These guys will be answers to trivia questions one day. They must be so proud.
According to ESPN, these are the players who are now free agents thanks to the one-time luxury amnesty clause in the new collective bargaining agreement: Jerome Williams, Ron Mercer, Calvin Booth, Aaron McKie, Doug Christie, Brian Grant, and Derek Anderson.
The deadline is midnight tonight--we'll keep you posted if any more overpriced players get the chop.
UPDATE:
USA Today's Chris Sheridan has a nice rundown of who was cut from where:
Rather than saving almost $40 million, New York opted instead to release forward Jerome Williams to avoid $21.3 million in luxury taxes that would have been due over the next three seasons.
Dallas worked into the night trying to find a trade for Michael Finley, who is owed $51.8 million over the next three seasons. But the Mavericks ended up releasing the 10-year veteran instead.
In all, teams saved more than $212 million in future tax payments by waiving 18 players. Among those let go Monday were Fred Hoiberg of Minnesota, Ron Mercer of New Jersey, Calvin Booth of Milwaukee, Troy Bell of Memphis and Clarence Weatherspoon of Houston.
Several teams made moves to clear tax obligations for players who left their rosters long ago. They included Alonzo Mourning (Toronto), Vin Baker (Boston), Derrick Coleman (Detroit), Wesley Person (Miami), Eddie Robinson (Chicago) and Howard Eisley (Phoenix).
Players previously released under the amnesty program included Doug Christie (Orlando), Aaron McKie (Philadelphia), Brian Grant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Derek Anderson (Portland).
Teams whose payrolls exceed $61.7 million for the upcoming season will have to pay a dollar-for-dollar tax on the overage. Among them are the Indiana Pacers, who waived retired guard Reggie Miller to save $6 million in luxury tax costs.