In a stunning turn of events the Portland Trail Blazers are to waive forward Shawn Kemp on Tuesday, ESPN.com and Yahoo sports are reporting.  The stunning aspect, of course, is that Kemp still has $46.5 million in guaranteed money left on his contract.

Not shocking enough for you?  The Oregonian is reporting in its Tuesday editions that Kemp has agreed to forfiet more than $25 million of the guaranteed money owed to him by the team, and an agreement between the two entities states that the Blazers will pay Kemp about $20 million over more than 10 years.

The move has major benefits for the Blazers.  In addition to the salary savings, the Blazers will save about $13 million per year in NBA luxury taxes through this agreement (not $20M per year as the Associated Press reports).

Cleveland coach John Lucas, who has counseled Kemp in recent years, said he was shocked at the news.

``It's not often you hear of players giving back money, especially one of this magnitude,'' Lucas told the newspaper. ``It's a statement for the player, just in the regard that he is willing to give back a year of his money.''

Kemp could not be reached for comment so his future plans at this stage are unknown.