Nice. Obviously a better team and spreads our Vols out a bit (we don’t have too many in the NBA so I sorta wish they weren’t paired up so they could be in more games and have better chances to be in the playoffs)
They pay an agreed upon amount. It's rarely the full amount but that does happen. Example: If someone gets a buyout and they have 3 years on their deal, they could pay for this season in full and the team doesn't have to pay the other 2 years at all but the player is free to sign a new deal elsewhere. Another example and what I would guess is the deal with McRae: (these numbers are randomly chosen by me) is if JM is owed $1M the rest of the season, they would pay what he isn't expected to get with another team this season. So if he was going to sign with the Suns for $800k the rest of the season, then they'd buy him out for $200k. The last example is if he was waived, a team would claim him on waivers where they essentially just take over the rest of his remaining contract. The benefit for that is getting certain early bird rights for players that allow you a better chance to re-sign them with benefits for the team's cap.
He is playing smart inside basketball, several times he screened his man inside allowing the guards to drive the basket. Those don't show on the stat sheet.