The first week of free-agent season is also amnesty season, as teams look to dump bad contracts from before the current CBA was signed last fall. The official moves won't taken place until the 11th, when free agents can actually sign and amnesty filings can be done, but one intereting move is the Sixers pre-announcing that Elton Brand will catch the ire of Tom Tancredo by getting amnestied.
Brand hasn't put up bad numbers, but not max-contract numbers. He'd be a welcome addition to almost any club as a first big-guy off the bench or a solid power forward, if he adjusts his salary demands accordingly.
I would be surprised if Charlie Villanueva doesn't join him on the list; there aren't any other stinky contracts left from the pre-2011 era now that Ben Gordon was pawned off on the Bobcats. With Andre Drummond adding to the big-man mix, there seems to be little reason to keep Charlie around unless they have a Mr. Clean fetish.
The surprising move so far is Jason Kidd signing with the Knicks. Given that they are expecting to match any offers for Jeremy Lin, that gives the Knicks two high-caliber points. Kidd is big enough to play some 2, so the combo could work while giving them a vet who can play alpha dog to Carmello and Amare.
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