As we move forward into the 2012 offseason with "Amnesty 2.0", we will see the fascinating possibilities that the provision brings. One fun component of the rule is that we know exactly which players are eligible for it and that number can only decrease over time since the players had to have been under contract with the same team before the new CBA. As such, any trades, extensions, or contract expirations thin out the list.

The other thing to remember is that most of the benefit of using the amnesty provision comes from additional flexibility in terms of the salary cap- the only money savings owners get from using it come from any reduction in luxury tax payments and whatever a “winning” team bids for that player on amnesty waivers.

Atlanta Hawks

Players Eligible for amnesty: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia, Jeff Teague

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams

Most likely amnesty decision: Joe Johnson in either 2014 or 2015. With only Al Horford locked up long-term, time will have to tell if/when the Hawks want to use the flexibility created by eliminating the last few years of Joe’s albatross.

Boston Celtics

Players Eligible for amnesty: Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Paul Pierce

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. On other teams, Paul Pierce’s last year would be a reasonable pick if next season is as expected. However, Pierce is a Celtics legend and the restrictions on teams re-signing players who are amnestied makes a move prohibitively unlikely.

Brooklyn Nets

Used amnesty provision on Travis Outlaw (December 15, 2011) 

Charlotte Bobcats

Players Eligible for amnesty: Corey Maggette, Tyrus Thomas, DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll, Gerald Henderson

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll, Corey Maggette

Most likely amnesty decision: DeSagana Diop in 2012. In some ways, Charlotte provides the most interesting example of what the amnesty provision can be for a team. DeSagana Diop’s deal clearly represents the worst one on the team, but Corey Maggette may be the choice since the margin between what he is paid and what a team might bid in amnesty should make him a larger overall savings on both the cap and real money than Diop. That said, I think Diop stands as the more likely cut since he does not provide anything of substance to make the team better while Maggette still has value either on this team or in a trade.

Chicago Bulls

Players Eligible for amnesty: Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson, Taj Gibson

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Carlos Boozer

Most likely amnesty decision: Carlos Boozer in 2014. In all likelihood, the Bulls’ decision will come down to Boozer or nothing since none of their other players are logical candidates. Boozer’s last year comes the same year that Luol Deng becomes a free agent, so a proactive Bulls team could make some FA/trade noise since they have less money on the books.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Used amnesty provision on Baron Davis (December 14, 2011)

Dallas Mavericks

Players Eligible for amnesty: Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood, Rodrigue Beaubois, Dominique Jones

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Brendan Haywood

Most likely amnesty decision: Brendan Haywood this summer (2012). It seems like almost a foregone conclusion that the Mavs will use their amnesty shot on Haywood before free agency regardless of where Deron Williams ends up. It’s just too logical a decision.

Denver Nuggets

Players Eligible for amnesty: Al Harrington, Chris Andersen, Timofey Mozgov, Ty Lawson

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Al Harrington, Chris Andersen

Most likely amnesty decision: Al Harrington in 2013. Harrington’s contract being only 50% guaranteed for the last two seasons may make him an even more likely amnesty choice since the team likely would have considered cutting him outright one of those two seasons and having a relative lack of other choices makes Harrington an even easier call. I’m guessing they wait one summer because he likely will not get much (if anything) in the waiver market and the team does not have a ton of salary flexibility or luxury tax liability in 2012 unless they let JaVale McGee go.

Detroit Pistons

Players Eligible for amnesty: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, Will Bynum, Greg Monroe, Austin Daye

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva

Most likely amnesty decision: Charlie Villanueva this summer (2012). I originally had Ben Gordon in this slot because his salary is so much higher, yet this season has made Villanueva the more likely pick. After all, guys paid as much as him do not get DNP-CD’s very frequently. Still think Gordon is the more logical selection considering the amount the Pistons have on the books in the form of Stuckey, Prince and Richard Hamilton's buyout.

Golden State Warriors

Used amnesty provision on Charlie Bell (December 11, 2011) 

Houston Rockets

Players Eligible for amnesty: Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson, Chase Budinger

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: None

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. The only potential choice on the books right now would be Luis Scola’s last year if the Rockets were going for a big splash that summer. That seems pretty unlikely considering how much the team values him and the potential that he ends up somewhere else via trade before that point.

Indiana Pacers

Used amnesty provision on James Posey (December 12, 2011)

Los Angeles Clippers

Players Eligible for amnesty: Mo Williams, Blake Griffin, Ryan Gomes, Eric Bledsoe

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Ryan Gomes, Mo Williams

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. Donald Sterling will not use the amnesty to open himself up to spending more money. The final season of Gomes’ or Williams’ deal could end up being a compelling option depending on where the tax line is, yet we all know the most likely decision.

Los Angeles Lakers

Players Eligible for amnesty: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Metta World Peace, Steve Blake

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Metta World Peace, Steve Blake

Most likely amnesty decision: Metta World Peace this summer (2012). The challenging part of this for the Lakers has to be who they use it on this summer. With Walton and Fisher traded, the main candidates are World Peace and Blake, two players who could be amnestied either this summer or next. Considering the larger savings and his reduced production this season, I have the Artist Formerly Known as Ron Artest taking the pole position right now.

Memphis Grizzlies

Players Eligible for amnesty: Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Tony Allen

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Zach Randolph (in 2014)

Most likely amnesty decision: Zach Randolph in 2014. One of the craziest things about Memphis at the current moment is that they have $60 million per season committed to four players (Randolph, Gay, Conley, and Marc Gasol) for every season until 2015. In the summer of 2014, Randolph turns 34 while the team could be looking at other players or a luxury tax payment. It seems close to a 50/50 proposition now, with shedding salary slightly winning out in the end since it appears unlikely Heisley will trade Randolph before then.

Miami Heat

Players Eligible for amnesty: Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller

Most likely amnesty decision: Joel Anthony in 2014. After what will have been the fourth season for Miami Thrice, each of the three players has an ETO while Mario Chalmers expires and Haslem/Anthony each have player options. Considering Anthony will be 32 at the start of that season, it would be unsurprising to see Mickey Arison look to either save money or go after another big man.

Milwaukee Bucks

Players Eligible for amnesty: Beno Udrih, Drew Gooden, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Jennings, Larry Sanders, Jon Brockman

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Drew Gooden, Beno Udrih

Most likely amnesty decision: Drew Gooden in 2013. The real question for the Bucks is how willing ownership is to pay money to a guy who will not contribute and should be unlikely to yield any meaningful savings that the team will use in terms of the cap or tax. Moving Stephen Jackson in the Monta Ellis/Andrew Bogut trade gave Milwaukee additional flexibility for 2012 that they could augment further by using the amnesty provision on Beno. Both choices have merit depending on philosophy and opportunity. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

Players Eligible for amnesty:  Martell Webster, Darko Milicic, Brad Miller, Nikola Pekovic, Wesley Johnson, Luke Ridnour, Wayne Ellington

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Darko Milicic

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. What makes Darko an interesting case is that his contract only has about $1.755 million guaranteed for the final year (13-14). With most other GM’s, that would be a pretty easy slam dunk for amnesty since he is the longest-lasting T-Wolf in terms of amnesty eligibility and also would be pretty clean to get out of since most of his salary is non-guaranteed and the rest could fit with amnesty. Of course, I sincerely doubt Kahn uses the amnesty on Darko.

New Orleans Hornets

Players Eligible for amnesty: Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Jarrett Jack

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Emeka Okafor

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. One of the major pivot points for the Hornets will be what happens with Eric Gordon either this summer or next (depending on which summer he signs long-term). If Gordon resides in a different city in the next two years, New Orleans might need to keep both Okafor and Ariza just to stay under the minimum salary for those seasons. Okafor is an asset regardless and the purpose of the amnesty provision is to gain financial flexibility that the Hornets do not need at the moment.

New York Knicks

Used amnesty provision on Chauncey Billups (December 10, 2011)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Players Eligible for amnesty: Kevin Durant, Kendrick Perkins, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Cole Aldrich, Eric Maynor, Serge Ibaka

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: None

Most likely amnesty decision:  Not use it. The only reasonably possible amnesty player for the Thunder is Kendrick Perkins towards the end of his contract, though that would require some serious dominoes to move in order to actually gain something by it.

Orlando Magic

Used amnesty provision on Gilbert Arenas (December 9, 2011)

Philadelphia 76ers

Players Eligible for amnesty: Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams, Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday, Nikola Vucevic

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Elton Brand

Most likely amnesty decision: Elton Brand this summer. The Sixers are having a solid season and do not have a ton of bad money on the books after a few years in salary purgatory. They have an opportunity to bring in a rotation player with the space created by using the provision on Elton Brand this summer and should maximize it.

Phoenix Suns

Players Eligible for amnesty: Josh Childress, Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, Hakim Warrick

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Josh Childress, Channing Frye

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. I cannot imagine Robert Sarver paying a player not to play if it does not save him any money. Since the Suns will not sniff the luxury tax over the next few years (and may have trouble getting to the floor if Steve Nash leaves), he has little incentive to use his amnesty card.

Portland Trail Blazers

Used amnesty provision on Brandon Roy (December 15, 2011)

Sacramento Kings

Players Eligible for amnesty: John Salmons, Francisco Garcia, Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: John Salmons

Most likely amnesty decision: John Salmons in 2013. If Petrie still has his current position in the summer of 2013, odds are the Kings will not use the amnesty provision since it would be a gigantic admission of defeat on the Salmons trade. With Salmons being only partially guaranteed in 14-15, the Kings would have some flexibility in the 2013 off-season when Evans can be extended and Cousins will be one year away.

San Antonio Spurs

Players Eligible for amnesty: Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, DeJuan Blair, Gary Neal

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Matt Bonner

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. Bonner makes the most sense if the team chooses to go in a different direction, yet it seems unlikely that the Spurs would gain much from shedding his partial guarantee amount for the 13-14 season. San Antonio has some fascinating flexibility that summer right now since neither Duncan nor Manu is under contract at that point but I’m expecting that will be different when we actually reach that point.

Toronto Raptors

Players Eligible for amnesty: Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, Linas Kleiza, DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, James Johnson, Solomon Alabi

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. The big question with the Raptors is whether the management that signed Calderon, Bargnani, and Amir will be making the amnesty decisions when the time comes. Considering the team only has around $35M committed for 2013 at the moment (including Jonas Valanciunas), it could be a nice time to make a big splash with some additional space.

Utah Jazz

Players Eligible for amnesty: Al Jefferson, Devin Harris, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, Raja Bell

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: None

Most likely amnesty decision: Not use it. Utah is another team without any bad long-term money on the books. Even if the team wanted to shed Jefferson or Devin Harris, they could easily get a better return in a trade than cutting them via amnesty. Utah’s front office has a series of huge decisions to make the next two summers and it’s unlikely their own amnesty provision will factor in any of them.

Washington Wizards

Players Eligible for amnesty: Rashard Lewis, Andray Blatche, John Wall, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jordan Crawford

Reasonable candidates for amnesty: Rashard Lewis, Andray Blatche

Most likely amnesty decision: Rashard Lewis this summer. I have wavered on this call a while since the savings on Lewis would be limited ($13.7M) and in a summer when the Wizards do not have a ton of momentum to pull free agents. Blatche may be the more logical call down the road but I cannot envision a reasonable scenario where he sticks in Washington long enough for it to make fiscal sense without being worth the deal then. The Wizards will not keep Blatche for another two seasons if he does not bring it substantially more than this year.