With news that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was bought out and will return to the Cavs after waiting 30 days, the issue of the rule allowing players to return to their last teams after being waived came to the forefront.
While the NBA determined that there was no proof of a previous agreement between the Wizards and Cavaliers that the Wizards would waive Ilgauskas, it is likely that there was a wink and a nod that accompanied the deal that brought Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers.
So why is this rule allowing Ilgauskas to go back to the Cavaliers unfair? If a trade works for both teams and one team thinks it is in their best interest to buy their player out, why not allow them to do so?
The fact is that the rule contradicts the salary cap rules that attempt to stop completely unfair trades and "have" and "have-not" teams from appearing. All other rules in the CBA aim to level the playing field but this rule does quite the opposite.
Some would argue that all teams should have freedom to make any type of trade, but the fact is that without rules, teams like the Knicks, the Lakers, and the Celtics would be even more dominant than the best teams ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Patrick Harrel
The 30-Day Waiver Rule: A NBA Loophole That Must Be Closed
February 28th, 2010 by Patrick Harrel Leave a reply »
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