Salary Cap Chat With Larry Coon 1/11/12

1. Matty

   Larry, love your chats. Simple question: Does the tax repeater penalty counter start in two years when the escalating tax amount takes effect, or will teams in the tax this year and next already have 2 counts of tax repeater charges at that time?

   • Larry Coon

     The rule says that:

     * For 2011-12 and 2012-13 it’ll be a straight dollar-for-dollar;

     * For 2013-14 it’ll be the progressive tax, but there won’t be a repeater penalty;

     * For 2014-15 there will be a repeater penalty if the team was a taxpayer in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 (all three years);

     * For 2015-16 through the end of the CBA there will be a repeater penalty if the team was a taxpayer in at least three of the four preceding years.

2. Drew

   What/who will any combination of Beaz,Wes,Ellington,Randolph,Darko and Peck get you? Ellis,Mayo or K Martin? And what would we have to give up to get them? We need a SG above all else?

   • Larry Coon

     That combination will get you a lottery pick in the next draft. Oh, wait — it’ll get New Orleans a lottery pick in the next draft. All of them are pretty much below average right now, with maybe just Beasley reverting to his 2010-11 form in a different system. I don’t think they get Ellis, Mayo or Martin, in any combination.

3. Lewis1201

   How about Beasley for JJ redick gives orl a young star and minn a starting 2 who can knock down shots for Rubio

   • Larry Coon

     Beasley’s had a significant drop-off from last season, but I haven’t seen the team enough to know whether that’s something to do with Adleman, fitting in with his current teammates, or if last season was just a fluke. I guess it depends on how much Kahn values him — if they’re ready to cut bait, then Redick would be a reasonable replacement. I’m not sure what’s in it for Orlando, though. Calling Beasley a “star” is overstating it. At best it’s a crap shoot to see if he has a renaissance in Orlando & helps entice Dwight to stay.

4. Albert

   The summary terms provided by the NBA on 11/26 said that the percentage of BRI used for the salary cap and luxury tax calculations after this season will be in the same proportion as in the previous CBA. Since the split is now 50% to players (vs. 57%), does that mean the cap will be set at 44.74% of BRI (vs. 51%) and the luxury tax at 53.51% (vs. 61%) of BRI?

   • Larry Coon

     Yep, the cap is now set on the basis of 44.74 percent of projected BRI, and the tax on 53.51 percent.

5. Steve Nash

   In the last agreement, extensions couldn’t be signed until three years after the original contract (or previous extension) was executed. Given all the shorter contract lengths in the new deal, has that changed? Steve Nash signed his current extension in July 2009. Is he eligible to be extended-and-traded?

   • Larry Coon

     No, it’s still three years. Nash can’t be extended.

     (The three years essentially lets enough time pass to match the tenure requirements for Bird rights.)

6. Sean

   How logical is it for the Sixers to amnesty Brand after this year and be able to add Dwight Howard? What would their cap # be if they amnesty Brand?

   • Larry Coon

     They’d clear $18.1M in cap room by giving Brand the axe. Right now they’ve got $57.5M committed to 2012-13, so getting that down to around $39 million (minus cap holds for things like draft picks) could allow them to make a run at Howard.

     They’d be able to talk to Dwight, get a commitment from him, and THEN amnesty Brand to create the room, so if they can’t land Dwight, they’d still have Brand. I think the Sixers are probably in the running if Dwight becomes a FA.

7. Adrian

   Oh great salary cap wizard are their any other teams who can get Dwight Howard?

   • Larry Coon

     The Nets seem to be the frontrunners, and are confident that they can resurrect a deal after the All-Star game (in Orlando this year, so the team wants to keep Dwight around for that) and when Lopez is ready to play.

     If a Nets deal doesn’t work out (or if a better offer presents itself), you’d have to think the Lakers are still the dark horse to get him — especially if Bynum continues the way he’s been playing. I don’t think there’s any way they offer both Bynum and Gasol, and they may not even agree to be a salary dumping ground for the Magic. But there’s also been reluctance on the part of the Magic to let another franchise center go to LA (after Shaq in ’96).

     But unless they get a firm commitment from Dwight to either extend or re-sign, they pretty much HAVE to trade him, or else they lose him to a team like Dallas, NU, or someone else who clears the necessary cap room.

8. Randy

   Can a Trade Exception be combined with future draft picks to obtain one player? For example. Can the Lakers use there $9 Million TE and future draft picks to get Steve Nash?

   • Larry Coon

     No. Trade exceptions can’t be combined with anything to create a bigger slot, and even if they could, a future draft pick counts $0 for salary matching purposes. The Lakers’ trade exception ($8.9M) can’t be used for Nash ($11.7M). At best it could be used to take on any salary the Suns also want to unload in any Nash deal (maybe Childress).

9. Gregg Ochaita

   I feel like most NBA teams don’t know how to build a contender, take the Clippers for example with Blake, Eric Gordon, the had two great pieces to build a long lasting contender, instead, the deal Gordon and overpay Jordan and essentially end any possibility of an NBA title in the near future, they will be pretty good but never great, they could’ve kept Gordon, let jordan go and preserve cap space to sign Dwight. What do you think about their moves?

   • Larry Coon

     it’s not like they just threw away Eric Gordon — he was the principal piece in the deal for Chris Paul. They were also a little wary about Gordon’s injury history and his upcoming contract demands. They decided that for the money, they’d much rather have CP3 (and I agree).

     I also think DeAndre was a little overpaid, but he was a restricted free agent and they had to match whatever anyone else would pay — in this case Golden State. Keeping him made Kaman expendable in the CP3 trade, and they like the way DeAndre fits with the group of guys they have now. He also has more upside.

     As for preserving cap space for Howard, there’s an old adage about a bird in the hand. They preserved cap space last year for LeBron James. Just because they have the space, it doesn’t mean the guy’s coming to claim it. Howard let it be known that the Clips weren’t on his short list, so given that, you think he’s going to eschew all other offers and come there? Dallas also looks like they’ll be able to clear a lot of room, and the Mavs are a team that IS on Howard’s short list.

     So given the choice of a rebuilding plan that has a huge contingency (being able to sign Howard) versus one that cements some major pieces in place, I think they made the right moves. I think they’ll probably be the five seed this year, and next year could really make some noise.

10. Joel

    Larry,
    What is the Blazers cap room situation for this year? How much salary could they add if need be? Thanks..

    • Larry Coon

      They’re about $6 million over the cap, and they used their mid-level exception on Jamal Crawford. The only thing they have left is their bi-annual exception (about $1.9 million) and a $1.25 million trade exception from the Rudy Fernandez trade.

11. Albert

    Thank you for answering my salary cap/tax question! If I can push my luck, I have just three more questions about it. First, is Projected BRI still grown at 4.5% over the previous season’s actual BRI (for all revenue sources other than national broadcast)? Is there a defined Projected BRI and Projected Benefits for this season? Have the adjustment calcs for the salary cap and tax remained the same? I ask because I like to come up with my own projections for future salary caps.

    • Larry Coon

      Sorry, something’s going on with the chat interface — I can only see part of your question unless I use the “edit” feature lo look at it. Strange…

      The new rule for projected BRI says that the league & players association will meet & figure it out. Absent (or until) any agreement they still use 4.5%.

      I don’t see a projected BRI specified for 2011-12 (like there was for 2005-06 in the last agreement). I think that since they used a hard value for the cap, they probably didn’t define it (that’s just a guess).

      There’s lots of changes to the rules for the salary cap adjustments. Send me an email — too much to go over here.

12. Bryan

    Pacers cap situation next year and what can they do with it?

    • Larry Coon

      At this point they’re about $22M under the cap for 2012-13. They have to deal wtih Hibbert, Hill, Jones and Price with that room, as well as their draft pick. Looks like they could be players in the FA market, depending on what they decide with those four.

13. JP

    (JP Your comment is awaiting moderation.) Which team is going to lose the most for you in the whole season? Which trade would you do (cap wise) to get the first round pick of that team for Minnesota using Ridnour, Wes Johnson, Wes Johnson, Darko Milicic and future draft picks?

    • Larry Coon

      Problem is, if a team is going to have one of the worst records, their draft pick is especially valuable this year. There’s no way a team like, say, Washington trades its 2012 pick unprotected unless they got a heck of a return. The players you named won’t cut it.

14. bebopdeluxe

    I know that the Sixers could just amnesty Brand this summer and get the room to make a max offer for Dwight Howard, but what would their cap room be without amnestying Brand?

    • Larry Coon

      They probably won’t have any cap room at all, unless they make a move (like amnestying Brand).

15. matt

    Regarding the example you used in the lakers / suns scenario, as steve nash plays a game, doesn’t his cap figure reduce while the lakers trade exception remains the same?

    • Larry Coon

      No. They always use the players’ annual salary (except when they use BYC, Poison Pill or add trade kickers).