He never took a wage cut, it was a deferral.
Salary deferral means taking some of your income and putting it aside for later. You are setting aside some of your salary for later use. The good news is you also get to defer the taxes. The money you set aside is saved for your retirement years when your taxable income is likely to be lower.
As much as Naismith has made an arse of himself, at this moment in time we need all the help we can get.
If we get a chance to sign him with a much reduced fee I think it would be good business.
People make mistakes (albeit his was a belter).