uncleben
Global Moderator
Yes they can.Teams and players cannot simply agree to nullify a contract. So no, this is not possible.
They can agree to mutually terminate a contract.
The player must be put on unconditional waivers (or waive the waivers if they have a NMC and choose to do so), made available to the whole league, and then if cleared, the player and team must walk away from all obligations and compensations.
To the OP,
My understanding is that once a contract is mutually terminated, the club and player may not immediately negotiate a new contract.
(If anyone else has information otherwise, please feel free to PM me or another mod may open this back up.)
Furthermore, no agreement is binding unless writing and filed with the League, so there is nothing stopping either party to "agreeing" to the final two year deal in question in theory (they cannot create complete terms), and then walking away.
Lastly, the PA would have a grand ol' deal grieving if a team tried to push this through. It creates too much of a precedent of uncertainty and player manipulation,