
Many teams currently have players who are already in their 30s signed to expensive long-term deals (Chris Paul with the Thunder, Russell Westbrook with the Rockets, Blake Griffin with the Pistons, and Kevin Love with the Cavaliers, to name a few). A return of the amnesty clause could be one of the many financial consequences the current situation has created for the NBA.
H/T New York Post
