Polarizing sportswriter Bill Simmons -- also known as "The Sports Guy" -- opines on sports/entertainment/culture website Grantland.com that he believes the Portland Trail Blazers will not use the Amnesty Clause to waive guard Brandon Roy.
You won't see nearly as many teams use their amnesties - at least right away - as we initially expected when Jonathan Abrams and I had so much fun playing the Amnesty Guessing Game during the lockout. Why turn a serviceable body into a sunk cost unless it chops down your tax bill, gets you under the tax completely, opens up enough cap space to pursue a quality free agent, or, in Baron Davis' case, gets Baron Davis off your team?
My prediction: Only Cleveland (Baron Davis), San Antonio (Richard Jefferson), Los Angeles (Ron Artest), Orlando (Gilbert Arenas), Golden State (Andris Biedrins) and Toronto (Jose Calderon) will use their amnesties this month. That's it.
If you're the Blazers, waiving Roy would "chop down your tax bill" and "get you under the tax completely" but it would not "open up enough cap space to pursue a quality free agent" or "get Baron Davis off your team." So, if you're scoring: two out of four criteria were met.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter