The NBA trade deadline might have passed, but the buyout deadline might still move pieces.
We have passed this season’s NBA trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean moves aren’t still going to happen. While no one can be traded — and there’s no waiver trade deadline like in baseball — the buyout deadline is going to heat up in a big way.
Teams can buyout players with contracts they’re not interested in honoring anymore and the rest of the NBA is free to sign that player. That catch is that teams have until March 1st to buyout a player and have him still be eligible for a postseason roster. Any player bought out after that deadline can continue to play through the end of the regular season but won’t be able to be placed on the postseason roster.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping that Joe Johnson sneaks under that playoff eligibility deadline. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Joe Johnson is still very much in play for the Cavaliers.
"Brooklyn Nets veteran swingman Joe Johnson is still very much in play for the defending Eastern Conference champions, league sources informed cleveland.com."
Of course, the Nets need to buyout Johnson first — which is something they’ve been increasingly rumored to be doing. The Nets would love to get out from under Johnson’s contract, which seems to be ground zero for the years of pain they’ve experienced. Buying out Johnson doesn’t totally fix things for Brooklyn but it goes a long way in getting them on the right track.
As for Cleveland, it’s not a surprise that they’d covet a veteran like Johnson. They already moved pieces around to acquire Channing Frye so adding Johnson is another move to go all-in this year to beat the Warriors in the NBA Finals.