Pistons Will Not Use Amnesty on Charlie Villanueva
By Brad Rowland
One of the worst contracts in the recent history of the NBA will reportedly live on… for now.
TNT’s David Aldridge dropped this bit of knowledge concerning Detroit’s Charlie Villanueva via Twitter on Thursday afternoon:
Pistons, per source, won't use amnesty, saving the likes of Charlie Villanueva. Likely reason--new team salary minimums (90% of cap/$52.8M).
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 11, 2013
On the surface, it may not seem “newsworthy” to say that a player wouldn’t be amnestied, but in Villanueva’s case, his contract speaks for itself. He signed a 5-year, $37.7 million contract during the summer of 2009, and from the moment the ink was dry, it was a flat-out atrocity. There was widespread discussion that Detroit would amnesty him this summer, releasing themselves of the final $8.58 million, in order to create flexibility, but as Aldridge indicates, it appears that they need his money to exceed the league’s salary floor.
Villanueva’s effectiveness has visibly slipped over the past two seasons, as he has shot less than 40% from the field during each campaign. As a result, his playing time has disappeared to the tune of only 82 appearances over 2 seasons, and with the signing of Josh Smith, I can’t imagine that Detroit will be deploying him in a prominent role for 2013-2014.
It’s amazing what $37.7 million will buy you in the NBA.