Mo Williams (Photo : Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Mo Williams has not played a single game in the 2016-17 NBA season but he has already been part of four teams. His last team was the Philadelphia 76ers that claimed him off waivers on January 20, Friday then releasing him just after one day.
The 34-year-old point guard had intentions to retire this season but he did not sign any official retirement papers. He remained on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster until January 7 when he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks along with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and a future first-round pick for Kyle Korver.
Williams was then traded to the Denver Nuggets on January 18 in exchange for the draft rights to Cenk Ayol, who has never played in the NBA since being selected in the second round of 2005 NBA Draft by the Hawks. The Nuggets ended up waiving him immediately before the Sixers claimed him two days later, per CSN Philadelphia.
The one-time NBA All-Star and champion would have been a good addition to the Sixers. He brings veteran experience to a very young team that has a chance to make the playoffs. But why did the Sixers claimed him off waivers and releasing him just after one day?
According to Mark Inabinett of AL.com, the reasoning for the move is simple. The Sixers want to pay Williams to avoid paying the penalty for being below the NBA's salary floor. Yes, the NBA has a salary floor and teams that do not reach at least $84.7 million in salaries will have to pay a penalty.
The NBA is known for having a salary cap and teams who exceeds it will be given a penalty called the luxury tax. However, the salary floor penalty the difference between team's actual spending for the season and the salary floor of the players on its roster at the end of the season.
The report noted that the Sixers claiming Williams will cost them around $2.2 million. They are now just $5.6 million below the salary floor and they could fill it up by doing the same thing for the rest of the season.
As for Williams, he is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and he will likely retire at the end of the season without playing a single game. His career averages are 13.2 points and 4.9 assists in 818 NBA games.
Check out the video below to watch the top ten plays of Williams' career.
