Celtics Saved $2 Million By Benching Nate Robinson

It’s a cold world out there, especially when it comes to dealing with the bean counters in NBA front-offices, as Lil’ Nate recently found out. From ESPN: “Boston Celtics guard Nate Robinson was benched for two games near the end of the regular season, and it cost him $1 million, while saving the team twice that amount. A clause in Robinson’s contract calls for him to make a $1 million bonus if he both played in at least 58 games and made the playoffs this season. Robinson’s Celtics are in the postseason but he played in 56 games. As a result, the Celtics saved the $1 million they would have paid Robinson — equivalent to a quarter of his reported annual salary — and an additional $1 million they would have owed in luxury tax to the NBA (most of which would have been distributed to teams with payrolls below the luxury tax threshold). Robinson, a 5-foot-9 guard and three-time slam dunk champion, had a difficult season but was on track to make the bonus until its final days.”