LJ4ptplay
Starter
Once again, for those who didn't really follow that CBA roundabout: the 2011/12 luxury tax threshold is set at $70.3M, the full mid-level exception is available for all non taxpayers which means for all teams with cap under $70.3M; our salary cap without Billups' contract wiped off the books and Turiaf's $4M deal being traded and with Chandler's contract of $14M this season, Jeffries' minimum contract of $1.4M, Shumpert's possible contract of $1M and Harrellson's minimum contract of $0.5M reaches a total value of $58.1M, which is almost $12M below the luxury tax threshold which makes us a non taxpayer and that means we have full mid-level exception rights within our hands.
edit: we just waived Brown and short after he signed with the Bobcats.
You are incorrect. The full MLE is for teams below the luxury tax but above the cap, or below the cap by the MLE amount. The mini-MLE ($2.5 mil) is additional money for teams under the cap, and for teams above the luxury tax. The Knicks being under the cap by $15 mil does not allow them to spend the $15 mil on Chandler and then another $5 mil on another player. That is what the mini-MLE is for.