does anybody know historically what happens with these and teams who have them? It seems to me like a team obtaining one would be almost certain to use it and not waste it. is that correct? so, i figure the rockets have every intention on pull off a trade within the next few months and use the $8 million exemtion they acquired from the glen rice trade.
This is why I think the Rockets will not use the trade exception: Because the trade exception adds salary to the team. If you trade players you typically do not change you salary for the short term since teams that are over the limit must trade dollar for dollar. With the trade exception we can not package it with another player so if our cap is at 51 million and we decided to use the exception then our cap would escalate to 57 or 58 million. Les has already made it very clear that he will not go over the Cap that high. Therefore I think it is easy to assume that the trade exception will expire next summer unless the Rockets can clear some cap space. Since the only 3 players due to become free agents next summer are Ford, Padget and Wilkes then we can assume the 51 million dollar cap will go up since players like Francis, Taylor, Cato, Yao and every other Rocket will be making more than they do this year. IMO, if Les continues with his current trend he will continue to look for ways to trim salary and he can not do that by using the trade exception.
I dunno crash, this SI article I was just reading basically guarantees that the luxury tax will be nullified by '04-'05 and ther's a good chance that it could be over with after this season. The NBA's generating better revenue altogether, so they're planning on abolishing that as soon as possible. If the Rockets wouldn't have to take the luxury hit until next season from a deal this year, they might do it if they were pretty sure about it being gone before it ever effected them.
I agree with you but the rumor of the luxery tax going away or not even activated for the coming year has been out there for quite some time and Les continues to drive the Rockets personel decissions based on the total salary of the team. You could be right and I hope you are but I have just lost so much confedence in Les as an owner that I see him as being salary cap driven. I hope I'm wrong.
First...it's a trade "exception". As in Mid Level Exception. Or, assigned player exception. Or Larry Bird exception...all devices which allow over the cap teams to sign FA's or trade players with similar current year contract values. (Hence, an "exception" to the cap). Interestingly, the CBA does not use the term "trade exception" but refers to the process as a non-simultaneous trade completion. Secondly, it's hard to comment on the exception from a "historical" perspective. It is new to the current CBA. I believe it was NIKEstrad who speculated that it was the new aspect of the TE that was the reason the Rockets let their first TE expire. (IIRC, it was only for a few million, not like the current exception).And I agree. Next, the value of the current Rice/Ameachi trade exception is very close to $7m - the difference in Rice's $9.5m contract and Amaechi's $2.5m contract. IMO, it is also very important to know that the TE can be broken into pieces (used in multiple but seperate trades) and is good until October of 2004. Lastly, whatever the Rockets do with the TE is highly speculative. My personal opinion is that JVG will give every Rocket the opportunity to develop within his system before he makes a change. (I think Moochies current play under JVG speaks for itself). That said, the Rockets will surely hear a lot of scenarios where the will be asked to participate... *the 3rd team in an effort to move a BYC player between other teams. * a team desiring to clear cap space and wanting to rebuild excluding a current star (Abdur-Rahim and the Hawks for example). * teams trying to move up in the draft lottery seeking to make a match of their current contracts. Ultimately, what happens is in part driven by the 28 other teams' personnel decisions and whether the Rockets choose to participate. IMHO, there will be a lot of player movement in the summer of 2004 which is generated by the EC being so much weaker and the unique way in which the NBA is expanding via the Bobcats. Bottomline - unless some other team(s) lay a complete blockbuster at their feet, the Rockets will make personnel moves in the summer and not at the trade deadline.
Is it possible for the Rockets to trade the exception to the Bobcats so they can exceed the league limit for expansion teams? I was thinking we could unload something onto them or get a pick if they could get over the $32 million (approximately) salary cap imposed by the NBA/
I think it's possible that the Rockets could use it, but I wouldn't plan on it. There is supposed to be an 80% likelyhood that the Luxury tax will be in effect for this season, and that Glenn Rice trade was mainly to reduce payroll. If something really good comes along the Rockets could use it, but I wouldn't plan on them using it.
I get the feeling that if the Rockets can get a quality player who can help them make it to the playoffs they might use the exception but the chances of that seems unlikely because they might not be able to get the kind of players that are needed right now.
Charlotte's $32m cap is (like all other NBA teams) a "soft" cap. They will have the MLE, vet minimums, and will be allowed to exceed $32m to sign draft picks. However... I can't think of a scenario where the Bobcats send the Rockets contracts to increase their cap. Let's say they are at $32m and send us a $8.5m player for Boki ($1.5m). They have dropped their payroll by $7m, but the cap remains at $32m.
I agree with GATER here. We MIGHT make a move before the trade deadline, but I am guessing JVG will give this team the FULL year to decide what to do with its parts. If we dont make progress this season I expect a summer of change with the Rockets. And the Trade Exception will be a HUGE part of the moves. Since it is so versitile we will have any number of scenarios with which to use it.
What I was trying to get at was --- Could the Bobcats increase "their" cap by using our exception? The Bobcats would be able to carry more salary into the regular season.
I guess I didn't explain it very well. In simple terms, no. Their 1st season cap is limited to 75% of the cap for the other 29 teams. Since the NBA has a "soft" cap, the Bobcats (like the other 29 teams) will be allowed to use some exceptions to go above the cap. We'll use $32m for the sake of example. (75% of $42m = $31.5m...close enough). First up for Charlotte will be in the Lottery draft. They will get a 1st rounder of their own. It has been specululated that some teams will throw picks at Charlotte to take certain players in the expansion draft. Let's say Charlotte agrees to the offer of two teams. They now have three 1st rounders all carrying guaranteed contracts. Next up, the Expansion Draft. The Bobcats pick 14 players totalling $32m in salary. The Bobcats then sign their three 1st rounders for an additional $6m. The Bobcats also see a hole in their roster so they sign an additional vet at $1m. Total salary = $39m. (Obviously, 4 of the 18 will need to be cut or waived at some point but their salary still counts). After all of these signings, by using the full TE the Bobcats would be able to send $7m more salary to the Rockets than the Rockets send back to them. There is no increase to their cap. All they are able to do is lower their payroll by $7m. I don't know any other way to state it. The cap is a "soft" one and there is a finite upper limit based upon the number of 1st rounders and vet minimums they take on. But trading excess salary to Houston only decreases their payrol. It doesn't raise their cap level. BTW, I do not believe the Bobcats will be allowed an MLE in their first season since they are technically under the cap to start. MLE's are only available to over the cap teams and you can't start out under, go over the cap and then qualify. IOW, you have cap room or the MLE but not both.
