Mighty Moke’s Top 25 Remaining NBA Free Agents — July 17 Update

If you had a nickel for each time you read the word “amnesty” since July 1, you would probably have as much money as Chris Paul.

The good news today, though, is that you will not have to be overly concerned with the 2011 CBA’s amnesty provision until next summer.

By rule, an NBA team that wishes to waive a player via the amnesty clause must do so within the first seven days that immediately follow the July moratorium. That deadline was yesterday.

And amnesty was the story of Day 16 on the NBA free agency front.

Mike Miller (Miami Heat), Drew Gooden (Milwaukee Bucks) and Linas Kleiza (Toronto Raptors) were waived by their respective teams, and as such, may represent an infusion (of sorts) into the free agent market.

As you learned through Metta World Peace’s weekend limbo before he signed with the New York Knicks, the aforementioned three players will be placed on amnesty waivers for two full days, and teams that have cap space may submit partial contract claims. The highest bidder wins.

If no team submits a partial waiver claim on the amnestied player, he will become an unrestricted free agent, just like World Peace did.

Miller’s waiving comes as a bit of a surprise since Miami Heat president Pat Riley was on record as saying he wanted to keep his team intact. But it is not a surprise considering the stiff luxury tax penalties that will kick in after this coming season.

John Salmons remaining a member of the Sacramento Kings surprised many around the NBA. Many expected the Kings to use their one-time amnesty provision on Salmons, but they opted not to.

At 33 years old, Salmons and his $7.6 million salary do not seem to fit with the Kings, but with a roster full of young guards, having a veteran who has been around the block a few times may be a worthy endeavor. Salmons would have probably gotten more attention than any of the three players who did get waived, but that is neither here or there.

So, on Thursday, Mike Miller and Linas Kleiza may find themselves as unrestricted free agents and on Friday, Drew Gooden may, as well. Gooden can thank the Bucks and the timing of their waiving him for the delay.

Wanna thank all the Milwaukee fan's that supported me this season!! Tough year for me but you guys made it sweet!

— Drew Gooden (@DrewGooden) July 17, 2013

Perhaps the Bucks waited so long to waive Gooden—and held up his amnesty waiver clearance date as a result—because the franchise’s brass was trying to figure out what to do about Brandon Jennings.

One day after we got wind of the potential sign-and-trade discussions centering around Jennings being sent to the Detroit Pistons, the trade chatter of Tuesday revolved around the Pistons and their alleged attempt to pry another point guard from his incumbent team.

The guard in question? Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics.

Pistons general manager Joe Dumars reportedly covets Rondo and would love to pair him with Josh Smith—Rondo’s childhood friend.

Dumars said that no trade discussions have taken place between the Pistons and the Celtics, but it seems awfully coincidental that on consecutive days, there have been reports claiming that Dumars is looking to acquire a new point guard in Detroit.

That, of course, brings us right back to Brandon Jennings.

By now, you are well aware of his situation in Milwaukee, and as of Wednesday morning, the only update available on the situation is “nothing close” in terms of a deal between Jennings and his current employer. So, as the calendar officially turns to the latter half of July, with Andrew Bynum signed in Cleveland and Monta Ellis taking his talents to Dallas, our attention is firmly on Jennings. It is also worth noting that waiving Gooden took almost $7 million off of the Bucks payroll.

(RELATED: Jennings and Mavericks big losers in free agency)

That extra cap space could pay huge dividends if the team opted to seek a sign-and-trade deal for Jennings. So, all things considered, the Pistons deal almost makes too much sense not to happen, though we will caution that the deals that happen are usually the ones that are not talked about.

Case in point: the Los Angeles Clippers seemed to pull their sign-and-trade deal that netted them J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley out of thin air.

Amazingly, 13 of the SheridanHoops Top 20 free agents from our original Top 50 ranking switched teams this offseason. Jennings seems destined to be No. 14.

Finally, sticking with the theme of destiny … Greg Oden.

Remember him?

After being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft—ahead of Kevin Durant—Oden managed to play just 82 games before a myriad of knee issues caused the Trail Blazers to waive him during the 2011-12 season.

After sitting out the 2012-13 season, Oden is attempting a comeback and has received interest from the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.

Just when things seemed to be cooling off, it seems as though some unexpected faces may have an impact on the free agency front.

All thanks to amnesty and destiny.

Who would’ve thought?

On to the rankings …