KNICKS SO-CALLED 2010 PLAN COULD STAY ON POINT WITH A LITTLE "WHITE CHOCOLATE": A JASON WILLIAMS/CBA DISCUSSION

(This post is in response to a question by Prince (Comment #18, previous thread) regarding Jason William’s potential salary with the Knicks.  I hope it helps.   Special  thanks to DLT for adding info to the discussion.)

Jason Williams signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Clippers on  August 8, 2008 after spending three years with the Miami Heat where he won a championship ring with Shaq and DWade.   On September 26th, Williams retired, apparently unwilling to move his family from Miami to Los Angeles in order to play for a perennial loser.  Clipper coach Mike Dunleavy waxed flippantly about William’s retirement before training camp.  Dunleavy said  “He’s from West Virginia. He could be like Brett Favre. And a month from now he could want to play again.”

Jason did attempt to unretire prior to the trading deadline in February 2008.  A player can return from retirement, before the end of the mandatory one-year waiting period, only by unanimous consent of all NBA teams.  Six teams voted against William’s early  return.  ESPN.com described the rejection as follows:

“The six teams that voted against letting Williams return this season, as revealed to all 30 teams via league memo, were Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Minnesota, San Antonio and the Clippers themselves, who would have regained exclusive rights to the 33-year-old had he been reinstated. One suggested motivation for teams blocking Williams’ return is the assumption that he would have quickly parted ways with L.A. after reinstatement and signed with a playoff contender for this season’s stretch run.”

When he retired, Williams reportedly forfeited his salary, the league minimum, which was $1,262,275 in 2008-2009.  In 1oo7-2008, he earned $8,937,572 with the Miami Heat.   This season  Williams could be signed for the minimum salary of  $1,306,455 (Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ, query #11).  If Williams agrees to a one-year contract with the Knicks, the Knicks should actually be entitled to additional savings, since the leaue pays for the portion of the veteran’s salary above $825,497 (the two-year vet minimum) in order to encourage teams to sign older vets.

A MSM report incorrectly stated that the Knicks “won” the rights to negotiate with Williams when he was claimed off the waiver wire.  This is absolutely incorrect.  The way that the waiver works is that after the player is released, any team may claim him off waivers but the player is automatically awarded to the claimant-team with the worst record.  No team with a worse record claimed Williams.

According to Larry Coon, the Knicks, if they are above the cap, can sign Williams only if the team has a disabled players or traded players exception or if the contract to be signed is a one or two year contract at the league minimum (the minimum salary exception).  (See Coon’s query #54).  There is no mention that the bi-annual exception can or needs to be used in this instance, since the minimum salary exception is always available if a team is over the cap.

The question I don’t have time to address at this minute is whether Jason Williams must sign an agreement with the team that has claimed him off waivers if he does not have a contract.  I noted that he was scheduled, before he was claimed off waivers, to appear for a workout with the Memphis Grizzlies where he played for four years. If I find some time today, I will check the CBA for the definitive answer.

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I don’t understand how anyone can think that Jason Williams is a replacement for Nate Robinson. Forget the prospective salaries which are millions apart.  Physically and athletically, Jason Williams and Nate Robinson are miles apart.  They don’t even play the same position or the same position similarly.  Furthermore, Jason Williams has been out for a full season and will be no more than a competent back-up, who might be fortunate to get off the bench in D’Antoni’s rotation (remember Roberson’s fate) unless Hughes or Duhon are traded.  Williams is most likely to be behind Toney Douglas and Hughes in the depth charts.  Furthermore, expect Jeffries and Gallo to play some point forward.  Does the MSM remember that D’Antoni’s offense requires superb conditioning?  Williams and Robinson are two separate issues from what I see.  What do you think?