2021-2022 AROUND the NBA: GSW Champs [ARCHIVED]

[F Gump]

Tl : DR, the Spurs and Dragic agreed to part ways. Since Dragic wanted to be a free agent, he probably gave up some money on his contract (though not required). The Spurs paid the rest in full and are able to release him without any cap hit and Dragic can now sign with whoever he wants.

Excellent explanation and summary, except for the part I bolded (and its mention earlier).

Teams buying out a player do have a "cap hit" -- ie, the contractual amount for the year is charged to their Team Salary  for the year - which would be lessened by the amount of the salary reduction accepted by the player, if any.

So when the Spurs "bought out" Dragic, their Team Salary had a cap hit for up to $19.44M, whatever he was paid by BOTH teams in total this year. For the remainder of the season (with about 1/3 of it left), he was still due around $6.5M, and whether the Spurs paid him the full $6.5M (in installments, per the rules) or $0 was a matter of negotiation. But whatever the total number, the Spurs will have a cap hit for it.