Due to an early trade deadline this season, the buyout market was active sooner than usual, with a handful of players released by their respective teams before the All-Star break. Greg Monroe, Joe Johnson, Marco Belinelli, and Brandan Wright are among the veterans who were bought out and quickly caught on with new teams earlier in February, and Ersan Ilyasova appears set to join them on that list soon.
There are still several more candidates for buyouts around the NBA, but if those buyouts are going to happen, it will have to be soon. For a veteran player hoping to leave a lottery-bound team to play for a contender, March 1 is a key deadline. A player waived after that date won’t retain his playoff eligibility if he subsequently signs with a new club.
As such, we could see another small flurry of buyout activity happen this week — if those buyouts aren’t completed on or before Thursday, they probably won’t happen at all this season.
Here are five players who are candidates to be bought out or released outright in the coming days:
- Jarrett Jack, PG (Knicks): A starter for 56 of the Knicks‘ first 59 games this season, Jack has yet to play a single minute since the All-Star break. Finding minutes for young point guards Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay will be a top priority for head coach Jeff Hornacek down the stretch, and Jack won’t even be third in line for minutes, with Trey Burke also in the mix. While the Knicks may value the veteran’s leadership abilities in the locker room, it would make sense to let him go if there’s a playoff-bound team out there with interest in signing him.
- Arron Afflalo, SG (Magic): Afflalo’s 12.8 MPG and 3.2 PPG are career-worsts, and his one-year minimum salary contract makes him very unlikely to be part of the long-term plans in Orlando. The veteran swingman has been just as effective as ever from three-point range this year though — his .386 3PT% is identical to his career rate. That should appeal to some teams in need of outside shooting, including perhaps the Raptors.
- Shabazz Muhammad, SF (Timberwolves): Muhammad was said earlier this month to be seeking a trade or a buyout, and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has said his team is willing to accommodate the forward’s departure. However, Muhammad’s second-year player option complicates matters. Minnesota would likely want him to give back that money as part of a buyout, and it’s not clear if the 25-year-old is willing to do that. Given how much he’s struggled this season (3.8 PPG, .388/.211/.710 shooting line), Muhammad isn’t necessarily a lock for a guaranteed contract in free agency this summer, so he may be reluctant to give up that guaranteed player-option salary.
- Trevor Booker, PF (Sixers): Booker’s name hasn’t really come up in buyout rumors this month, but his roster spot may be in jeopardy. Philadelphia is said to be Ersan Ilyasova‘s preferred landing spot for when he finalizes a buyout with the Hawks, and the Sixers have a full roster, meaning someone will have to go. Booker, one of the few players on the roster with an expiring contract, has averaged just 15.0 minutes per game since joining the 76ers earlier this season and plays the same position as Ilyasova. There’s no guarantee that Booker will be the odd man out if and when the Sixers sign Ilyasova, but he’s definitely a candidate.
- Joakim Noah, C (Knicks): If Muhammad’s $1.8MM guarantee for next season qualifies as a roadblock in his potential buyout with the Timberwolves, what does that make Noah’s $37.8MM in future guarantees? We’ve written at length about Noah’s situation since he left the club last month, so we won’t go into extensive detail again. But it’s clear there’s no real win-win solution for the Knicks and Noah, who would welcome a fresh start but doesn’t want to give up a significant chunk of money. Even if their relationship is all but over, it would still be somewhat surprising to see the Knicks and Noah get a buyout done this week — both sides can probably afford to wait out the situation in the hopes of eventually gaining more leverage.
Always amazes me how some players want to be bought out but then are unwilling to sacrifice money to do so. I’ve always been for the players when it comes to contracts, and if a contract is fully guaranteed then the player is entitled to that money, but its just idiotic to ask for a buy out and then basically refuse to take a pay cut.
Yeah exactly, you can’t have your cake and eat it too
Agreed 100%
One of the more sensible comments I’ve read on here. I completely agree 100%. A player cannot have it both ways.
With all of that being said, if Shabazz wants the buyout, for a more significant role, and another shot at being a regular part of a team’s primary rotation, etc., then he needs to help out the Wolves in return.
I could understand if he had played well, and just ended up getting passed over by younger and cheaper players, but to put it simply, he has not played very well.
In the next, few upcoming days, we will certainly see just how bad Shabazz truly wants to extend his career. If he honestly thinks he can become a contributing role player for another team, and that he just needs the chance to prove himself, then giving up that second year shouldn’t be a big issue…
In basic terms, if you want someone to help you, for your own personal reasons, then, in return, you should do whatever you can to help them…
Exactly. I have no problems with Shabazz asking to be moved via trade or buy out to get a bigger role elsewhere. He and Thibs both know he’s not going to have a huge role in Minnesota going forward. If he really wants to find a big role elsewhere, he has to be willing to sacrifice some money. If he isn’t willing, there’s no reason for Minnesota to waive him unless he’s a disturbance in the locker room.
How to get paid and play for a contender.
Step 1. Sign biggest contract regardless of team.
Step 2. Become toxic.
Step 3. Accept buyout.
Step 4. Sign for minimum with contending team.
Yes, how true!