Waivers

Waiving a player is how a team releases him. For two days he sits on waivers, where any other team can claim him and take on his contract; if nobody does, he clears and becomes a free agent.

Cutting a player doesn't erase what he is owed. Any guaranteed money still on his deal stays on the team's books as dead money, and the stretch provision is the tool for spreading that sting out.