Players acquired after June 21st aren't eligible for the amnesty rule. That would mean that Eddie Jones couldn't be an amnesty cut. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2112912&num=0
Norm Hitzgas on 1310 the Ticket in Dallas said (a couple of days ago) that he has heard that once Allen Houston is cut he is heading to Houston. Norm is not one to just throw crap against the wall and see what sticks. He is one of the more creadable sports guys in the city so I believe there is some creadance to what he says. I dont know how that makes me feel though. I guess if Houston is healthy he would be worth a year maybe two at the vet minimum. The guy was a good defender at the two when he was healthy and could knock down the open jumper as good as most. I think he is JVG's type of player but still a little long in the tooth for my liking.
For the vets' minimum or LLE, I wouldn't mind Houston at all. I'd prefer him to Sprewell, since I think he'd be a much more positive lockerroom influence. Very professional guy. I worry big time about his knees though.
Hey if the guy is healthy then he is a good all around 2 guard. All Star caliber at his best but old guy that cant stay healthy or stay on the court at his worst. What worries me is adding an old player (34?) to an already old back court. I worry about the lack of young athletes in our back court. What happens when Barry, Sura, Wesley and now possibly Houston finally go to the old folks home? Mike James is the only proven young athlete in our back court. I guess if Head turns into a good player and V-Span comes over next year and turns into a very good point guard my worries are for nothing.
The problem is, with just the LLE and Vets' minimum, the only (good) players we can realistically expect to get are guys on their last legs (or leg) like NVE or Houston. Hopefully, down the road we'll be able to acquire young, athletic talents (like Swift) via the draft and using the MLE. Who knows? Maybe Devin Harris will really start to develop next year and Jason Terry will be available in the offseason.
I can see them cutting Baker under the amnesty claus as he has this year and a player option for one more year on his contract... Moochie and Spoon (Big Lug) both have just one year left and will be prime trade bait in the coming season... Wesley and Ward will either be traded or kept as their salaries are not large by comparison to the others listed... Howard (if healthy) is a solid contributor and will be a great mentor to Swift at the PF position...so unless we are presented with a deal to good to pass up I think he will be kept... But then again I'm just an armchair GM wannabee......
Teams have to be well into lux tax land to make it worth their while to cut a player. That threshold went up with the new CBA and will land somewhere in the $60 range. Less than a third of the league is in any danger of hitting that mark. Only Dallas, New York, and maybe the Pacers are high enough above it that they should really consider paying someone to go away. The Sixers aren't going to waive Webber this soon since O'Brien *may* have played a big role in his disappointing debut. McKie's not a bad call, but waiving a retired player like Todd MacCullach is what I'd expect. The Magic have a bunch of expiring deals that they can use, and Hill's too good to throw away. Jerry West is a big Eddie Jones fan, and as others have pointed out, they can't waive him anyway. The Real List of Candidates: Knicks - Houston Mavs - Finley (still not for certain) Pacers - Miller (even though he's retired) or Croshere (less likely) Sixers - Todd MacCulloch Lakers - Grant (50-50) Us - Moochie (somewhat likely) And that's it. Jalen Rose might seem like the perfect candidate, but Toronto's under the threshold, and you would ideally want to be $16 over the lux tax for the next two years to use this opportunity to waive a guy making $16 mill for two more years. Waiving him now would do absolutely zero for the Raps outside of losing a headache (and one of two guys on the team that can score any points). Evan
