The Toronto Raptors have traded veteran wing John Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for veteran guard Lou Williams and Brazilian prospect Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
The Raptors have reportedly been looking to get Salmons off the roster, even if that meant buying out his contract, as he is set to make $7-million this upcoming season. Atlanta will have the option to waive Salmons, in which case they would only be on the hook for $1 million of his salary for the 2014-15 season.
The Hawks will reportedly waive Salmons on Monday, Wojnarowski writes.
Williams is owed $5.4-million this upcoming season, the final year of his deal. The other piece of the deal is Nogueira, a 7-foot tall Brazilian center currently playing for Tuenti Movil Estudiantes in Liga ACB, a professional basketball league in Spain. He was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtcis, who later traded his rights to the Hawks.
The key aspect of this deal is the Hawks' ability to clear cap space. The final year of Salmons' deal is a team option, allowing the team to waive him, saving them from being on the hook for the partially guaranteed portion of his contract. Doing so would give the team approximately $15.5 million in cap space, meaning this could be the first in a chain of moves from Hawks general manager Danny Ferry.
Salmons averaged 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 78 games last season, splitting time between the Raptors and Sacramento Kings.
Williams averaged 10.4 points and 3.5 assists in 60 games for the Hawks last season.
The deal is expected to be finalized on Monday.
