Young's salary: $8.6 million this year $9.2 million next $9.7 player option after Tell me then, which teams want Young? The answer is teams who already have star players or are competing, because Young makes more than half of what a star makes. Teams who don't have two stars will not tie up $28 million in cap space over the next 3 years for a role player when their biggest need is another star player. Here are those teams and their PFs, tell me which ones want Young: Nets: Garnett, Blatche, Kilenko, Teletovic, Plumlee, Evans Knicks: Melo, Staudemire, Bargnani, Martin Pacers: West, Scola, Granger Pistons: Monroe, Smith, Villanueva, Jerebko Bulls: Boozer, Gibson, Deng, Dunleavy Cavs: Thompson, Bennett, Varejao, Clark Heat: Bosh, Beasley, Lewis, Andersen, Battier, Haslem Hawks: Horford, Millsap, Ayon, Brand Wizards: NeNe, Booker, Vesley, Harrington The east has 9 teams who are competing or have at least 2 star players. Blazers: Aldridge, Robinson, Wright Thunder: Ibaka, Collison, Jones Nuggets: Fareid, Hickson, Arthur Wolves: Love, a Moute, Cunningham Clippers: Griffin, Jamison, Barnes Suns: Mook, Markieff, Frye, Plumlee Warriors: Lee, Speights, Green, Barnes Lakers: Gasol, Hill, Williams Kings: Williams, Landry, Thompson, Outlaw, Acy Spurs: Duncan, Ayres, Diaw, Bonner Rockets: Jones, D-Mo, Casspi Mavs: Dirk, Wright, Marion, Blair, Crowder Grizz: Randolph, Davis, Leur, Prince Pelicans: Anderson, Davis, Aminu Every team in the West except for Utah are competing or have at least two stars. I left out many rookie/young PFs who can't get minutes. The PF position is the most stacked position in the NBA. There are only 30 teams and none of them have holes at PF except for the Rockets (which Jones is covering). This is why Morey wants a pick for Aisk. He knows good PFs always slip in the draft and he can get one easily because teams are set there. All of those teams are fine at SF except for the Pelicans who only have Aminu. I don't think Hinkie is interested in any of their players who they want to trade. Also, the Sixers are only 2 games behind from being 4th in the East with a record of 7-15. That's how bad the Atlantic division is. They are not tanking, yet.
Correction: Wanted picks for Asik. Who knows if he wants picks as much now that Jones is playing well.
Obviously the teams that would want Young are limited. Teams like OKC, Houston, or Charlotte could use him but finding a fit for him would be difficult. The thing is, for the Sixers, he's not a bad contract for what he gives them so if they don't get an offer they don't like, they'd be more than happy to just keep him for now until they do, especially since they feel that he could play well next to Noel. He's not "a bad contract who is a throw in, " to Philly and they don't, "want out of his deal," they place real value in Young. Whether or not other teams place value in him is another matter. As for being only 2 games from being the 4th in the East, that's just because the East is so bad. If the Sixers hadn't gone on that improbable 3-0 start at the beginning of the year and gone something like 1-2, they would be among the 4 worst teams in the NBA. They are most certainly tanking, it was obvious once they traded Jrue Holiday during the Draft for a future draft pick and a player that might not even play this year.
Limited? That's a nice way to put it. Let's go through the teams you suggested. Thunder: They have Ibaka, Sefolosha, and Durant. All 3 are excellent defenders. What does Young provide that they don't? Sliding Ibaka to center is under-utilizing him and it takes away from Adams growth. They also have Collison. Rockets: We could use him, which is why I said we are the only exception. With Jones and even D-Mo playing well, we don't need him as much. Bobcats: They have room to sign a full max player to pair with Jefferson. They would not screw that up for Young when they have McRoberts (who has stepped up for them), Big Al and Zeller to man the 4. I agree, he is not a bad contract for the Sixers this season. But what about this off-season? Or next? Or the one after that? They would have the room to sign 2 all-stars if to play next to MCW, Noel, and whoever they draft. They are flirting with becoming contenders as early as 2015 if they throw young in a deal for Asik while remaining competitive, developing players, and keeping fans in attendance. You yourself said they were tanking. How does keeping Young help them do that? He is a throw in if they want save $28 million in cap space. No team with cap space would take his contract. The only other option is an expiring and a late pick from a contender, and we already went over how PF is the most tacked position in the league, especially for contenders. I believe they traded Jrue Holiday because they got Noel and a future first, not because they are tanking. The other reason is because he is a turnover prone, shoot first PG who isn't worth $11 per season for the next 4 years. Would you rather have him or a player like Harden, Love, Ibaka, Gasol, Aldridge, Iriving or George for a couple million more?
If 76ers are fine w/ Young for THIS SEASON, as you state, why not hold onto him? The point of the response was not that the 76ers WON'T trade Young (as they have good reasons for doing so), but that they don't NEED to trade Young right now. It isn't like 76ers are going to get anyone this offseason (which is a limited free agency pool if you really think about who's still available or realistically attainable for most teams). We'll agree to disagree on the trade of Jrue Holiday signaling 76ers plan to tank. I think it is obvious -- they got an injured young C who won't even play this season...and they are not in a rush to get him on the court. Sure smells like tanking, esp. since they knew he wouldn't be able to play. Of course, his contract size contributed to that -- not like things happen in a vacuum.
Philadelphia will have plenty of cap space for the next few years even if they keep Young so his cap hold is not a concern for Philly for what he gives them. Also, for tanking purposes, they can trade Turner and Hawes, two pieces that are more easily movable than Young and that would make them possibly the worst team in the league pretty much instantly. The Sixers will most likely not be contending by the time his contract is up in the 2015-2016, so they'll be content to wait until then if the have to to make a decision on Young. Would they like to trade Thad for assets? Probably. Do they feel that they have to trade him? Probably not. Even if you're rebuilding, it's good to have a well-liked, hard working veteran like Young on the team. I disagree that Young is just, "a throw in," as they are happy to keep him until they get an offer they like. It doesn't have to be this year, it could be next year or the year after that. I agree with you on his value though, which is probably an expiring contract along with a late 1st. Ultimately, I think the Sixers see Young as more than just, "a throw in." We can just agree to disagree on the Jrue trade. I feel that if the Sixers were actually trying to get better by trading Jrue, they would have asked for someone that could actually play this year rather than a future first and a rookie that might not see the court this year.
That's a good question. Are they fine with him this season? We all know tanking for Wiggins was (at least) a small part of the Holiday trade. I don't think anyone predicted the Atlantic division to be this bad, especially NY and NJ. This has opened up a chance for them to develop their young players and possibly getting them some playoff experience. Once that window closes on them they will want to get rid of the players they don't intend on re-signing such as Turner and Hawes who are playing for new contracts. Young will need to go too if they plan on making up all the ground they lost and will continue to lose as long as the Atlantic division is wide open for grabs. Also, what if the owner told Hinkie to make it his goal to be a playoff team next season? Geting rid of Young allows them to have a crazy off-season. Sign: Monroe, Deng, and Hayward. Draft: Exum, Robinson III MCW / Exum Hayward / Anderson/ Wroten Deng / Robinson III Monroe / Moultrie Asik / Noel Easily a team that will get you HCA in the east. They could also bring back Hawes or Turner for market value after using them to get Asik instead of signing another player. If they trade those three players, they could end up with Parker or Wiggins. What if their goal is the 2015 playoffs? No owner wants to give up 1 year, let alone 2. That means the 2014 free agents are a huge factor. If he told Hinkie I will give you 1 year to rebuild, but I want a playoff team in 2015 (which is easy in the East), good FA signings, and to have young talent/future star players similar to OKC. The 2015 FA draft class has star players who will either be looking at other teams or will remain with their current team. The 2014 NBA draft has several good players looking to get paid and don't care who they play for. Guys like Deng and Monroe should be easy to sign given their teams are in terrible financial situations. The Holiday trade was the right trade plain and simple. It will make them better in the long run. Short-term thinking is what gets GMs fired. Everyone thinks they did it because they want to tank. The fact is they received Noel and a future first. Holiday is not a money ball player, and he's not a player you build around. NOH screwed themselves and they will regret trading that pick and Noel.
Also, it's hard for me to believe it's a 3 for 1. Morey may have asked for Turner and Hawes while the Sixers will only trade one plus Young. I am sure they asked for Jones in return, but they were easily talked down to D-Mo and Asik since they don't want/need Young (or his contract). If they do this before the 19th, it should give them enough time to figure out if they are a playoff team, and still be able to get a top 5 pick. The minimum NBA team salary is $52.811 million this year. The Sixers current team salary is only $45,296,260. That's over $7 million under. Do the Sixers desperately want Asik because Morey has figured out a nifty way for them to pay him all the money that would normally go to the players for being under the minimum team salary? This could mean they would owe Asik as little as $5 million in his last year if they get far enough under the cap (with the $8 million cap hit) without costing them anything. The CBA states: http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q15 I can't answer this, but I hope someone else can. I am guessing they can restructure his deal by applying the $3 million from last season, the $3 million we didn't apply this season, and only owe him $9 million next season.
The Sixers recently came under new management a couple of years ago and they got rid of Doug Collins, their GM Tony DiLeo, and Adam Aaron stepped down from the CEO position this past offseason. They then proceeded to sign Hinkie, who signed Brett Brown, well known for developing young players. It's clear that the ownership wanted to move in a new direction and are fine with the plan Hinkie has set forward. As we all know, Hinkie worked under Morey, and Morey himself has said that the quickest/easiest path to a rebuild was through the draft, but that Les wouldn't let him tank for picks so he had to wheel and deal for assets the way he did. Hinkie has no such restrictions and is free to tank the team to the bottom. Like Morey, Hinkie knows you need superstars to win a championship and as good as they are, Deng and Monroe are most likely not going to be superstars, whereas there are quite a few in this coming draft that have a chance to be franchise players. Once you have the young potential pieces, you let them play and develop their game, which is what Philly will probably do next season to see if MCW, Noel, whoever they get in the 2014 draft can be good enough to form the core of their team. They'll most likely decide after that point how to continue building the team. Asik is 27, whereas Noel is 19 so I see them going with Noel for their future rather than Asik. Asik could still land in Phily, but if that happens I think that he'll ultimately be traded to someone else for more compatible assets before his contract is over, so I don't really see Philly desperately wanting him. As for the Jrue trade, yes it was the right trade in the long term because the Sixers weren't gong anywhere even with him, but it's still a clear move to tank this season since they traded for a future first and a player that won't play this year. I think the cap hold is $48 million because they still have to pay players that they waived, (Brown, Morris, White) as well as the players they recently signed, (Williams, Lorenzo Brown). The penalty for being under the floor doesn't even matter anyways since all that happens is they pay up to the salary floor, which is distributed amongst the players on the roster at a percentage determined by the Player's Association. There's no fines, no loss of draft picks, no suspensions, so trading simply for the sake of clearing the floor makes no sense. Besides, if they really cared that much, a rebuilding team like Philly could just overpay a free agent like Shannon Brown or Barbosa on a 1-2 year deal to avoid the"penalty." And I'm pretty sure that any extra pay the players get due to a team being under the floor can't be used to lower their payment in the proceeding year, it's seems to be more like a bonus payment to the players in addition to their agreed to salary.
If the Rockets are sending OUT $9.8 million or less in salaries, in the aggregate, for one particular trade, then they are good as long as the INCOMING salary is less than or equal to [150% of the OUTGOING salary] plus $100,000. If the Rockets are sending OUT more than $9.8 million (but less than $19.6 million) in salaries, in the aggregate, for one particular trade, then they are good as long as they are within $5 million of the total INCOMING salary. If the Rockets are sending OUT $19.6 million or more in salaries, in the aggregate, for one particular trade, or if the trade would cause the Rockets to exceed the luxury tax threshold, then they are good as long as the INCOMING salary is less than or equal to [125% of the OUTGOING salary] plus $100,000.
This needs to be stickied somewhere. There is a lot of misunderstanding of the different salary in/out limitations due to the complexity of the CBA.
Asik for Young would be selling low. NO WAY Morey makes that deal. IMO he'll sit on Asik until the deadline in Feb. if nothing better presents itself.
I counted Brown and Morris, but not White. I believe White made $1.7 million last season. Factor that in and they are still at $46.9 million, which is $5 million lower than anyone else in the league. I am suggesting it's possible they can use that money to pay Asik this season which means he would only be owed $10 million next season. They have to use it no matter what or else it goes to waste. This means Asik's contract is more valuable to them, and they could possibly flip him at the trade deadline after re-structuring his contract and applying the $5 million to his deal. Any help, Bima? As for Deng and Monroe not being super-stars it's a question of who would you rater have out of them and Young. I think the answer is simple. They won't be able to sign the Loves, and Howards unless they start winning. They have to settle for B list all-stars. Rebuilding through the draft does not mean losing the most games. In fact, the worst team has only won the lottery 12.5% of the time (3/24 times). I don't think that was their plan and neither was making the playoffs after they traded Jrue Holiday. But things change. The East has been atrocious this season, especially their division. They don't appear to be tanking at all, in fact they're up by 17 at the half against the Wolves right now. Asik being 27 doesn't mean anything, and neither does Noel being 19. You aren't insinuating they plan on tanking and until he's 23 (usually around the time NBA centers establish themselves). Not making the playoffs for 1 season is more than enough to rebuild in the east when you have tons of cap room. How is the Jrue trade a tank move when you said it was the right move? They did it because it made sense. If Jrue is so good then why isn't he leading a team of Gordon, Davis, Anderson, and Evans to the playoffs? He is a turnover prone shoot first PG. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 29th in the league as an NBA PG. He is 15th worst in the entire league in turnovers, 5th worst amongst PGs. He shoots too much for a PG and a player who can't carry a team in the 4th. When was the last time a team won a championship with their PG making $11 million? Never.
Apparently they also have a bunch of small contracts still owed to players they waived earlier like Vander Blue and Gani Lawil that pushes it to between $47-48 million I believe. They can't use extra money this season to pay Asik more than his contracted salary so they can pay him less next season, checks are given on a per game basis (distributed biweekly I believe) as written in the player's contract. The amount is set and the Sixers simply can't pay him a bit extra this year so they don't have to pay his full $15 million next year. For salary cap purposes, Asik's contract will be $8.3 million regardless if they're determining if Philly is above the floor or below the cap. According to the new CBA, teams and players cannot restructure a contract to reduce salary, but may sometimes be allowed to restructure to increase a player's pay, meaning Philly could technically pay Asik more this year, but they won't be able to reduce his pay next year even if they did so why would they? As for who they would rather have, for Philly probably Young since he's already on a contract they can live with. They wouldn't risk overpaying Deng or Monroe on long term contracts the next year when they have a lot riding on their 2014 draft pick, unless they can get them on a team friendly deal like 2 years plus a team option in the third, but honestly they could probably get a deal better than that somewhere else. Next year, I see them more just continuing to gather assets and let the year play out with MCW, Noel, and their 2014 draft pick. If MCW shows improvement, Noel is the defensive player they hope he is, and their 2014 draft pick proves to be a franchise player, I think they have a chance to sign a max FA. There's no guarantee they will, but there is a chance. If they don't get a max FA, then they'll plan accordingly to probably build around their 3 core players. Like I said before, we'll just have to agree to disagree with their tanking plan this year, but if you're tanking you generally want the best chance possible to get the 1st pick, or at least be guaranteed a top 5 spot, which means having a bad record. Especially in this draft where there are as many as 5 players projected to be franchise type players (Wiggins, Randle, Parker, Gordon, Smart, and maybe even more like Exum). As for the actual team winning games, of course the coach and players are going to play to win, you never want them to intentionally play bad since that just creates a terrible culture around the team. But, the GM will make moves to actively make the team worse, like when Phoenix traded Gortat. This article explains one GM's reasoning behind the tank: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9893551/anonymous-nba-gm-why-team-tank-season-espn-magazine As for Asik and Noel's age, it's relevant because Philly won't be good this year or probably even next year, so they would be wasting 2 of Asik's prime years on a losing squad when he has more value to a team trying to win it all. Noel will still be developing and his contract is more controllable with the team options and his restricted free agency afterwards. By the time Philly actually starts being good, then Noel should be gearing up to his peak at around age 22-24. The Jrue trade was the right move because it was a tank move. He was the best player and best asset the Sixers had at the time as well as the face of the Sixers at that point. How he's doing now doesn't change the fact that the Sixers traded away their best player at the time of the draft for a future pick and a player that they knew most likely won't play this year. Tony Parker was the 2007 finals MVP when he was making around $10 million. No, Jrue is not Tony Parker but I don't really know what the point here is, Jrue is only 23 and the contract he got was based on not only his current production but his potential as well. It doesn't always work out but that's how contracts are these days, for better or worse. I'm not saying Jrue was some sort of MVP caliber player, but he was an All-star that year and by far their best player, generally when you trade your best player for a draft pick and a prospect that won't play a full year, that's a pretty clear indication they're tanking. Yes they have MCW now, but no one thought he would be this good, this quickly; there's a reason he was the 11th pick and not a top 5 in what was seen as a weak draft class.
