We've been watching Metta World Peace's Twitter account over the past few days to see how the famously off-kilter forward would continue to poke fun at the rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers were considering using the amnesty provision in the NBA's 2011 collective bargaining agreement on him. On Thursday evening, though, what came from @MettaWorldPeace wasn't a gag:

Mitch Called me first.. Thanks — Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) July 11, 2013

Yes, three days after Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reported they would, the Lakers announced that they had designated the former Ron Artest as their amnesty player and waiving him. The move sheds the final year and $7.7 million left on contract from the Lakers' books in an effort to pare down the amount the team will owe the league in luxury tax payments, just days after being hit with a massive tax bill for the failed 2012-13 season.

General manager Mitch Kupchak issued a team statement announcing the decision:

"It's tough to say goodbye to a player such as Metta, who has been a significant part of our team the past four seasons. For anyone who’s had the opportunity to get to know him, it’s impossible not to love him [...] He has made many contributions to this organization, both in his community work as well as in our games; perhaps no more so than in his clutch play in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals in helping to lead us over the Celtics in one of the greatest playoff wins in Lakers history. We thank Metta for all his contributions and wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Naturally, Metta responded appropriately:

I'm going to play for Yao Mings team in china! I can't wait to arrive in Shanghai !! — Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) July 11, 2013

I'm playing for the LA kings — Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) July 12, 2013

I'm retiring and playing hockey — Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) July 12, 2013

But first , I have to work at Saladish in Pasadena Serving food — Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) July 12, 2013

(Thanks for that, Metta.)

With a top-heavy, expensive roster like the Lakers', the amnesty provision is one of the few tools at the front office's disposal to make a massive payroll reduction in one fell swoop. Three Lakers earn higher salaries than World Peace — Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash. The Lakers couldn't amnesty Nash's contract because it was signed July 1, 2011.

While they technically could have axed Bryant or Gasol, the fans would've revolted if they got rid of Kobe, and Gasol's a less attractive candidate than Metta because A) the Lakers need a good big man after Dwight Howard's departure and B) he's a better potential trade chip than World Peace should it come to that. The Lakers also could have amnestied Steve Blake, but the reserve point guard's $4 million contract wouldn't have generated the same cost savings.

So World Peace goes on the amnesty chopping block, which takes the $7,727,280 owed World Peace for 2013-14 not only off the Lakers' salary figure, but also off the amount they owe in luxury tax. (They will still have to pay World Peace that $7.7 million, though; the debt to the player isn't extinguished just because the balance-sheet implications are.)

Under the old CBA, teams paid a flat $1 in tax for every $1 they spent over the so-called luxury tax line. Under the 2011 CBA, teams pay amounts that increase incrementally based on how far over the cap the team in question happens to be — $1.50 in tax for every buck spent over the line until you get to $5 million over, then $1.75 in tax for every dollar between $5 million and $10 million over, $2.50 in tax for every dollar between $10 million and $15 million, and so on. The '13-'14 luxury tax line was set Tuesday at $71.7 million.

Assuming L.A. fills out its roster with veteran minimum salary signings like Jordan Farmar and Nick Young, jettisoning World Peace's contract will save the Lakers $14.3 million in tax payments, according to salary cap aficionado Larry Coon. They'll still have a long way to go to get all the way under the $71.7 million tax line, but considering the final tax figure isn't tallied until the date of the team's final regular-season game, the Lakers have plenty of time to try to figure out how to get there, should they choose to do so.