If you were the general manager or owner of the New York Knickerbockers and you had the chance to cut a veteran player who's best days are behind him, what would you do? Apparently you decide to keep him. James Dolan, the chairman of The Garden stepped in and chose not to use the NBA's one-time exemption on Allan Houston. The exemption allows a team to waive a player and not pay the luxury tax on their contract. Houston, who played a mere 20 games last season, is due $40 million in the remaining two years of his contract. Instead of trimming the fat of Houston's contract, Isiah Thomas decided to cut Jerome Williams and the $21.3 million he is due over 3 years.
True, the Knicks have too many "power" forwards, but how much hope is there that Houston will return to the Knicks. And if he does, will it be the Houston of old or even worth $20 million a year? Probably not. Besides, if you've got an exception that seems tailor-made for your player, why not go ahead and use it? Then again, when was the last time the Knickerbockers did something that made sense?
