NBA Salary Cap Chat With Larry Coon 3/14/12

1. Rudey (NC)

   Why haven’t the Lakers moved on Sessions? They have obvious needs at SF and PG, and seeing as how the there are more talented PG’s in the league than SF’s, why not grab sessions for the playoff run? Or are they seriously considering trading Dallas’ 1st rounder for Michael Beasley? Would Minnesota, who needs producing players, not talented numskulls, trade away Beasley for a bad 1st rounder? Why would the Lakers want a shoot first SF who doesn’t play defense?

   • Larry Coon

     PG is obviously a bigger need for the Lakers than SF, and even if they added Beasley they obviously wouldn’t be adding someone who would solve all their problems. So I don’t think they’d move on Beasley (if they do at all) until their PG situation is taken care of.

     And while they like Sessions, he’s not exactly the point guard of their dreams, either. Maybe they’re talking to Boston about Rondo, or Houston about Lowry, or to some other team about a point guard of similar stature. If so, then they try to work that out, and THEN fall back to the Sessions trade.

2. Shahin O.

   Hey Larry,

   CRAZY NEXT 24 HOURS WE GOT HERE!!

   I’m a big Lakers fan but I’m looking less and less at Dwight, since we especially want a PG, but anyway…

   I JUST saw that D’Antoni ‘resigned’… WOW!!!… Ok so does that send the message that Carmelo ain’t going anywhere? Because honestly at this point if the Magic was to get ANYTHING remotely solid for the big man don’t you think a Carmelo/Tyson swap for Dwight/Hedo makes the most sense?

   What else could Dwight realistically fetch given the looming deadline and the Magic’s options running out. Even IF they got serious with the Lakers for Bynum we don’t NEED him as bad a a PG (if Bynum remains healthy) and have no reason to toss in Pau or any picks.

   Would the Nets rather just wait for Dwight in FA (like the Knicks SHOULD HAVE done)?

   • Larry Coon

     The Dwight situation is really getting interesting, and it’s the kind of situation you look at using game theory.

     By this point it’s pretty clear that Dwight has his sights set on New Jersey next year (small chance of Dallas), so the other 28 teams are thinking, “Why should I overpay for a short-term rental?”

     That’s going to kill his trade value, because New Jersey is going to be saying, “Why give up major assets to get him now, when we can just wait and get him this summer?” So THEY may offer less too. They don’t need him for a playoff run THIS season — in fact, getting him now only makes their draft pick worse.

     So you end up with a potential standoff between NJ and the rest of the league, with NJ essentially just hedging its bets against some other team taking a flyer on him as a rental. But they wouldn’t up their bid too much, because it has little long-term value.

     So at this point, do the Lakers even offer Bynum? Likewise with the Knicks & Melo — hard to imagine that they gut the squad to get him, knowing it’ll take a couple years to put the right pieces around him, and give up after a year.

3. Brian

   Any chance Nash doesn’t want to leave the Suns because he doesn’t want to change systems? Would Nash be Nash on a different team?

   • Larry Coon

     Obviously some systems suit Nash better than others, but “he wouldn’t be Nash” is greatly overstating it. But I think you’re right — he hasn’t articulated to the Suns any desire to leave, and is unlikely to be traded.

4. Patrick

   Here’s my predictions for next season.

   Starting 5 for NJ:

   D.Howard
   K. Humphries
   H.Barnes (picked up with the number 5 pick)
   M. Brooks
   D. Williams

   and Mike D’antoni in Washington to help groom J.Wall.

   thoughts?

   • Larry Coon

     It’s no secret that Dwight stands a very good chance of ending up in Jersey next season. If they do it through free agency next season (as you suggest) then that could be the lineup — they’d have to renounce Hump to clear enough cap room to sign Dwight, but they’d have their $2.5M Room exception to go after one more free agent. Does Kris sign for that?

5. peter

   If Buss is able to trade his pride and joy (Bynum) to get the alleged superstar center of the decade (D12) does Buss’s status as a novice executive go to “executive of the year” honors?

   • Larry Coon

     Bynum is developing into a nice player in his own right. Maybe Buss should get the credit for recognizing him when he was 17, holding fast through Kobe’s trade demand a few years ago, and letting him develop?

6. Joe

   Would there be a deal you can see between POR and MN that can maintain cap flexibility for both teams and swap players each team may covet? I don’t…but maybe there is something I am missing?

   • Larry Coon

     Portland doesn’t want any salary on their books this summer that isn’t named “Aldridge” or “Batum.” Does Beasley make sense as a short-term acquisition for Crawford?

7. Brad

   What are the odds Jamison gets traded by the Cavs?

   • Larry Coon

     I think they have to have him on the block.

8. Marco

   Hi Larry! What’s your thinking about this D’Antoni-Woodson “swap”? Is this a good thing for NY? And…about the Lakers…do you think they’ll stay put or wait till the last minute to pull off a trade?

   • Larry Coon

     The Knicks are a fractured mess, and I don’t think that had much to do with D’Antoni. Linsanity simply bought them some time — this team has serious flaws, which were going to be exposed. Does anyone really expect Woodson to make changes that will right the ship?

     They gutted the team in order to sign Melo, and this is what happens when you do that.

9. Nick

   Which side during CBA negotiations is against contract renegotiations? Thanks!

   • Larry Coon

     Negotiations are allowed, if: 1) The team is under the cap; and 2) The player’s salary increases. It’s a mutual thing — teams didn’t want players holding them hostage looking for a bigger salary, and the players association didn’t want players to be able to take less salary.

10. vladimir

    Your thoughts on Ramon Sessions with the Lakers? is he what the lakers need, or that 1 round pick is more valuable? -if true

    • Larry Coon

      The Lakers have a well-defined window. They have Kobe on the roster, costing them lots of money, and in his prime for another year or two. They need to do what they can to win while he’s still here, and before the more punitive luxury tax kicks in. That means they need ready, proven players more than they need late draft picks.

11. Jay

    Anything new to report on Hornets trade options?

    • Larry Coon

      To quote Ryen Russillo, I’m not sure they have phones there.

12. Rob

    If Howard was to go to the Knicks, that leaves Nets facing losing both Deron Williams and Humphries for nothing in July

    Do they take Gasol and McRoberts in return rather than losing them for nothing??……..obviously Williams would need to commit to LA for at least a Year, if not longer-term

    • Larry Coon

      The Nets are invested in Williams and the possibility of adding a max player like Howard to go with him. If they lose him, then they have a high pick in a good draft and a bunch of cap room. I sincerely doubt D-Will gets traded.

13. David

    Are the Rockets going to make any moves? They need to go for broke because they are never good enough to compete for a championship, or bad enough to get a high draft pick

    • Larry Coon

      Yeah, they have enough assets there to try to consolidate for a big. Pau Gasol is obviously a player they like, but I don’t see the Lakers moving on that unless Lowry was part of the deal — which I’ve heard they’ve been resistant to.

14. BoTown

    Any Celt’s news or rumors?

    • Larry Coon

      I’ve heard from multiple sources that they aren’t moving Rondo, but given the relationship he has with Doc & Ainge, I still can’t rule it out.

      They’ve also been talking to teams about the big 3. Of the three, Ray Allen seems to be the most likely guy to be moved.

15. Hans

    Is Howard really willing to stay in Orlando or is he just saying he wants to stay the rest of the year to be a free agent @ the end of the year so that he can join his buddy williams without the nets giving up good players to trade howard

    • Larry Coon

      I think he’s been trying to do a better job from a PR standpoint than Melo did last year, but did it pretty clumsily. How did he expect the team to take his “roll the dice” comment? I think the team was wise to put it back on him — commit for next season, or we’re trading you. I somehow doubt he’s going to commit like that.

16. Pete K

    which player takes the biggest hit and gets the biggest boost with D’Antoni gone?
    I am guessing Lin gets benched. But does Amare or Melo do better now D’Antoni is gone.

    • Larry Coon

      That obviously depends on who they ultimately end up with as their coach. But yeah, I agree that Linsanity was due to a number of factors coming together at the right time, and one of those factors was having D’Antoni as his coach.

17. Rodney

    How close are the Miami Heat to the salary cap and what if anything can they do to free up some cash?

    • Larry Coon

      They are $19 million over the cap. There’s really not much they can do to free up cash in a reasonable way.

18. lance

    Since Brook Lopez is a restricted free agent this summuer what would happen if he came out and said that he WOULD NOT re-sign with the magic if they trade for him?

    • Larry Coon

      I think it’d have very little effect. The Magic aren’t contemplating a deal with the Nets because they’re enamored with Lopez.

      That said, since Lopez is a restricted free agent this year, it isn’t exactly his choice where he ends up next season.

19. Elan

    Why don’t the Lakers try to take a look at acquiring Beno Udrih from the Bucks? He just became expendable because of the Monte Ellis trade, and he is a solid pg. He put of consecutive seasons of close to 16 PER ratings the last 2 yrs when he was a starter in Sacramento. He is a betting outside shooter than Sessions.

    • Larry Coon

      Yeah, I think Beno would be interesting for the Lakers to look at. But his outside shot has been horrible this year. He’s hitting .206 from three. Sessions has been shooting .426 from outside.

20. Achille

    Any word on the Hornets and Chris Kaman being moved?

    • Larry Coon

      They tried earlier, and didn’t have any success. They were looking for a young player and a first round pick. Some team may step up now, but I don’t think the Hornets are still so desperate to move him.

      One possible factor here — with Mike Dunleavy involved with one of the ownership groups bidding on the franchise, the league could be motivated to hang onto him until the ownership situation is resolved.

21. Steven

    With this Howard debacle going on doesnt this teach teams to trade a guy in his 4th year of a 5 year deal if your not 100% sure he is going to resign with ya?

    • Larry Coon

      Yep. That’s why all the CBA changes are a double-edged sword. They wanted maximum salaries, and got them. They wanted less ability for players to hold their teams hostage — so they weakened the sign-and-trade and extend-and-trade provisions. They wanted smaller contracts and shorter raises, and got those too — four or five years, and 4.5% or 7.5% raises.

      But this all adds up to a system that gives the player very little incentive to stay with his previous team. They wanted to reduce the possibility of players holding teams hostage, but they only increased it. Dwight is still in the driver’s seat here. In fact, what was the first big deal out of the gates this season? The Hornets (a league-owned team) dumping Chris Paul so they wouldn’t be in this situation.

22. Morgan

    What did you think of the Bucks/Warriors trade?

    • Larry Coon

      Interesting for both sides. Looks like a good long-term deal for the Warriors — Bogut should be a good fit once he’s back healthy, and I think having him in the post will help David Lee a lot. The interesting thing, as John Hollinger pointed out, is their draft pick. It’s top-7 protected this year, so the worse their record, the better chance they have of keeping it. Can’t think of a better way to improve their chances than trading for someone with a fractured ankle.

      For Milwaukee, I like the Ellis/Jennings tandem, and I think Udoh was a nice piece. And we can’t forget the coup de force in any deal: the Bucks now have Kwame Brown. Size up the rings.

23. joshua

    If a teams pick is protected are they allowed to trade it if it remains protected

    • Larry Coon

      Only if it’s traded in a way that doesn’t conflict with the original trade.

      For example, Golden State’s pick is top-7 protected this year, top-7 protected next year, and top-6 protected the year after that (it reverts to two second round picks after that). Golden State is free to trade the pick if it falls within the top seven this year, top seven next year, and top six the year after that.