the initial team from being 'stuck' with a player they either do not want and/or cannot afford to keep under the terms of the signed contract. The player is also protected from being contractually obligated to a new team that they may no longer want to work for. Such an event happened in 2005, when small forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was acquired by the New Jersey Nets in a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The trade was subsequently canceled by the Nets, when a physical exam detected scar tissue (which increases the odds of future injury) in Abdur-Rahim's knee. As a result of the cancellation, Abdur-Rahim once again became a free agent; his new contract with the Trail Blazers (who had his "Bird rights") was voided, and he later signed with the Sacramento Kings. Footnotes References National Basketball Association labor relations