New Jersey Nets waive Travis Outlaw; acquire Shawne Williams - NBA Update
The new Collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has provided all NBA teams a leverage to eliminate the contract of any over paid player in the team, in the form of “amnesty clause”, and few teams have already put it into effect.
Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis were amongst the first few prominent victims of amnesty clause. And just hours ago, another name was added to this list.
According to ESPN, the 27 years Travis Outlaw, who signed a five year contract with New Jersey Nets last season, has been waived by Nets. Team’s General Manager Billy King, shedding light on this added, this was nothing personal
and was only done to add financial stability to the team.
"I told Travis, it's part of the business. It's the ability to have flexibility, It has nothing to do with you. I've got to keep as much flexibility for the organization as possible."
Travis had a reasonable last season with team, where he managed to finish with an average of 9.2 points and 4 rebounds per game.
To fill up for Travis’s place, Nets have signed New York Knicks Shawne Williams, who is equally talented as Travis and a much better player when it comes to shooting from outside the paint.
It is a two year deal that will guarantee Williams $ 6.1 million.
Williams featured in 64 games for the Knicks last season and finished with an average of 7.1 points per game including 40.1 percent from the downtown.
"He gives us a guy that can stretch the floor. We were looking at that as we tried to build a team” Billy King said, dishing out the reasons for his acquisition.
Williams addition to the Nets will definitely strengthened the offense of the team. Although his stats are still humble, but he is a major threat in the court and his ability to shoot accurately from long range makes him a lethal
player.
In just a year’s time, he concreted his place in the Knicks and became a valuable asset for the team. That is the reason, his ex team mate Carmelo Anthony expressed his sadness when the news of Williams joining Nets reached to
him. Anthony added
"Shawne worked really hard last year to get in this position right here so he deserves it. I wish him all the luck. I miss him as a teammate”
Too early to predict whether waiving off Travis was the right move or not but one thing is for sure. Williams will definitely give everything he has to make an impact immediately and make his place in the new team.
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