Salary Cap Chat With Larry Coon 3/28/12

1. Valerie

   The Celtics have the clippers 1st round pick this year top 10 protectected. At what point in the drafting process are the clips protected. When the original standings with their chances of lottery success are published, or is it after the 1,2,3 lottery event which even an eleventh place teem has a theoretical chance of winning.

   • Larry Coon

     Once the final draft order is settled — i.e., after any ties have been broken and the lottery has determined the first three picks.

     So yes, it is possible (although not likely) for the Clippers to miss the playoffs this year (they’re currently just two games away from missing the playoffs), win one of the first three picks in the lottery, and keep their pick this year. Since right now they’re looking more like first round roadkill than a contender, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.

2. pacquiao punch

   Hi larry, why didnt the lakers try send fisher to the blazers way back t’ deadline and sent them a first round pick and maybe they were able to get a serviceable player on camby,gerald wallace or maybe nolan smith? They are not even using j.hill. and me as a fan i am alarmed on bynum being a brat . Its time to grow up and be professional. Whats your take sir?

   • Larry Coon

     First Bynum — he hasn’t completely matured as a player or person yet, and what you are seeing is a remnant of both. Call it growing pains. Go check out Kevin Ding’s article today — in fact, here it is: — that compares what Bynum is going through now to what Kobe went through a decade ago.

     As for the trade deadline moves — Mitch Kupchak had targeted Michael Beasley, and that trade fell through at the last minute. The Houston trade for Jordan Hill was a hastily-assembled plan B, and it really wasn’t done for “basketball reasons,” i.e., it wasn’t done just because they wanted Hill as a player. Also, Hill can’t play now because he’s hurt. (That said, Camby & Wallace both make too much for a Fisher trade to be legal, and I’m not sure a Nolan Smith trade would have helped the Lakers.)

3. Steve

   Larry,
   I’m always baffled by how complex the CBA appears here from fan dumb. Why so many complex rules? Did it used to be much simpler? To whose benefit are all the nuances, exceptions and such? Thanks

   • Larry Coon

     One problem is that the CBA was never intended to be understood by fans. While there may have been vague references to what players could & couldn’t be signed, or what trades could & couldn’t happen, it wasn’t until I wrote my FAQ that all of the nuances of the rules started to be exposed. But even with that, the CBA still isn’t about the fans — it’s about making a very complex system involving lots of moving parts (30 teams, a league office, 450+ players, a union, arenas, governments, and lots of money) work correctly, which is even harder when those 30 teams are all trying to find a way to get a leg up on each other, and some teams have an inherent advantage over other teams (based on ownership wealth and/or market size).

     So one reason the rules are complex & nuanced is because they have to think of all the ways teams could possibly game the system or leverage their inherent advantages, and write in language that thinks of those ways and keeps the playing field level.

     Another reason is because the CBA is a broad agreement between two larger parties (the league and the union) that are competing for a larger share of the same pie. Coming up with an equitable way to split the pie in such a complex environment is complicated.

4. cebu gems

   Do u think the bulls management should be more adventurous than conservative in player acquisition? Like example they should over paid a healthy jamal crawford than a no show rip ham? Thanks and good work to all the hp staff.

   • Larry Coon

     I think they saw a SG as the final piece to a championship team, so they went with someone (health issues aside) who was more experienced and more of a known commodity. Of course, hindsight is 20-20, but they didn’t know at the time that Crawford would stay healthy, either.

5. Todd (Orlando)

   Can the Magic resign Gilbert Arenas after this season? Also, what would be the Max Deal Fran Vazquez could get from the Magic if he came over next season?

   • Larry Coon

     A team can’t re-acquire an amnestied contract prior to the expiration of the amnestied contract. Arenas’ contract ran through 2013-14, so the earliest the Magic could sign Arenas is 2014.

     Orlando still has the draft rights to Vasquez, and could sign him to a rookie scale contract (using the 2012 scale salary for the 11th pick) or they could sign him to a 3+ year deal using any room they have (including using their Mid-Level exception).

6. Fernando

   What moves would you recommend or expect from the Pistons’ front office this off season, do they have enough cap flexibility and player contract assets? Thank you Larry Coon!

   • Larry Coon

     I’ve been trying to figure out what plan the Pistons might have in place for some time now, without much luck. It seems like the team never decided which direction they want to go — build around youth, or try to compete (with inferior assets, at that). Waiving Rip seems like a good first step in the direction of youth, but his salary will continue to apply against their cap through next season. I think they have some solid young pieces in Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko (although not exactly young at 25), and should continue to build in that direction. One good thing — they have all their own first round picks for the next seven years.

7. Jeff

   Larry, can teams still pull the “Nick Collison Trick” and give a large signing bonus up front (assuming cap space), lowering the annual cap hit during the following years of the deal?

   • Larry Coon

     Yes. If the player meets the qualifications for a renegotiation (which includes the team having the cap room), they can still do a “renegotiate and extend” where the signing bonus is applied to the cap in the form of a renegotiation (which applies to the current season only) rather than a true signing bonus (which applies to every year of the extension).

8. Josh Smith

   What type of Bird rights to the Lakers have with Jordan Hill, who will be unrestricted this summer? Full Bird? What amount can they offer? Only their $2.5M mid-level? Not saying they would but curious.

   • Larry Coon

     Hill is coming off his rookie contract, however the Rockets picked up the first option year (2011-12), but not the second (2012-13). So he will be an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers will have full Bird rights, but they can’t use those Bird rights to give him a higher salary than he would have earned had the team picked up the 2012-13 option.

     The Lakers will have their Taxpayer Mid-Level exception at about $3 million, but they wouldn’t use it on Hill. For one, they can give him more money with Bird rights. But also, I don’t think Hill is a big part of their future plans.

9. Dre

   Is there anyway for a player to bypass the draft? E.g. can they sit out of the draft or refuse to sign w/ a team?

   • Larry Coon

     The whole idea of the draft is that it provides a controlled means through which players can enter the league. In fact, the first sentence of the first rule in the section of the CBA that deals with the draft reads, “No player may sign a contract or play in the NBA unless he has been eligible for selection in at least one NBA draft.”

     The only way a player can get around this is if he’s willing to go two years without playing organized basketball. He can get drafted, sit out the entire year, and re-enter the draft. If he’s drafted a second time and sits out another year, then he becomes a rookie free agent. Note that if the player plays organized ball during one of these years, the team that drafted him retains his rights.

10. Farhan

    With the new acquisition of Sessions there are my scoring opportunities for the Lakers starting 4 (5 – Artest). If Kobe forgets about winning the PPG battle and takes efficient shots and works off the ball, how great can this Laker team be? Bynum has had few 30 point games, Sessions can score quite well and we know what Kobe/Gasol bring. Your thoughts?

    • Larry Coon

      I agree that if this team starts to jell and adjusts to having Sessions running the point they can be really good in the playoffs. Few teams can match up with their size on the front line, and before Sessions arrived, opponents were abusing Derek Fisher. Question is — in a compressed season, can they pull it all together in time for the playoffs? The team is showing signs of struggling with their roles.

11. Donald Sutherland

    Do the Lakers win it all this year?

    • Larry Coon

      It’s possible, but I wouldn’t consider them the favorites — and for it to even be possible right now, they have to jell a lot better than they are right now. I think the West finals will be Oklahoma City and whichever team gets hot — which could be Dallas, San Antonio, or the Lakers, most likely. But I’d have to favor the Thunder in a OKC-LA matchup. Likewise if the Lakers get to the Finals — I’d have to favor Chicago or Miami right now.

12. Frank

    Will the Bobcats amnesty Tyrus Thomas this summer?

    • Larry Coon

      Wouldn’t be a bad idea. They certainly aren’t having a good season with him contributing, so how much worse would they be without him? He’s got a long contract (signed through 2014-15), and costs a lot of money ($26 million for the next three years) that could be better spent on players who will be a part of the rebuilding process.

13. tim

    How is it possible that the Warriors can buy back their first rounder from the Jazz?

    • Larry Coon

      Draft picks are commodities that can be traded & re-traded, including back to the team that originally owned the pick. In addition, later trades can modify the terms of draft pick conveyance in earlier trades.

14. Jim

    This Sessions kid is pretty good. If he doesn’t accept his option this summer how much am I going to pay him and will that impede my ability to sign Lamar (once he is bought out from the mavs)?

    • Larry Coon

      I think Raymond Felton is probably a good measuring stick for what Sessions will be worth.

      As for Walton, I wouldn’t assume he’s coming back to the Lakers, Kobe’s desires notwithstanding.

15. Frank Iversen - Denmark

    Hey Larry, I’m a big fan of your CBA articles!
    Here’s my Q of the day; If/when Ramon Sessions opts out of his contract this summer, which options do the Lakers have in order to re-sign him?
    Since they’re a tax-paying team are they then only allowed to offer him the mini MLE or did they “inherit” some sort of rights, so that they are able to pay him more?
    Best Regards
    Frank – Danish follower from abroad! !

    • Larry Coon

      The Lakers will have full Bird rights to Sessions, so they can re-sign him for any amount up to the maximum, and wouldn’t have to use their mid-level exception.