Heavyweights raid buyout bargain bin
Cavs and Warriors pounce late for cheap boost down stretch
Sometimes the rich do get richer.
In one of the quirks of the rules governing contracts, buyouts and waiver requests, a second round of late-season NBA transactions allows teams to stock up, mainly on veterans, even after the trade deadline has come and gone.
It’s how Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams landed in Cleveland to augment an already powerful Cavaliers team. It’s how Brandon Jennings can slot into a backup role with the thin Washington Wizards, and how Matt Barnes can slide seamlessly into a hole created by an injury to Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors.
The rules are clear, and there was no move to change them substantially in the new collective agreement: If a team can create a roster spot and has either cap room or a so-called veteran’s exception to offer, they can pick and choose any available player to fill that role.
Some teams save money over the course of a season so they can offer more than the veteran minimum, to attract players who have multiple suitors.
The buyout process is little more than a financial negotiation between a player who wants to be free and a team that wants to save some money.
A player with, say, $7 million left on his deal might want to buy his freedom for $2 million, taking a $5-million buyout that saves his first club a little bit of money. That player might have an eye on a contending team he wants to join, and may not have the appetite to play out the string in a losing situation. A veteran might not feel like being parked on a bench while his team looks at longer-term prospects.
The waiver system is also tilted towards veteran — usually high-paid — players becoming totally free and able to go where they want.
A team that wants to take a player off waivers is then responsible for the rest of his contract, and since the process goes in reverse order of the standings, no lottery-bound team is likely to pay big bucks for a six-week rental who doesn’t want to be there in the first place.
Ateam that has a need — like Washington, in its desire for a veteran backup point guard such as Jennings — will let go of one of its end-of-the- bench players. Others — like the Raptors, with young players they want to groom — are reluctant to create a spot for a player who will only be around for a few weeks.
Whether or not the added veterans make a major difference is hard to tell until the rest of the season plays out, and there are team officials who’d like to move the date for playoff eligibility — it’s now March 1 for players to get themselves free — to level the playing field. That idea gained no traction, though, and the system isn’t going to change any time soon.