Cleveland and Portland surprised us with their inactivity at the trade deadline, opting to hang on to the expiring deals of Wally Szczerbiak and Raef LaFrentz, respectively. But file this one away for future use -- each team still has its full midlevel exception available. That means the Cavs and Blazers can outbid any other team for free-agent talent waived between now and March 1, a group I outlined in Thursday's Per Diem.
While each team would have to pay luxury tax on the contract, effectively costing it double, it's peanuts compared to what it would have cost to trade its large expiring contract for a big-money player whose deal didn't expire until 2010 or later.
As a result, expect those two teams to be in the driver's seat for whatever talent comes available in the next nine days.
Boston, San Antonio and Houston also have chunks of their midlevel exceptions available; the Celtics have $2.4 million to spare and, despite their tax-paying position, are another team that appears able to spend freely for talent. San Antonio and Houston have smaller amounts available and each is precipitously close to the tax line, so they'll be a factor only for players with a decided interest in going to those cities ... or if there is no interest from the Cavs, Blazers and Celtics.
