Amnesty Period, Not Free Agency Begins For Wizards On Sunday

While much of the NBA prepares for free agency the first week of July, the Wizards will be pondering amnesty.

When free agency begins on Sunday, NBA clubs have one week to exercise their amnesty provision. If clubs do not act within seven days, they must wait a calendar year for the next opportunity.

With the addition of Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza, the Wizards have added more than $40 million dollars to their payroll and will need to find some savings.

It is no secret that power forward Andray Blatche will be a likely target. With Nene, Okafor, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely and Kevin Seraphin up front, the Wizards have plenty of depth at the four and five.

So far seven teams have used their amnesty provision: the Magic (Gilbert Arenas), Warriors (Charlie Bell), Nets (Travis Outlaw), Pacers (James Posey), Trail Blazers (Brandon Roy), Cavaliers (Baron Davis) and Knicks (Chauncey Billups).