NBA Salary Cap Chat With Larry Coon 7/20/12

1. Zach

   Is it possible for the Nets to sign Dwight Howard in the FA next offseason? Is a sign & trade possible for the terrible contracts the Nets have to offer?

   • Larry Coon

     No, the Nets aren’t going to have anything that bears even a passing resemblance to cap room for several years, and it will take around $20 million in cap room to sign Dwight as a free agent.

     A sign-and-trade is at least feasible, but if it came from Orlando it would mean that Dwight spent the season there, and I don’t think that’s going to happen.

     If there IS a trade with the Nets (even at the trade deadline) then one thing that works in their favor is that Brook Lopez (whom the Magic were willing to take) would be easier to trade. This month he would have been a Base Year player in a sign-and-trade, which means only half his salary counts toward the salary matching totals in the trade equation. But since it would no longer be a sign-and-trade, his full salary would count.

2. James

   For someone with the history of knee problems like Andrew Bynum, wouldnt it benefit him to sign an extension before the season and a possible injury?

   • Larry Coon

     That’s always the tradeoff — potentially more money if he waits, versus locking in the salary asap just in case. If he extends now he can get three additional seasons added to his contract, and if he waits to become a free agent he can get five new seasons — it’s a tough call. Drew’s been pretty healthy for about a year and a half, and they seem to have figured out how to manage his knees pretty well. My guess is that he will wait to become a free agent.

3. dorian

   now that the rockets have lin and possibly omer asik, how much cap space would they have going forward for this year and next

   • Larry Coon

     If they have Asik and the assets they got from the Celtics, they’ll have about $3 million in cap room — depending on what Pavlovic signed for. However, some of those salaries are non-guaranteed, and they could waive Moore and/or Williams in the near future to gain a little extra cap room.

4. Joe Koch

   If a player has a 2 year contract worth $10M, with the 2nd year as a player option or $1M guarantee, can he terminate the player option or waive the $1M guarantee to allow for the entire $5M remaining in year to hit the cap in only year 1? The team would only owe the $5M and it would only hit their cap in one year correct? This example would be done as part of a buyout as well which is why the player would waive the player option or $1M guarantee.

   • Larry Coon

     Okay, wait…let me see if I understand your question. You have a contract that looks like this, for example:

     2012-13 $5M (100% protected)
     2013-14 $5M ($1M protected, player option)

     So you want the player to be able to NOT pick up the option right now, and he would become a FA at the end of the season, right? That way the team’s cap hit is $5M for 2012-13 and would be $0 for 2013-14, right?

     Options have “windows” which are periods of time in which they may be exercised, and they usually open the day after the season ends. But if the player wants to become a FA, or the team makes arrangements with the player so they will clear the cap space next summer, then what’s the rush? Can just wait until the window opens, and they’ll all be in the same situation.

5. Andrew

   what did the blazers give up in the courtney lee trade

   • Larry Coon

     Not clear at this point. I think it’s draft considerations, but I have no confirmation yet.

     UPDATE: It appears that Sasha Pavlovic went to Portland in that deal.

6. adobo tapsilog

   Where will arenas and tmac play? Arenas and d12 wana play together still? Would u rather have kaman and ebrand or tyson chandler?

   • Larry Coon

     Both Arenas and T-Mac are minimum-salary guys at this point in their careers. We’ll see who’s interested enough to extend a camp invite.

     Of the two, I’d rather have Chandler at this point — he gives you so many things as a complementary player.

7. Mike

   Is is possible for Brooklyn to add another quality big man for the Vet min? AK47 perhaps?

   • Larry Coon

     They’re going to have to. Right now they’re pretty far over the cap with the Kris Humphries re-signing, along with CJ Watson and Keith Bogans. However, with those three on the roster they’re now up to 12, and they still have to sign their two second round picks from this year’s draft.

8. peter

   why havent lakers at least secured jordan hill

   • Larry Coon

     I think they should. But a number of factors could be at play, including: 1) Interest from the T-Wolves — he could be weighing offers; 2) Antawn Jamison’s signing could mean they don’t need him; 3) The Lakers could be waiting to see what happens with a potential Dwight trade.

9. kasey

   Hi Larry,

   the new cba kicks in next year regarding sign and trades. not sure exactly how it works but looking at the numbers could it be the Knicks did not match Lin because it would have put them over the projected number ($4 mill over the tax line) to participate in sign and trades if cp3 tries to force his way to nyc next summer?

   • Larry Coon

     Good thinking, but they’re most likely already going to be over that line. Right now their salary commitments are $77.6 million for 2013-14, and this year the apron is at $74.3 million.

     I think the bigger impediment is that there doesn’t seem to be a realistic CP3 sign-and-trade from the Clippers’ perspective.

10. robbie grant

    which trade proposition is better the nets-magic or lakers-cavs-magic?

    • Larry Coon

      Houston-Magic if they can dump a lot of bad contracts and get a lot of young & future assets.

      If they’re going to trade Dwight, then they need a full reset, and that means clearing as much junk as possible, acquiring assets to build around that are all approximately the same age, and being awful for a year or two, acquiring good picks in the meantime. The Jameer Nelson signing notwithstanding, this seems to be what they want to do. A Houston deal gives them a great jump start with that process.

11. Pat

    Who would be able to afford Howard next summer if he is an UFA. Dallas, Houston, anyone else?

    • Larry Coon

      Here’s a team that always seems to fly just under the radar, and when all is said and done, people wonder “Where did they come from?” San Antonio potentially can have close to enough cap room to make it interesting.

      Other teams that could have enough space: Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston, Minnesota, Phoenix, Utah. Maybe Detroit, Milwaukee & New Orleans.

12. Mary

    If the Lakers are $20 million into the luxury tax, how much would it cost to pay Meta approximately $8 million in the first year of the super tax? With Agents fees and the salary holdback, how much does he keep (he’s also divorced, so he may only keep half of that)?

    • Larry Coon

      The tax rate for $20-25 million over the tax line will be $3.75 per dollar, and $4.25 for being over $25 million. Let’s say the Lakers are right at $20 million without Metta. His salary is about $7.7 million in 2013-14, so his tax would be $30.2 million, and his full salary + tax would be $37.9 million. Who knew world peace would be so expensive?

      Fortunately, they likely won’t have that high a payroll next season, and even if they did, they could still use their amnesty waiver on him.

13. Mike

    why dont you answer my questions?

    • Larry Coon

      I answered this one.

14. Daniel

    please explain to me why my lakers are willing to give up a superb talent in a 24 year old andrew bynum who just came off an amazing, injury-free, year for dwight howard who has been nothing but drama this past year and has a back issue which can be extremely serious and could linger for the rest of his career

    • Larry Coon

      His surgeon (who is also a Lakers consultant) said he should be fine. With either player, you’re assuming an injury risk — but admittedly, Dwight’s injuries are more recent than Drew’s.

      But from a basketball standpoint, while Drew is a great player who is just now maturing (on the court), Dwight is better. He’s more athletic, he would be a a better fit with Nash, and he’s a much better defender — the way you attack the Lakers is to screen-roll them so Bynum has to come out. That wouldn’t happen with Dwight.

      The other factor is that with Kobe gone in a few years, the Lakers will need a new face of the franchise. Dwight would provide that. Would Andrew?

15. Mike

    What does Brooklyn have left to offer to possible FA?

    • Larry Coon

      A bridge?

      Other than that, it’s minimum salary contracts from here on out for them.

16. Laker Hater

    How is it that the Lakers were able to trade their 2013 1st to PHX for Nash? They traded both their 2012 1sts away, leaving them with no 1st two straight years. This breaks the Stepien Rule, right?

    • Larry Coon

      No. The Stepien rule only looks at the future. The 2012 draft is now in the past, and has no bearing on the Stepien rule.

17. Pleaseanswer

    Can Andris Biedrins be bought out and save the cap space for warriors to sign another FA ? Thanks for your reply.

    • Larry Coon

      Only if he’s willing to take less salary in the buyout. Since he’s not going to sign for that much anywhere else it seems unlikely.