Only 14 NBA teams came into the summer of 2013 with the ability to use the amnesty provision to remove a player from their roster and their cap. Of those 14 teams, just five took advantage of the provision and released a player last month during the '13 amnesty period.
Often, a team will amnesty a player not simply to remove his salary from the books, but also because he no longer has a role in that club's rotation. That's not always the case though — in a couple instances this summer, we saw players who contributed to recent championships amnestied to help reduce their teams' tax bills.
Of this year's five amnesty victims, three were scooped up by new teams fairly quickly, while the other two are still looking for new deals. Here's a recap of where 2013's amnestied players have landed:
Metta World Peace
Amnestied by Los Angeles Lakers (one year, $7,727,280 remaining)
Signed with New York Knicks (two years, $3,251,550; second-year player option)
Mike Miller
Amnestied by Miami Heat (two years, $12,800,000 remaining)
Signed with Memphis Grizzlies (one year, veteran's minimum)
Linas Kleiza
Amnestied by Toronto Raptors (one year, $4,600,000 remaining)
Signed with Fenerbahce Ulker, Turkey (two years, terms unknown)
Drew Gooden
Amnestied by Milwaukee Bucks (two years, $13,374,800 remaining)
Unsigned
Tyrus Thomas
Amnestied by Charlotte Bobcats (two years, $18,082,645 remaining)
Unsigned
Due to set-off rights, the Lakers and Heat will recoup a little of the money they would have owed World Peace and Miller, had those players not signed new deals. The amount of money the Raptors owe Kleiza should also be reduced, since the set-off rule applies to a new deal with any professional team, not just an NBA club, and Kleiza's contract in Turkey is reportedly quite lucrative.
As for Gooden and Thomas, I expected to see NBA teams take fliers on both guys, and that still may happen, but the rumor mill has been fairly quiet. We haven't heard anything on Gooden since he cleared waivers, and while the Knicks were initially reported to have interest in Thomas, his name hasn't resurfaced for several weeks.