On Friday, ESPN cap guru Bobby Marks brought forth an interesting proposal that NBA teams are delivering in an amnesty provision. The amnesty was most recently used in 2011 after the conclusion of the lockout. Marks explained the provision in his piece for the ESPN.
The amnesty provision introduced in the 2011 CBA allowed teams to waive a player and remove his cap hit from their books, though they were still responsible for paying his salary. A one-year reintroduction of the rule could help cash-strapped teams, especially if the cap drops or remains flat.
Two teams told ESPN that the provision would help a franchise like the Detroit Pistons the most. Blake Griffin will count against their cap for $36.8 million and $38.9 million in the next two seasons. With this proposal, Detroit could amnesty Griffin and have over $50 million in room; without the provision it would have less than $20 million in space under a flat cap.
The introduction of the amnesty provision would present a lot of very tough and interesting decisions for general managers across the league. With so much money expected to be lost in the coming months and years, teams could be forced into making decisions that could benefit the short-term over the long-term.
It could also present opportunities for franchises to get the chance to sign players amnestied on low-risk, high-reward contracts. With the Pelicans having no bad contracts on their cap sheet and a host of cap space, they could be one of the teams to take advantage of the opportunity.
Here’s a look at five potential amnestied players the Pelicans could target.