Re: Jarrett Jack
I think the Cavs could get Jack off the roster in an instant if they included Miami's 2015 pick. They could probably do it pretty quickly if they traded the lowest 2015 pick out of the lot they might get (Cavs, Grizzly, or Heat). Cavs are going to work the phones for the next two days to see if they can do it without adding a first round pick.
The difficulties trading Jack for cap space are:
1) 2(+1) years and $13.1 Mil on the contract is a lot of money for a team that doesn't need him
2) rebuilding teams have the most cap space and his attitude on a rebuilding team might be poor
Possibilities for trades are:
1) Convert Jack into a 1 year contract ( Marcus Thornton via Nets) and then move Thornton. He's owed less guaranteed dollars and would probably be better behaved on the bench at a rebuilding team, so it should cost less to move him.
2) Milwaukee & Kidd ( who will likely rake the Cavs over the coals to get the deal done)
2) Wait until free agency starts to dry up and see who wants a PG. There are some timing challenges implementation that plan, since many free agent decisions around the league depend on where LBJ goes.
Getting a buyout from Jack could help if he agrees to the "stretch provision".
http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q64
If the player is waived from July 1 to August 31, then his remaining salary is paid over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one.
Since there is a small portion guaranteed salary in year 3 of his contract, my understanding is that Jack can get the stretch provision for a 7 year payout, or $1.87Mil per year, if he agrees to the buyout. Please let me know if I read the rules wrong there. Cavs would still need to shed about $3Mil in salary to give a max offer.
The stretch provision isn't ideal, but it might give the Cavs an out if opposing teams charge too much for taking Jack.
Curiously, if the Cavs had not won the lottery over the last two years, this would not be an issue for salary cap reasons. Might not have been an issue for other reasons as well.