RealGM

I'm finding this confusing...

The trade is pending the procedural task of Thomas' getting $1.5 million to walk into the Wizards' offices and sign a piece of paper saying he won't use his early termination option.

So Thomas is given an extra $1.5 million to say he won't exercise his ETO?

its actually only a little more than $1.1 million, but yeah. He has a 15% trade kicker, so that's all that's referring to. He could exercise his ETO, turn down his guaranteed $7,354,500 million for next year and then also turn down the extra $1.1 plus million for his trade kicker. He needs to waive the ETO for the trade to go through, but that shouldn't be a big hurdle given all the financial incentive for him to do it. That's what you're referring to with the bribery, but it's really just a trade kicker that milwaukee originally built into his offer sheet back in '04

Between the end of the season and the start of the moratorium, you can trade players again, but only those who won't be free agents in the summer, or who could be via an option. So for the trade to go through, Thomas has to decline his ETO as a concurrent part of the trade, thus making him under contract for the next season. It shouldn't be a big deal, since there's no way he was going to opt out anyway, and he also has the added incentive of the aforementioned trade kicker if he does it. So all he has to do is turn up at the office this morning with a pen in hand and he'll be earning damn near $9 million next year.

So I can't see this being much of a sticking point.

The trade kicker and the ETO really don't have anything to do with each other. Even without the trade kicker he would still have to sign that.