Apparently unable to find a suitable trade involving Jarrett Jack, the Nets have requested waivers on the veteran point guard, according to a press release from the team. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical had reported earlier in the week that the Nets would cut Jack before his salary for 2016/17 became guaranteed if they weren’t able to trade him.
Jack had been owed a $6.3MM salary for the coming season, but only $500K of that figure was guaranteed. The rest would have become guaranteed if the 32-year-old had remained on Brooklyn’s roster beyond today.
The Nets will save $5.8MM with the move, and will free up a little extra cap space by stretching Jack’s partially-guaranteed salary out over the next three seasons, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Jack will now count against the team’s cap for about $167K per year for the next three seasons, rather than $500K in 2016/17.
Of course, if Jack is claimed off waivers by another team, that club will take on the full amount of the contract, wiping that leftover $500K from Brooklyn’s cap. And given what we know about free agent costs this offseason, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team put in a claim on Jack and his relatively affordable one-year contract.
As the Nets’ depth chart at RosterResource.com shows, Jack had been the only real point guard left on the roster in Brooklyn, with Shane Larkin and Donald Sloan eligible for free agency. Needless to say, the Nets will be in the market for point guard help during the next week, as they head into July armed with more than enough room for a max free agent or two.