Tyson Chandler's Future with Mavs Directly Impacts how Dallas will use Amnesty Cut

[Built Ford Tough]

Most likely amnesty cut: None

 

How likely to use amnesty this season? Jump ball

 

Other amnesty candidates: Brendan Haywood, Shawn Marion

 

Analysis: No one made a splashier amnesty move in 2005 than the Mavs' release of Michael Finley, but Mark Cuban felt he had no choice in that circumstance because of the millions and millions saved in luxury tax by parting company with a longtime franchise cornerstone.

 

Circumstances are different in the Mavs' post-championship universe. Going down the amnesty road with Haywood won't even be considered, sources say, until the Mavs know if they can or can't keep highly coveted free agent Tyson Chandler. And even if it does manage to hang onto Chandler, Dallas contends that it could have traded Haywood last season if it wanted to and thus should keep Chandler's backup to see what kind of trade market is out there for him if necessary. Given that the final year on Haywood's contract -- worth $10.5 million in 2015-16 -- is fully unguaranteed, Dallas would also argue that his deal isn't as ghastly as it looks on paper.

 

In short? There would have to be some unexpected and extreme benefits in terms of 2012 cap space for the Mavs to take this step with either Haywood or Marion, who co-anchored what proved to be a title-worthy perimeter defense alongside Jason Kidd.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7147880/nba-most-likely-amnesty-candidates

 

If Chandler leaves I agree that Haywood should not be let go. He isn't the defender that Chandler is, but I still think he is a serviceable starting center and would provide the defense and muscle to allow Dirk to focus more on the offensive end of the floor.

 

If they retain Chandler it may make sense to cut ties with Haywood's fairly large contract since it seems like there will be harsher penalties for going deep into the luxury tax. Paying nearly 7 figures for a backup may be too much for even an owner like Mark Cuban to swallow.

[?QuestionMark?]

I don't know that Dallas should just waive him outright. I can think of a couple teams that a pretty desperate for size who can give Dallas at least some value for Haywood. Boston and New York come to mind immediately.

 

Unless Dallas is deadset on having cap space in 2012, I don't know that they should be so quick to dump Haywood. It's not like Dallas has any other bad contracts. And they still play in the West where size is important to go through LA and Memphis.

[Built Ford Tough]

I'm sure the Mavs will search for trade scenarios before even thinking about using their amnesty cut on Haywood because, as you said, there are definitely some teams that would be all for adding a center like Haywood. A lot depends on the cap system as his price tag may scare some teams away but I do agree with you that there are inevitably going to be some teams that would be interested in acquiring him.

 

I doubt the Mavs would cut anybody on their roster to be perfectly honest. Cuban has never been cheap and I can't see him starting now, regardless of what the cap is like. If he thinks that Haywood will help his team repeat as champions, I'm sure he will keep him around even if it means he is forced to go deep into the luxury tax.

 

The only way I see him using it is if he thinks he can clear enough space to go and land a marquee free agent like a Dwight Howard or Deron Williams. However, even if he uses the cut on a guy like Haywood, they are still not going to have nearly enough cap space to get a star free agent, or have the assets to land one via sign and trade.