Thirteen-year NBA veteran Maurice "Mo" Williams is rumored to be considering retirement from professional basketball and that the Cleveland Cavaliers could waive him from their roster sometime this week.
The 33-year-old combo guard, who won his first-ever NBA title with the Cavs in a "supporting role" last June, is "strongly considering retirement", according to Cleveland.com.
Williams is entering the second and final season of his two-year, $4.3 million deal with Cleveland after choosing to opt in this summer. The Cavs owes him $2.2 million in 2016-2017, and so the club "could lessen the luxury tax penalty" that they will have to pay next year if they release him on or before the end of the month.
At the moment, Cleveland's payroll is at around $118 million after they signed LeBron James to an NBA record-breaking three-year, $100 million deal early last month, which has a cap hit of almost $31 million next season. The NBA's current salary cap is $94 million and the luxury tax limit is $113.2 million.
Recent rumors have emerged that the team is set to re-sign shooting guard JR Smith for $15 million a season, which means their payroll will further increase heading into the new season.
If Cleveland decides to waive Williams before the league's stretch provision deadline, then it would allow them to disburse the $2.2 million they owe him equally over three years, which would somehow lessen the impact of the tax penalty by several million dollars, as per CBS Sports.
However, another major concern by the Cavs is that Williams' retirement will leave them without a solid backup point guard to spell Kyrie Irving next season as Matthew Dellavedova had also left the team in a multi-million dollar, long-term deal with the Milwaukee Bucks this summer.
Several veteran NBA point guards are still available in free-agency as of the moment, such as Steve Blake, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Jordan Farmar, Kirk Hinrich, and Andre Miller. Chalmers and Cole are noted wards of James during their championships in Miami while Blake and Miller are highly-experienced veterans that could also provide locker room leadership for the squad.
Williams played in his 13th year in the league last season when he won his first NBA championship with long-time buddy James. Aside from the Cavaliers, he had also suited up for other NBA teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets, and Utah Jazz where he spent his rookie season.
