Well, unless he signed for more than $3.5m/yr, we can be pretty sure Morey wasn't allowed to sign him due to being over the Tilman Cap. That is, assuming Melo is actually going to sign for the Vet Min.
OK, so either Morey was not really all that interested in him (ie,. likes Ennis better, and doesn't want both), or this was yet another *minor* tax-savings move. I first thought Morey didn't sign him for worries of it requiring part of the MLE that he had ear-marked for other things. But now, with all reports saying Melo won't require any of the MLE, this looks like a signing we could have made, but simply chose not to.
It seemed to me at the time that it was an Ennis or Nunnaly scenario and we got our first option in Ennis. Morey may be saving the rest of the MLE for potential buy out candidates the way he did this season.
Who knows. I don't think he moves the needle either way. I think they are keeping their MLE for someone that can get them over the hump. They don't know what they will need until around the trade deadline after they see how everyone plays and sees who gets hurt. If Melton looks good, I think they will look for another long wing. However, if Melton looks like the 2nd round rookie he is; you can bet that they will be spending all their resources to get injury insurance for Paul and Gordon.
I think the FO valued Nunnally over Ennis but only wanted them at the min. (Because of the report that 3 and D players are commodities) But I challenge the notion that we have MLE space. There's only what 3.5 mil left after Hartenstein. And we still need to sign Melton and want some for buyout candidates. Seems to me is we value the 3rd year of Hartenstein/Melton over the difference of Nunnally over Ennis
OK, I keep forgetting Nunnally has 1yr tenure from 4yrs ago, so a vet min nabs him at $1.35m. Ennis got that *and* a Player Option for 2nd yr, which indicates Morey really wanted him. You mean 3.5 *after* Melton. We are currently at ~$4.4m remaining. Assuming Melton signs for min, that leaves $3.5m.
Nunnally, Smith, and/or McCaw are definitely worth a flyer. That is if they want to be on a contender for $2 M.
