thecampster

A simple explanation because we all love the ole mule. Salary Cap - This is the theoretical limit where a team dealing with other team's free agents must now deal with a set of restrictive rules. Trades can still happen, signings can still happen but with restrictions. You total team salary can increase but with preset limits based on the size/scope of the deal. Exceptions - Player friendly rules which allow older established players to be bought with moderate limits while ignoring the present state of the cap. Luxury Tax - This is a hard limit set at 120% of the salary cap where teams are penalized for spending too much money. The penalties increase based on how much over the LT you go and for violations in consecutive years. Minimum Salaries - The NBA establishing a bare minimum that players must be signed for based on years of service and their signings can violate the rules of the Salary Cap. Maximum Salaries - After the initial 4 year rookie term is over (for 1st round picks) or initial contracts end (2nd round picks and rookie FA), Maximum Salaries dictate what the maximum salary a player can receive based on years of service. This is a mechanism designed to protect smaller markets from teams like Boston, Chicago, New York and LA who used to just sign the best players for more than smaller markets. So how do other teams do it. By acquiring talent either through the draft or trade that is still in its rookie contract, teams maintain a low base salary structure and fill in the gaps via free agents (see Philly now). Then those team sign new players before their rookie contracts expire up to the cap (see Golden State last year). The salary cap rules for signing players do not apply if you sign your own free agents. So teams like Boston this year, Golden State and Philly create a roster with young talent and then max it to the cap with solid veterans. The following year (see Boston 2018), the team violates the cap by resigning their own talent above that cap. The trick here for large markets Mule is to acquire the players via trade while their contracts are low and gain their rights, then extend them when the contracts are up for much larger salary. This is something Cleveland did just a few years ago. Although Cleveland this year is $13 million over the LT, they had a total team salary of only $49 million in 2013. They traded for players due for big paydays like Kevin Love, signed Lebron at less than market and stayed just above the cap after signing free agents to fill the roster. Then their players got their payday after their contracts ended and Cleveland owned their rights. Then by taking advantage of NBA trade rules that allow you take in a % more salary than you send out, Cleveland continued to moderately increase their total team salary. Positioning yourself is tricky because you must time the contracts of outgoing players to coincide 1-2 years before your Dennis/Prince like rookies are due their paydays and you must also gamble that if you don't extend your rookies (like we did with Dennis) before their contract is up, they won't sign elsewhere (how we had to match Josh Smith back in the day). Our problem is and always has been that fractured Atlanta management could never commit to a plan. The team has not always been profitable enough to allow for lean years. So to remain competitive enough to sell tickets, the team has cobbled together a range of rented vets to string the team along....Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Mutombo, Steve Smith, Shareef....etc. We even tried Rasheed out for 1 game. Some of these players (Bazemore, Johnson, etc) have come with contracts that have hamstrung creativity going into our rookie's contracts. The reality is, you don't give out Bazemore type contracts until your team is built to win it all and you are retaining the last pieces. Bazemore's contract (and Millsap's if they resign him for north of $25 million) will steal the position needed to attract those players 2 years before their big contract. Lets hope the new GM has foresight and the space to lose revenue now to build the right team later.

And why did THj go nuts. Defensive sag created by inside attention. Get your Howard hate goggles off, go online and rewatch the game.

Here are the basics of how the GS thing breaks down (considering they've been brought up numerous times in numerous threads). First, Durant has said he is willing to take less than the max to stay in GS. He is scheduled to make $27 million this year and could make as much $35 million. It is safe to say he'll sign for about $30 million to start in GS. Second, Curry is going to get the max and his max starts at $30.6 million. So adding up what we know and given a cap of $101 million. Durant $30 million Curry $30.6 million Thompson - $17.8 million (2 years left) Green - $16.4 million (3 years left) Jones - $1.2 million Looney - $1.2 million McCaw - $0.9 million Total - $98.1 million Now they are without a center and we will assume they resign either Pachulia or McGee. In either case, both players will get at least $3 million in the off-season based on this year's performance. Putting them at the cap with 8 players under contract and about 6 of their contributing pieces not returning. Now, they have no draft picks in this upcoming draft so they can't slide 2nd round picks in to fill out the roster so offering vet minimum salaries is the only way to do this. Vet minimums range between 815k (0 years experience) and just over $2 million (10 years experience). They would need to fill 5 slots at least for approximately $7 million in salary and will carry 15 like every other team so that's 7 slots at about $10 million. So even a frugal attempt to put GS back together is about $113 million in salary (6 million more than this year) and could easily get close to the LT at below $122 million if they resign both centers and or Livingston/Iggy etc. They're bringing back those big 4, but will have to make a decision on Thompson after this coming season and Green in 2 years. I doubt either Green or Thompson could be had this year but Golden state really only has 1 more great year in them before salary starts to play a major role in their team makeup. The lack of draft picks is going to haunt them 3-5 years from now.

Trying to think of a witty comment here but I'm going to let your's speak volumes about you. If you watched the 2 videos linked above, the whole game changed because the team committed to spacing the floor by getting the big man involved. It doesn't matter if Papa Smurf is playing center. The inside game has got to be a threat if you want to open up the wings. Basketball has 2 options. You need a post player threat if you want to shoot outside or you need a sinister 1 v 1 player to draw the defense if you want to shoot outside. Either you make the defense collapse on the post or you make the defense collapse on penetration, or you shoot bricks all night. That's it...that's offensive basketball. Why is Cleveland great, Houston very good, OKC always a threat? Because Lebron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook are terrifying 1 on 1 players who are capable passers when stopped. Why did New Orleans trade for a second killer big, did San Antonio dominate for years, Houston win back to back championships or Orlando and Utah come so close so many times. All of those teams committed to playing inside out, through dominant big men and surrounded them with shooters. Then again, maybe I'm one of the dumb ones.

Using your math/ideas. Dennis - 15.5 million Joseph - 7.6 million Ingles - 8 million, Hardaway - 13 million Prince 2.4 million Bazemore - 16.9 million Millsap - $25 million Ilyasova - $10 million Bolden - $2 million Howard - $23.5 million Total 132.9 million - only 22.9 million over the cap and well into the LT. You forget about the contracts of Delaney and Bembry for another 4 million and the 13th roster slot. So take these numbers, rethink what you are saying and try again. Only 28 million over the cap on your first NBA2k17 GM'ing though...good first start. In order to make this work, you need to trade away Baze and Howard bringing back only 12 million in salary.

I still miss Josh.

What didn't surprise me is both Dennis and Hardaway are in 4 of the 5 top lineups for win shares and +/-.

You do realize that when many of these people are out of a job (especially the on-air talent), it isn't like you and me being out of a job. They've had salaries of at least 6 figures and in some cases 7 figures for quite some time. They aren't hurting like a guy making 40k a year being laid off.

Yah, I love KFC too.

I'd be a whole lot happier to see the points stay the same and the Assists to go up to 8+. That would make my day.

He Finished 17.9, 6.3, 3.1, .9, 3.3. Pretty close.

Because collectively they are due about $30 million in raises which is what is going to take money away from the other players. Their collective roster strength is going to take a serious hit.

Never said that...I said they have 8 people to make decisions with. They need a supporting cast and the money won't be there to get the quality they've gotten in the past.

Here, take a look at Golden States roster situation and then proceed to wet yourself. http://hoopshype.com/salaries/golden_state_warriors/ Short answer....Curry, Durant, Pachulia and 5 others need off season decisions made.

I will address the points I think need addressing only. Item 2 - IMHO, you are building with Dennis, Prince and should be moving Baze and bringing back THj as at least a stop gap. Tim is coming back as long as the Hawks match and that involves finding a draft night buyer for Baze. Addendum Item 2 - If you find that buyer for Baze, you no longer have a problem roster financially. A full rebuild is not required. Item 3 - Exactly how many more picks over 10 do you want? Item 4 - I do not credit Bud for our player development. I believe that goes to Kenny Atkinson. Dennis will get better with maturity (remember how young he is) and an argument can be made that Bud hindered, not helped Prince. Item 6 - The Warriors are about to have to make very tough decisions in signing players. They are a notoriously cheap franchise and resigning all their players would put them somewhere around 30 million over the cap. The Warriors are very due for a step back. The Cavaliers have only 9 players under contract for next year for $125 million. Lebron is going to start breaking down soon and they are going to have to do something with the roster or face significantly more in LT penalties than they have in previous years. It is no secret they lost money to win these championships. That cannot continue. Other than that, I concede your reasoning....I just don't want to jump on the train right now.

I'm seeing him in the $14-$15 mil range.

Well, to my point. The guy became starter with 20 or 30 games left in the season, has less than 70 NBA starts under his belt and playing opposite Bradley Beal. Young players can wet the bed. It happens. The standard people had expecting him to put up 20 a game against the Wiz was ridiculous. Three years and 3 years of starting from now, he does this during the playoffs and yah...I'll be upset. But 30 games into being a starter in Atlanta going against Bradley Beal. It happens.

This is a mark the tape moment and you and I will revisit in 1 year and then again at 3.

Jeff Hornacek 46th pick - first 3 years, 5, 9, 13 ppg. Next 4 years 18.5 ppg. There are about 50 more 2nd round SG's who had to learn the game years 1, 2, 3 and then became solid NBA starters for their career. Or perhaps you would like to move the goal posts again. Say maybe you meant, black Shooting Guards who are related to former players born between 1990 and 1995 with facial hair and less than 3 baby mamas....if that's the case, you got me.

Monte Ellis - 40th pick. Year 1/2 - 6.8 and 16.5 ppg. Year 5 - 25 ppg. 17.5 ppg for his career.

Stephen Jackson - SG 43rd pick. averaged 3.9 points per game his second season in the league. Then 11.8 his 3rd season. Came to the Hawks year 4, averaged 18.1 ppg. He played 14 nba seasons averaging 15 ppg for his career. His first 3 and last 3 years he averaged 8 ppg. For year 4 through year 11 he averaged (approximately) 19 ppg.

Freakin lawyers!!!

Actually there is a reason. If he plays this year and is hurt, declines, etc, his payday next year is significantly less. If he Declines this year and resigns a 4 year deal starting at 20 million, he'd make $60 million more than his current contract. Waiting to sign a new deal is a bad bet. This is his last big contract, he needs to strike now. He's a 20 to 25 million a year player right now. That is what he should get. I agree with you though, more than $25 million and the Hawks should pass.

The beast had 8 points and 3 rebounds in a closeout against Cleveland tonight. For the Cleveland series he was 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, shooting 45%.....Beast Mode, Alice style. We have very different definitions of beast.

Wurider is right on this. A few years ago this was discussed in detail on this board. The number one reason top tier athletes choose cities is not the fan base, the weather or even winning tradition. Elite players choose cities based on marketing opportunities (Lebron as the exception). We as fans get hung up on winning. But players have a short shelf life. They need to make as much money as possible in the shortest time possible. Cities like LA, NY, Chi, Bos have very large television markets and captive except for LA, captive winter audiences. Good players make as much or more in endorsements based on the city they live in, than their contract. See this article as one example http://opendorse.com/blog/8-athletes-who-earn-more-money-from-endorsements-than-their-sports-careers/ The biggest player in this with NBA players are sporting wear and shoe makers. Addidas (for example) makes it a point to give out endorsements to its players in their bigger markets and makes sure to have at least one brand shoe in each market. Back when Josh was a big deal in Atlanta and we first talked about Dwight coming here, it was discussed on this board how Adidas held shoe contracts with both and had no one wearing their shoes in other major markets. But the fact remains that if you are selling sneakers in Atlanta vs selling them in LA, the market in LA is vastly bigger than in the ATL TV market. New York has 23 full powered tv stations. LA 27. Atlanta 14. But it isn't just the number of stations, but the amount of people they can reach. Massachusetts (for example) is a much more densely packed area of the country than Georgia. Massachusetts has a population density of 840 per square mile. Georgia, 165. This means that broadcasts for Celtics basketball can potentially reach 5 times as many people. The endorsements for auto dealerships, restaurants and other local fair pay way more money for lower tiered athletes and for this reason, top tier athletes get more money from their sponsors to play in those type of markets. Luring top talent to Atlanta used to be much easier when TBS carried Braves/Hawks games all over the country. But since big sports cable started buying and localizing games, smaller markets have seen their big names flee for the sports Meccas.