Wizards Considering Using Amnesty On Blatche

JULY 16, 6:34pm: According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, the Wizards are now leaning toward amnestying Andray Blatche. The team still has not made a final decision, but has until tomorrow to decide.

JULY 13, 10:37am: The Wizards are still undecided on whether to use their amnesty clause on Blatche, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post. One source, asked which way the Wizards are leaning, said the team is "standing straight up."

According to Lee, the Wizards continue to work the phones trying to find a trade partner that would take Blatche, but one source thinks Washington would have to pair Blatche with a "major asset" in order to find a deal.

TUESDAY, 10:47am: With the amnesty window for 2012 set to open tomorrow, the Wizards are giving "renewed consideration" to using the amnesty clause to release Andray Blatche, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). According to Stein, the Wizards would like to move on from Blatche, and while they'd rather not eat his remaining salary, they recognize that a trade is extremely unlikely (Twitter link).

Given Washington's cap situation, it would be a little surprising if the team used the amnesty provision on Blatche this summer. With over $60MM in guaranteed salaries, the Wizards would clear a little over $7MM off their books by amnestying Blatche, which probably wouldn't result in enough cap space to be useful. However, according to Stein (via Twitter), if the Wizards don't find a trade partner for Blatche, they'll likely either amnesty him or pay him to stay home.

This year's amnesty window runs for one week, from July 11th to 17th. If teams don't use their amnesty provision during that time, they'll have to wait until next July for their next opportunity.

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