NBA salary cap exercise: What player would every team amnesty?

Philadelphia 76ers – Al Horford

This may be the quickest call in any team would make once the rule was opened for business. While the Cavaliers and the Pistons may struggle with the emotional move of moving on from their max players the Sixers need a scapegoat for what this season has been. Brett Brown is a likely candidate should they lose in the first round of the playoffs but in this scenario, Al Horford would be close behind him on the way out the door.

The numbers do not really reflect just how bad it is but it is a start. His true shooting percentage has dropped from 60.5 percent to 52.7 percent this season. This can be attributed to field goal percentage (53.5 to 44.3) and free throw percentage (82.1 to 75.7). His assist percentage, net rating and offensive rebound percentage have also experienced notable dips.

He has also dropped as a defender. His steal percentage has dropped from 17.3 percent to 16.2 percent and his block percentage has gone from 38.7 percent to 29.3 percent. Philadelphia expected to have an elite defense built around Horford, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson. The team was ranked 14th last season and has only jumped to seventh this season. While that is a noted jump the team had to expect better.

For a team with a bloated payroll ($147.1 million) paying $69 million over the next three seasons for a guy clearly on the decline is going to cause problems. The team will be struggling to make the most of their roster when Embiid, Simmons and Tobias Harris will combine to make $92.3 million next season. Horford will be an anchor on the court and on the financial bookkeeping.