bdgking wrote:i would give a team a 2nd round pick and thomas just to unload his sorry @ss and take on his salary and get nothing in return just to free the roster spot and save cap space !
It would certainly be nice for the Kings if they could package KT's bad contract with Artest or Miller. But with the luxury tax, teams are VERY hesitant to take on bad contracts these days. Sacramento might have to give up a lot more than Miller or Artest to move KT, and then, is it worth it?
Phoenix had to send two first round picks along with the other KT in order to get Seattle to take on his contract... and his contract was expiring (but granted Phoenix's first rounders are worth less to them than most teams' firsts are worth to those teams).
Players really have the hammer with guaranteed contracts... that money is GUARANTEED. Doesn't matter if they suck or blow out a knee in the first year of a multi-year contract and never play again.
So that's why teams buy players out. Sure they still have to pay millions, but if you have a guy whose contract is hard to move, you don't want him on the team, why keep him around as a malcontent when you can send him away, gain a roster spot, and save a few million in the bargain?
Kings want a fresh start next season. Not a lot of reason to keep KT around, and I still think it's very unlikely another team wants him, either. Might as well offer him a buyout, save a few million, and gain a roster spot. In fact if he were bought out already, you coulda kept Justin Williams.
There's a lot of incentive these days for teams to be really careful about the contracts they're handing out. Especially to their own free agents. Everyone's wary of the tax, teams are afraid to bid on other teams' free agents because their cap space gets held up for a week and the original team can then just match. And the team with a players rights can, instead of just giving in to an agent's demands, can say "either take this, or come back to us when/if you've got a better offer."
