LJ4ptplay
Starter
Decent article about cap space and a breakdown of each team's space coming this summer.
Some interesting points made. New Jersey with over $30 mil in cap space, potential all-star starting PG and C, plus possibly the 1st overall pick in the draft make them serious competition for 2010 free agents. They are in much better shape than the Knicks.
Also Miami, with $21.8 mil in cap space, DWade and South Beach make the Heat a very desirable location for 2010 free agents.
Chicago, with $21.1 mil in cap space and a good young core make them a desirable location as well.
http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/855/20100111/2010_offseason_primer/
2010 Offseason Primer
By: Daniel Leroux
RealGM.com Writer
January 11, 2010 4:14 PM
1. Cap holds matter. Dwyane Wade opting out of his contract does not mean Miami can just spend up to the cap amount (whatever it ends up at) and then re-sign him to put the team over the limit. As he is on a max contract now, his cap hold will have a substantial effect on the money Miami can offer within the confines of the cap. Of course, should a big ticket free agent leave or sign for less money, this hold would be eliminated from his original team's books accordingly, but that’s unlikely for the max-level players in the short run.
2. The Mid-Level Exception and other cap holds do not go on top of cap space- they take it away. One of my biggest criticisms of the 2K basketball series (excellent as it is) is that they have never gotten the free agency rules correct. The MLE is just that- an exception. That means it allows teams over the cap to still spend that money, but teams under the cap have to renounce it should they want to use that cap space on free agents. One particularly notable example of this was Rashard Lewis, where Orlando had to renounce their exceptions to fit his sizable salary on their ledgers, though that was complicated a little further by it being a trade. As such, any team that maxes out their cap space cannot just toss on a Mid-Level exception on top. They can absolutely add minimum salary guys and give bigger contracts to players they have Bird Rights on, but they do not have the MLE to work with on top of the cap.
3. Bird Rights teams and non-Bird Rights teams can offer the same maximum possible contract for the first season of the deal. The difference between Bird squads and teams trying to sign their free agents is that the Bird team can offer higher raises (10.5% vs. 8%) and add the sixth contract year, not the base salary of the first season. As such, the relevant cap number for squads looking to pick up guys like King James and D-Wade is identical regardless of where the FA played the season before.
4. 1st Round draft picks count against the cap…but not entirely. Once drafted (and before signing with an overseas team- if they do that, they’re off the books for that season), first rounders count at their scale amount. However, players can sign for between 80% and 120% of scale, though a vast majority sign for 120% of scale. As such, a pick and a team waiting to sign that rookie deal can save the team 1/5 of the scale value for the first season during that period, a value that only holds any real significance for top-5 picks and teams really on the cap.
5. I am using a $52.5 million dollar salary cap. No one knows yet where the cap will be next off-season, but the number I am using is $52.5 million, which seems like a reasonable low-end (but not doomsday) estimate.
............(see link for othe teams).................
http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/855/20100111/2010_offseason_primer/
New York: Let’s get this out of the way first- moving the guys they moved to have some space for 2010 was absolutely the right decision by Donnie Walsh. The Knicks team he inherited was going nowhere and creating a situation where the highest profile team on the East Coast can sign big name free agents helps keep them on the radar even when they’ll probably be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. While the Knicks do not have the space of a few other squads thanks to Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries’ contracts, they have more than enough to make a major impact. One major problem for New York is the lack of assets that could be used to dump their 2010 albatrosses, particularly a draft pick. We may see the Knicks as a larger figure in 2011 thanks to additional cap space and momentum in Coach D’Antoni’s system.
• Projected 2010 Salary [Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Danilo Gallinari, Jordan Hill, Wilson Chandler, and Toney Douglas]:
• Projected cap room: $25.2M
Bottome line...we need to either trade Jeffries and/or Curry for expiring contracts or start collecting talent. $25 mil in cap space and Jeffries, Curry, Douglas, Hill, Chandler and Gallo are not enough. Something needs to be done.
Some interesting points made. New Jersey with over $30 mil in cap space, potential all-star starting PG and C, plus possibly the 1st overall pick in the draft make them serious competition for 2010 free agents. They are in much better shape than the Knicks.
Also Miami, with $21.8 mil in cap space, DWade and South Beach make the Heat a very desirable location for 2010 free agents.
Chicago, with $21.1 mil in cap space and a good young core make them a desirable location as well.
http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/855/20100111/2010_offseason_primer/
2010 Offseason Primer
By: Daniel Leroux
RealGM.com Writer
January 11, 2010 4:14 PM
1. Cap holds matter. Dwyane Wade opting out of his contract does not mean Miami can just spend up to the cap amount (whatever it ends up at) and then re-sign him to put the team over the limit. As he is on a max contract now, his cap hold will have a substantial effect on the money Miami can offer within the confines of the cap. Of course, should a big ticket free agent leave or sign for less money, this hold would be eliminated from his original team's books accordingly, but that’s unlikely for the max-level players in the short run.
2. The Mid-Level Exception and other cap holds do not go on top of cap space- they take it away. One of my biggest criticisms of the 2K basketball series (excellent as it is) is that they have never gotten the free agency rules correct. The MLE is just that- an exception. That means it allows teams over the cap to still spend that money, but teams under the cap have to renounce it should they want to use that cap space on free agents. One particularly notable example of this was Rashard Lewis, where Orlando had to renounce their exceptions to fit his sizable salary on their ledgers, though that was complicated a little further by it being a trade. As such, any team that maxes out their cap space cannot just toss on a Mid-Level exception on top. They can absolutely add minimum salary guys and give bigger contracts to players they have Bird Rights on, but they do not have the MLE to work with on top of the cap.
3. Bird Rights teams and non-Bird Rights teams can offer the same maximum possible contract for the first season of the deal. The difference between Bird squads and teams trying to sign their free agents is that the Bird team can offer higher raises (10.5% vs. 8%) and add the sixth contract year, not the base salary of the first season. As such, the relevant cap number for squads looking to pick up guys like King James and D-Wade is identical regardless of where the FA played the season before.
4. 1st Round draft picks count against the cap…but not entirely. Once drafted (and before signing with an overseas team- if they do that, they’re off the books for that season), first rounders count at their scale amount. However, players can sign for between 80% and 120% of scale, though a vast majority sign for 120% of scale. As such, a pick and a team waiting to sign that rookie deal can save the team 1/5 of the scale value for the first season during that period, a value that only holds any real significance for top-5 picks and teams really on the cap.
5. I am using a $52.5 million dollar salary cap. No one knows yet where the cap will be next off-season, but the number I am using is $52.5 million, which seems like a reasonable low-end (but not doomsday) estimate.
............(see link for othe teams).................
http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/855/20100111/2010_offseason_primer/
New York: Let’s get this out of the way first- moving the guys they moved to have some space for 2010 was absolutely the right decision by Donnie Walsh. The Knicks team he inherited was going nowhere and creating a situation where the highest profile team on the East Coast can sign big name free agents helps keep them on the radar even when they’ll probably be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. While the Knicks do not have the space of a few other squads thanks to Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries’ contracts, they have more than enough to make a major impact. One major problem for New York is the lack of assets that could be used to dump their 2010 albatrosses, particularly a draft pick. We may see the Knicks as a larger figure in 2011 thanks to additional cap space and momentum in Coach D’Antoni’s system.
• Projected 2010 Salary [Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Danilo Gallinari, Jordan Hill, Wilson Chandler, and Toney Douglas]:
• Projected cap room: $25.2M
Bottome line...we need to either trade Jeffries and/or Curry for expiring contracts or start collecting talent. $25 mil in cap space and Jeffries, Curry, Douglas, Hill, Chandler and Gallo are not enough. Something needs to be done.