Kevin Garnett returned to the Brooklyn Nets lineup Saturday after missing several weeks with back spasms. Coach Jason Kidd told reporters pre-game that KG will be on a minutes restriction but he did start and scored on an alley-oop in the first quarter for Brooklyn vs. Philadelphia.
Garnett, 37, is averaging 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds this season for Brooklyn. He has been out since February 28th.
Basketball Hot News
Jazz claim Erik Murphy off waivers, potentially saving Bulls from luxury tax
Did the Bulls know what they were doing when they waived Erik Murphy? It sure seems like it.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
The Utah Jazz claimed forward Erik Murphy on waivers Saturday, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
To make room on the 15-man roster for Murphy, the Jazz waived center Andris Biedrins.
If Murphy cleared waivers, Chicago would have neither gained ground in its quest to avoid the luxury tax nor gained a roster spot to sign free agents (unless the Bulls wanted to added more than two players). Chicago would have only lost a young, and at least minimally intriguing, player on a cheap contract.
But Murphy didn’t clear waivers.
The Bulls can now sign players for a total of 24 days of service for the rest of the season and pay Joakim Noah a $500,000 bonus for making the All-NBA first team and pay Taj Gibson a $250,000 bonus for making the All-Defensive second team and avoid paying the luxury tax.
If Gibson makes the All-Defensive first team – triggering a $500,000, rather than $250,000, bonus – and Noah gets his $500,000 bonus, the Bulls would pay the tax regardless of any signings the rest of the season. But considering their position before waiving Murphy, they’re in great shape now. Not only are they better-positioned to save money this season, they could have more flexibility to pay the luxury tax in future seasons while avoiding repeater penalties.
For the Jazz, they get dibs on Murphy for next season at the low, low cost of $62,421 (Murphy’s salary the rest of this season). Utah already owed Biedrins his remaining salary, so he’s a sunk cost.
Considering the going rate on buying second-round picks, that’s not a bad deal – even if Murphy would cost the slightly higher second-year minimum rather than the rookie minimum next season and would immediately count against the cap. However, if the Jazz decide they don’t want Murphy, they can waive him on or before Aug. 1 and face no cap hit for 2014-15.
If the Jazz like Murphy, they’re a little better off than they were yesterday. If the Bulls like saving money and having future flexibility, they’re way better off than they were yesterday.
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