Unable to swing a trade, the Charlotte Bobcats waived center Erick Dampier on Tuesday, voiding one of the NBA’s most unique contracts and avoiding the dreaded luxury tax.
Dampier was in the last year of a seven-year, $73 million deal, but the $13 million for this season wasn’t guaranteed because he failed to meet playing time requirements. The Michael Jordan-owned Bobcats, desperate to get their payroll under the luxury tax threshold of $70.3 million, traded center Tyson Chandler to Dallas in July in a five-player trade that included Dampier’s contract.
At first, Charlotte wasn’t content in just waiving Dampier to clear cap room. Starting Monday, they could’ve packaged Dampier’s contract in a multiplayer deal, possibly for a needed point guard. But the Bobcats found no takers in a deal that also would have kept Charlotte below the luxury tax. Waiving Dampier leaves the Bobcats about $5 million shy of the luxury tax, a dollar-for-dollar tax Jordan has said the team wouldn’t exceed.
