The NBA offseason hit a marker on Wednesday as the moratorium on signing contracts was lifted and now that Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and the other big boys have started to sign, teams can look at what players they wish to use the amnesty clause on for salary cap relief.
There are a number of teams that can still use their amnesty clause, as they still have players that signed contracts before the deadline date, with 13 teams and 34 players qualifying. A number of teams have already used their clause or do not have players that qualify, including the Bobcats, who used it on Tyrus Thomas to make way for Al Jefferson.
Some names that are part of the qualifications aren't going anywhere, including Al Horford in Atlanta, Rajon Rondo in Boston, LeBron James in Miami, Tony Parker in San Antonio and Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City among others, but there are some big names that may go and Pro Basketball Talk says that Metta World Peace, John Salmons, Carlos Boozer and Charlie Villanueva are the top choices.
The Bulls likely won't use theirs on Boozer and while the Thunder thought about it with Kendrick Perkins, it appears they are avoiding that as well, as the organization said they do not believe in using it. The Bulls may use it to try and get some more room under the cap, but they may wait until next year when more free agents hit the market. Some teams that still can use the clause include the Hawks, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Thunder, Kings, Spurs, Jazz and Raptors.
The Lakers using theirs on the man formerly known as Ron Artest looks very likely as he is getting paid over $14 million and while Kobe Bryant may not like it, the team needs some relief cap wise. The team was thought to possibly use it on Pau Gasol, but that is looking like it is not happening at all. The Lakers lost out on Dwight Howard, but both sides appear happy for it, especially the Lakers as Howard was a whiny baby while playing there.
Amnother name that could be amnestied is John Salmons, as the Kings are working on getting Monta Ellis but need some financial relief to do so. The team has looked into trading Marcus Thornton and others like Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes, but so far no deals have been made. Salmons is due $7.5 million in 2013-14, and $1 million guaranteed in 2014-15 and could be a candidate and since the team took Ben McLemore, he may be a redundant player. Lastly is the Pistons Charlie Villanueva, who signed a big contract a few years ago but was a big disappointment, as he is owed $8.58 million next season.
