Lakers waive forward Grant

"The amnesty rule was not in place and thus not a factor when we made the trade which included Brian," said Kupchak. "However, this is a one-time opportunity to take advantage of this situation, and exercising this will give us greater roster flexibility and the ability to improve our team."

According to the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team will be permitted to waive one "amnesty" player on or before August 15, 2005 and to remove that player’s salary from its payroll for purposes of computing its tax payment for the 2005-06 season and any future seasons for which the player was under contract.

An 11-year veteran, Grant played in 68 games last season with the Lakers, averaging just 3.8 points per contest and pulling down 3.7 rebounds.

Grant, who was acquired by Los Angeles in the blockbuster deal that sent Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat last summer, has averaged 10.7 ppg and 7.6 rbg in 735 career games.

Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and a future first-round draft pick were also included in the trade.