Cavs '09-'10 roster salary = $81.68M 2010 free agents: Lebron ($15.77M), Shaq ($21M), Ilgauskas ($11.54M), Hickson ($1.42M), Powe (855k), J.Williams (736k) Total coming off the books = $51.31M 2010 Cavs roster salary = $30.37M Now lets assume that they renounce the rights to all of their FA's except Lebron. Meaning there are no cap holds on any of these guys (except Lebron), clearing up all of that cap. Cap Hold Info So lets add Lebron's cap hold. His cap hold would be greater than his last years salary, BUT cap holds cannot exceed the maximum salary allowed to that player which is based on years of service. Max Salary Info & Chart . So the Cavs get a break and the cap hold is just the max salary for a 7th year player which is ($16,224,600). Lets add that to their cap: $30.37M + $16.22M = $46.59M That's for 9 players (counting lebron). A minimum salary cap hold is counted for every empty roster spot up to the minimum of 12 roster spots. In this case $473,604 x 3 (to get to 12) = $1.41 for a total of $48M. I know its a long shot, but if they wanted to go after a big name free agent after resigning Lebron, they would have about 9 mil to start with. If you make it a S&T with varejao's salary ($6.3M) you have a shade under the max which might be enough to lure someone like Bosh or Amare. Both teams might also be interested in acquiring varejao since they would be losing a post player anyway, plus that team would also acquire a sizable TE in the amount of the cap space which the Cavs had. Again it's a long shot, but I wouldn't be shocked if one of those players, or another big name FA (wade, johnson, dirk, etc) decides to force their way to play with Lebron. How probable do you guys think this is?
^ interesting scenario it is probable I believe but I dont think it will happen mainly because Danny Ferry is the Cavs GM and he'll screw it all up somehow no doubt
doesn't seem like it. but this is about the cavs potentially creating space under the salary cap to go after a big name free agent... not avoiding the luxury tax.
If they can't sign LeBron the team is done. Done. If the team signs LeBron it will still be hard to grab another top FA becasue of the Record amount LBJ will command. No doubt LBJ's contract sets a record for highest paid in ALL SPORTS.
it wont he will get the MAX that is allowed via the CBA and willl at least for the next 5-6 years be underpaid despite getting the MAX had there been no salary cap then yes LeBron would have gotten easily a 200+ million dollar deal
Tiger doesnt have a contract though for actually playing there are cash rewards for the tournaments he wins but no contract to play like in team sports like hockey,baseball, football basketball etc. LeBron could be the first billionaire pro athlete (him or Tiger) if he plays his cards right, but if he was serious about that goal of his he better get to NY/Brooklyn asap
There is also a roster charge equal to the rookie minimum for each player below 12 during the off season. The roster charge counts in the total for team salaries. http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q14 What would be the final roster size after players with guaranteed contracts? What's the true salary cap space available after adjusting for roster charges?
Where exactly are you getting $9M from? The salary cap will likely be around $53M next summer at most At $48M, that leaves them with a shade above the mid-level exception. Now, that wiggle room is very important, as it would allow them to S&T really easily. Here's the big flaw in your argument, however; look at their depth chart assuming they manage to sign Wade by trading Varejao: PG: Williams/Gibson SG: Wade/West SF: Moon/Parker PF: James/Hickson C: Jackson This is assuming that they commit to running small ball all the time. Even if you slot Bosh in at the 5, he would have absolutely zero help on the boards, so keeping Varejao is a necessity regardless. Unless you think Shaq and Z are going to re-up for the minimum... And keeping Varejao in these scenarios is simply not a feasible option, unless the theoretical max superstar takes a paycut to go there, as I can't see teams help out the Cavs by taking on Boobie's contract, and West, Moon and Parker aren't exactly irreplaceable talent. So am I scared? In a word, no.
Those expiring contracts during the season are actually worth more than the cap room they represent in the offseason. Like you said even in renouncing all of those guys it would take a sign&trade including Varajeo to bring in another headliner. Trading makes it possible to acquire a big name guy without gutting your team (see 2000-2004 Orlando. Gutted the team to bring in T-Mac/Hill zero talent elsewhere). Nearly all of the real All-Star high profile guys who leave their respective teams do so via trade rather than FA. In today NBA expiring contracts + young talent can get you a star. (See KG, Ray Allen, Pau Gasol) I think Cleveland would be better off moving either one of Shaq or Z + a pick to a team with a high payroll going nowhere (Milwaukee/ Michael Redd?) or to a team in turmoil with a disgruntled star (Detroit/ Rip or Taysaun). This might be me being selfish, but I personally don't want LeBron to have another A-List type guy with him. I really think he is a special transcendent talent and I want to see just how much he can do w/o another sure hall of famer. I know I didn't fully appreciate how skilled Kobe was until Shaq left. Same with Pippen and Jordan during those baseball years. Granted, you play the game to win, but there should be something said for raising a group of not-so-talented guys to the promised land.
With their 2 biggest FA barring Lebron is their starting and backup center. I doubt they have much of a salary cap to sign any FAs.
I suppose we should be grateful Ferry sucks so bad. If LBJ had ended up in Memphis instead and got drafted by Jerry West, we might have seen a dynasty that would make Jordan's 6 championships look laughable in comparison. Imagine a roster of LBJ, Gasol and Battier, with Mike Miller as the 6th man
I agree that Ferry will prolly mess things up, but the potential is there to get a real "Pippen" in there for LBJ. Dwade or Bosh in Clev.
They've been in the league a lot longer than LeBron. By the time LeBron has been in the league as long as those two, he'll be making that kind of money. You are eligible for a raise of I think 10 or 15% a year. So the year after Lebron Makes 16.2 mil, he'll be making around 18 mil, then around 20 mil, and so on...
