(06-23-2020, 02:25 PM)omahen Wrote: Could you guys provide an example where (basically) out of league player was signed for big money in order to facilitate a trade.
The classic example is when Dallas signed Keith Van Horn to a three-year deal (with only the first guaranteed) to complete the Kidd trade. Van Horn hadn't played in 2 years but never officially filed his retirement papers, and he earned $4.3million to not play a single game. The trade was clever enough that I believe the NBA later closed that Bird Exception loophole, but using Lee the same way would be perfectly legal.
https://www.nj.com/nets/2008/02/van_horn...ng_an.html