Andray Blatche agrees to re-sign with Nets, continues to stick it to Wizards

Remember when Andray Blatche threatened to take a below-market contract this summer so the Wizards would have to pay him a larger portion of his salary after they used the amnesty clause on him last summer? Yup, he followed through on that threat.

Blatche is returning on a one-year, $1.4 million deal.

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) July 2, 2013

One year and $1.4 million is basically 120 percent of the actual veteran's minimum, which is about the least Blatche could possibly take with anyone. And now, because of that, the Wizards are on the hook for a higher percentage of Blatche's salary.

Players released via the amnesty clause and picked up by other teams after they clear waivers are subject to a complicated offsetting formula to determine their salary. Nets Daily was first to write about this, and The Brooklyn Game followed through with more details today.

The key is the "offset amount": the amount of money that the player's former team -- in this case the Wizards -- has reduced from what they were originally supposed to pay the player. This offset amount is equal to to one half the difference between the player's salary with his new team and the minimum for a one-year veteran player.

The Wizards would have owed Blatche $7,794,921 this season had they not used the amnesty clause on him. Ultimately, they will have to write him a check for that total minus the offset amount. If Blatche's deal is for exactly $1.4 million dollars, here's how we determine what Ted Leonsis must pay Blatche:

BLATCHE WIZ SALARY: $7,794,921

OFFSET AMOUNT: $1.4 million - $788,872 (minimum salary for 1-year veteran) / 2 = $305,564

TED LEONSIS OWES BLATCHE...: $7,489,357

All in all, Blatche makes just under $8.9 million total.

***

However, given his production last year, Blatche could have been worth far more than $1.4 million on the open market. Let's say someone would have been willing to splurge and offer him the full mid-level exception, which starts at $5.15 million.

BLATCHE WIZ SALARY: $7,794,921

OFFSET AMOUNT: $5.15 million - $788,872 (minimum salary for 1-year veteran) / 2 = $2,180,564

TED LEONSIS OWES BLATCHE...: $5,614,357

If that happened, Blatche would have made nearly $10.8 million total this year between Washington and Brooklyn.

Maybe that's unrealistic. What if Blatche asked for Brooklyn's taxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at $3.183 million?

BLATCHE WIZ SALARY: $7,794,921

OFFSET AMOUNT: $3.183 million - $788,872 (minimum salary, for 1-year veteran) / 2 = $1,197,064

TED LEONSIS OWES BLATCHE...: $6,597,857

If that happened, Blatche would have made nearly $9.8 million this year.

Even more realistically, if Blatche took the bi-annual exception starting at $2.016 million from someone else (maybe the Clippers?), this would have happened.

BLATCHE WIZ SALARY: $7,794,921

OFFSET AMOUNT: $2.016 million - $788,872 (minimum salary, for 1-year veteran) / 2 = $613,564

TED LEONSIS OWES BLATCHE...: $7,181,357

If that happened, Blatche would have made nearly $9.2 million.

***

Maybe Blatche took less money out of the goodness of his heart. Maybe he wanted so badly for the Nets to preserve the taxpayer mid-level exception.

I'll choose to believe he purposely screwed the Wizards, though. Whatever. Enjoy KG.