One thing to keep in mind is that this is going to be a deeper draft than normal - several players opting to come out early since next year is the CBA lockout. It's very likely that rookie deals will be less attractive then. And as an aside, I'm all for the league working with the NCAA and making anyone that takes an athletic scholarship ineligible for the draft until 3 years out from HS (even if they flunk out of college). You commit to school or you go to the D-League/Europe. No more one-and-dones. Evan
iirc the opposite is true. going off of memory - first round picks come with stipulations on contracts that require the team to pay guaranteed money or guaranteed years. second round picks dont. given that the level of talent is roughly equivalent from about picks 25-35, it almost always makes more sense to get pick 31 instead of pick 29, provided that you can still get the guy you're after. consequently, to smart teams, pick number 31 is more valuable than pick 29, even though 29 is still a first rounder and 31 is not. maybe someone who knows the details about contract structure can fill in the blanks on this . . .
Rudy Fernandez, Rajon Rondo and Nate Robinson (i think nate not sure if this was more of a trade or selling it) they also had the pick that became Luol Deng for the bulls that they basically gave up to save money
I would like to add i dont think a 1st round pick will go for 3 million. Didnt the Rockets pay like 2.5 million for the 44th pick last year to get Chase? yeah expect the price tag for a first round, even if its late to be a bit higher than 3 million especially when all signs point to this draft being deeper than last year as for the 29/31st pick thing first round picks are guaranteed contracts at a certain tiered structure whereas 2nd round pick contracts are at the discretion of the team.
3 Million is the highest allowed by the NBA. Plus no one buys picks this early. Teams usually have discussions with teams about the possibility, then during the draft if a player a team likes is still available they pull the trigger on the deal. Buying a pick now w/o knowing who is even in the draft would be fiscally irresponsible.
should have clarified what I meant by price tag it will take the 3 million in cash but also another player or future 2nd round pick or more as well to get a 1st round this year. After the rockets paid close to that for a middle 2nd rounder I think teams will want the cash and something else for a late 1st rounder. And I agree buying a pick now would just be silly to do especially when you dont know who will be taken when. The clippers after all have a 1st round pick and they may take someone like Korolev again allow a better player to fall. For the guaranteed contract part alone I am not sure if Morey will want to get another first round pick unless it allows him to package that pick along with other picks/players to get someone of significant impact. They may just try to purchase a 2nd round pick if someone is there that they like so its a low risk move.
Serious cash + future draft picks work as well. The T-wolves traded Ty Lawson's to the Nuggets last year for a future protected pick and cash.
Trade them Taylor + 3 million for a conditional 2015 second. Then a seperate transaction of 3 million for the first rounder. So essentially its Taylor + 6 million for 1st round pick.
1st round picks = Guaranteed contracts 2nd round picks = non guaranteed contracts Above points = More flexibility for Rox/Morey
The fact that it's guaranteed makes it worth less. If you don't like the second rounder, you can walk away from him.
Lakers sold their first round pick last year. I think the last pick in the first round is not a valuable as the first pick in the second round due to the guaranteed contract. I believe the reason we did not deal with them was that they wanted money and a pick out of it. “The Lakers sat out the first round for a second consecutive season, selling the 29th overall pick to the New York Knicks for $3 million. Then they sent the 42nd overall pick to the Miami Heat for $1.5 million. In both deals, the Lakers also received a 2011 second-round pick. All told, the Lakers are $6.2 million richer than they were before the draft, raking in $4.5 million while saving another $1.7 million that would have been guaranteed to the 29th pick over the next two seasons.” http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/26/sports/sp-lakers-nba-draft26 The Lakers did well. They sold picks and got picks to sell again. Not a bad racket. .
Why would we try and buy another 1st round pick? Unless we trade away a few players for one player before the draft, I can't see us trying to get another player via draft. We already have 12 guaranteed contracts next season, plus resigning Scola and Lawry, plus a draft pick, plus the MLE if we desire. That's one too many already. I could see Morey trading back in order to pick up another pick in a later year, or perhaps in a player trade that gives us some salary cap relief....just not to get yet another player.
Yes I know they sold their pick due to contract savings but it was the last pick in the first round. I did make a generalization but teams just don't sell middle round picks for just cash. they will want a player or a second rounder or a future pick in return. The only way we see a pick from a team in the 24-28 range is a trade in my opinion. Maybe Battier to OKC for pick 26. they could use the experience ad leadership of Battier.
If we're serious about conteding next year, we can't keep spending all our resources on rookies and "potential" players. I think we're fine with our original first round and buy 1 or 2 second round picks. But we need more focus on the summer free agency/trades. Young guys are great for the future but we're going to need to land something big in the Summer to contend with the best.
Teams in the mid-20s commonly sell picks for cash. The many Phoenix examples should have driven this point home. Also, as the OP article states, Atlanta will need to save every penny. Taking on additional salary is contrary to that intent. $3M cash should be enough to get that pick. MAYBE a future second rounder and $2.5M. But I'm guessing that Atlanta would just take the $3M and run.
The suns did it because they needed the money. Their owner lost millions during the peak of the financial meltdown a couple years back. here's the list...again of the team with picks 24-down Hawks - if Joe Johnson leaves they'll need this pick to draft a SG Grizzlies- when have they ever passed up cheap talent? Thunder - again, a team that loves to built through the draft. (Battier would help them though) Nets - Their roster is slim and they'll need the pick to add some kind of depth Grizzlies again- I just don't see them willing to sell away a cheap signee. Magic - they might sell the pick. Roster is stacked but they don't seem to mind paying the enormous tax. Wizards - they've sold the farm for 2010 FA market like the Nets. They will need the pick for the roster.
The Hawks need the money to offset re-signing Joe Johnson. The draft happens a good week before free agency begins. They would need to sell the pick BEFORE knowing if they'll lose JJ or not. Odds are Johnson is staying in Atlanta, so the pick is up for sale. This entire thread was based on ATLANTA wanting to sell their pick (hence, buying the 24th pick), but I'll indulge you: The Grizzlies are running out of roster spots for cheap young talent. With the team having three (3) first rounders and yet at a competitive level to where they really need veteran talent, it's a good bet they'll try to package those picks to move up. If they can't do that, they'll look to either sell one of those late first rounders or trade them for future picks. The Thunder have cap room this summer, but not as much as the big boys. They'll want to maximize that room and may look to sell/trade that late first round pick. The Nets will probably use the pick but also needs to maximize cap room this summer. With them also taking on a top 4 pick, they could just sell the pick or trade for a future pick. Agreed on the Magic and Wizards. Bottom line: There are picks to be had for cash this June.
