Early on Monday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Houston Rockets have traded guard Michael Carter-Williams and cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a conditional second-round pick.
Just a few moments later, news came down the wire stating that the Bulls would be waiving MarShon Brooks along with their new acquisition.
Bulls are waiving Michael Carter-Williams when trade with Rockets is complete, per source.
Bulls also waiving MarShon Brooks.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 7, 2019
Why would Chicago do such a thing? Because Carter-Williams’ contract would have become guaranteed for the remainder of this season if a decision was not made by 5:00 p.m. ET today. The former No. 11 overall pick is on a one-year, $1.8-million contract, but is only owed $1.2 million since he was waived before Monday’s deadline.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Chicago will take the $1.2M cap hit on the Michael Carter-Williams waiver but are only responsible for $366K of what is owed on his salary.
Chicago will have a $1.2M cap hit on the Michael Carter-Williams waiver but are only responsible for $366K of what is owed on his salary. The cash received from Houston will likely offset the Carter-Williams salary and also what is owed to MarShon… https://t.co/errB27ue3i
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 7, 2019
Carter-Williams, now 27 years of age, made 16 appearances with the Rockets this season (one start), racking up averages of 4.3 points on 41.0 percent shooting from the field (36.8 percent from beyond the arc) and 1.3 assists in 9.1 minutes per outing.
This salary cap maneuver will save the Rockets $2.6M in luxury-tax, dropping their current bill from $16.3 million to $13.7 million. The money that Chicago received from Houston will likely be used to offset the Carter-Williams salary and also what is owed to MarShon Brooks ($907K), according to ESPN.
Basically, the Bulls are eating the cap hit for the Rockets in exchange for some cash (likely enough to cover MCW’s contract) to save Houston a good amount in a tax hit.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 7, 2019
The Bulls (10-30 and 4th in the Central Division standings) will be back in action on Wednesday, when they’ll travel to Portland for a match-up against the Trail Blazers.
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