This is the time of year where there are lots of cuts being made. So it brought up this crazy idea (yes, very crazy!). I'm curious as to whether there is a loophole in the CBA in regards to trading... two teams could each "waive" a player and then claim each other's player off waivers immediately.
This would get around the requirement of having to match salaries and allow one team to get under the salary cap if done with "coincidental cooperation" with another team which is already under the salary cap... or really by any team that wouldn't go over the cap by picking up a player off waivers.
So say a decent backup SF became available but wouldn't match.... oh for the sake of argument let's say Bonner's salary.... We could waive Bonner, then pick up the SF who would now be on waivers while the other team would pick up Bonner off waivers. We'd lower our Total Salary, maybe even be able to carry another player to boot. Who cares what the other team wanted... hahahaha
The team picking up a player off waivers takes over the contract and the waiving team wipes the contract off their plate since he didn't clear waivers.
Anyway, would that be allowed? Sounds too good to be true... the teams involved would definitely catch from the league, but still....
It could only happen if both teams had enough room under the cap or a trade exception to pick up the contracts involved. If they had those, they'd probably be able to make a trade work.
Not to mention another team higher on the waiver order with the space or exception could pick up one of the players off waivers before the team that was supposed to pick him up had the opportunity.
So if a team wanted to trade/dump a player like... oh for the sake of argument... Bonner, they could do a "one-way" trade by coming to an agreement with a team to pick him up off waivers. It wouldn't really matter to the waiving team if different team picked up the player first (since it's really just to dump salary). But of course you would have to be absolutely sure another team would pick him up.
Interesting.... hmmmmmmm....
I'll look up the rules for how teams are prioritised for claiming players off waivers... that would be an interesting read right now...
Thanks
The odds might be better if the two teams were the Nets and T-Wolves. They had the 2 worst records (waiver order).
If the team had enough room to pick up the salary, there is no reason not to make a trade.
But for the sake of argument, say the salaries didn't match.
We'll call the waived player "Bonner" because it's shorter than saying "the waived player with a $3-4M salary".
Say the Spurs want to pick up a SF, but will go over the cap if they do. Assume the salary of the SF is $1M. They could "dump" Bonner's salary in this manner to dip below the cap and then pick up the $1M SF (possibly throwing in a non-guaranteed contract if done soon).
So we could be talking about 3 teams. The Spurs, the team with the $1M SF, and the team picking up Bonner. (Assuming the teaming has cap room for Bonner)
Theoretically speaking of course...
Then the Spurs could trade Bonner to the team with cap space, then pick up the $1 million player by using the trade exception generated from the first trade.
No waiving necessary.
1. Nets
2. Timberwolves
3. Kings
4. Warriors
5. Wizards
6. Pistons
7. 76ers
8. Clippers
9. Knickerbockers
10. Hornets
11. Grizzlies
12. Raptors
13. Bulls
14. Rockets
15. Bobcats
16. Bucks
17. Heat
18. Celtics
19. Thunder
20. Blazers
21. Spurs
22. Hawks
23. Nuggets
24. Jazz
25. Suns
26. Mavericks
27. Lakers
28. Magic
29. Cavaliers
An interesting example of waivers situations and waiver priority has impacted the National League Championship Series in MLB this year. Cody Ross was waived by the Florida Marlins in August during the pennant race. The Giants put in a claim (due to priority order) to block Ross from going to the San Diego Padres, who needed a center fielder after Tony Gwynn Jr. broke a finger. As one writer pointed out, the Giants were stuffed with outfielders and had to find a way to get Ross on their roster.
Ross is currently 4-9 with 3 HRs versus the Phillies, so far.
Ahhhhh.... I see it now.
Thanks ChumpDumper!
Interesting example Solid D. Appreciate it!
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