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Houston Saves the Knicks Money

When the new amnesty rule came into play where teams were allowed to cut a player from their roster and gain some cap relief, a lot of people figured that the Knicks Allen Houston would be the first one to get cut. The Knicks, who own the already own the highest payroll in the league, surprised everyone by choosing not to cut Houston.

The reason why Isiah Thomas chose not to waive Houston, thus saving millions of dollars in the process was because he knew he stands to save even more money if Houston decides to retire. As it so happens, Houston announced his intent to retire from professional basketball earlier this week, this saving the Knicks more than $72 million in the process.

Had New York waived him, they would have had to pay him his salary according to the contract he signed. Now that he has retired, the Knicks get to save that money in addition to the extra luxury tax.