Charlie Villanueva enjoys Detroit for proximity to son

The NBA’s new amnesty clause is often painted as a victory for owners, a chance to cut an undesirable salary. For teams in the luxury tax, that’s true.

But for non-tax teams, it’s a victory for the players. An amnestied player is still guaranteed his salary, and if he clears amnesty waivers, he can earn even more. So, from a strictly financial standpoint, a player actually has short-term incentive to be amnestied.

Charlie Villanueva has more at stake, though. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

"Villanueva isn’t just paying lip service when he says he loves the Detroit area for "its friendly people" — he considers it home now — and it keeps him close to his son in Toronto."

Just interesting to know what motivates Villanueva, who probably must improve his production to avoid getting amnestied.