Duane Washington Jr., a Klutch client, needed a buyout. He was included in the three-team swap with the T-Wolves and Hornets, among three players the Knicks signed-and-traded to make the salaries match and confirm the mathematical equation. For Washington Jr., the reward was a roughly $2.2 million guaranteed salary and an opportunity to revive his NBA dream with the Hornets. Since the Knicks were unable to aggregate players on minimum contracts, they found a loophole by signing Washington Jr. and the two other players — Charlie Brown Jr. and DaQuan Jeffries — to just $1 above the minimum, as first reported by The Athletic.