Why can't the Rockets sign the PF they want with a back-loaded contract like they do in the NFL? The Rockets have a lot of cap space freeing up in the next couple of years. Why can't they sign up the PF they need by offering a contract which pays the MLE in the first year, but then escalates as the RocketS cap space free's up? Is this type of contract illegal in the NBA? For anyone who knows the answer, THANKS!
NIKE knows this one better than I do but NBA contracts can be back-end loaded. IIRC, that is how DEN had cap space even after signing Andre Miller and Kenyon Martin. The problem for the Rockets is that no one is going to agree to back-end loading a contract that starts at $4.9m. An MLE contract is fundamentally different than a max or near-max contract. IOW, if you are already over the cap back-end loading doesn't give you cap space especially if you are going to have a maxed-Yao and a maxed-TMac.
Thanks guys. That is something I have been wondering about. I knew some people here would have the answer.
A NBA contract CAN be front/back-loaded, the Nuggets frontloaded KMart's deal for instance. But when calculating the salary cap, there's no front-loaded nor back-loaded allowed. In KMart's case, eventhough he's reportedly getting 15M the first year of his contract and only an averaged of about 8/9M in last 5 years, his actually cap hold to his team is around this: 10.6 first-year (as opposed to 15M where he actually received)/ 11.9 2nd-year/ 13.0 / 14.3 / 15.4 / 16.6. So no the Rockets cannot 'frontloaded' a contract to any of their desire PF technically speaking.
Can we give a player a signing bonus like the Sonics gave Ray Allen? How do signing bonuses work? Do they count against the cap?
