Thoughts On Carson Palmer, Buckeyes
July 21, 2008Seven of Eight?
July 22, 2008The Cavaliers have been quiet this summer. They drafted J.J. Hickson and made a draft day pick up of Darnell Jackson. They recently re-signed Daniel Gibson. But while fans cried for a Redd trade, or even a Posey signing, no Cleveland transactions came across the wire. The Cavs have reportedly tried to make some moves, but none were to Danny Ferry’s liking. Many have blamed Ferry for not being able to put the right pieces together to put the team over the top. Others have suggested that Ferry is merely being patient.
Rock and I are going to tag team this post. See, the way we see it, the Cavs are probably going to go to camp with the team we have, including re-signing Delonte West. As the season goes along, the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak, Damon Jones, Eric Snow, Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith are going to be burning a hole in Ferry’s pocket, and frankly other teams will start sniffing. So who will be out there? What names might the Cavaliers be targeting in December? Secondly, will those players be worth giving up $35.349 million in expiring contracts? Rock is up first to look at the possible deals to be made-Â Â
To Trade Or Not To Trade
If there’s one thing that we’ve definitely found out this summer, it’s that expiring contracts have no value in July. It makes perfect sense. Most teams are still trying to sell tickets. They don’t want to trade away their season before it even starts. They don’t want to move guys who can sell tickets. Other teams are deluding themselves into thinking they can compete this year. It all adds up to a perfect storm by which no teams care to bring on Wally Szczerbiak and his $13 million contract.
Once the trade deadline nears, though, and teams find themselves out of contention, some teams will begin to look to either unload some salary to clear cap space or else trade someone they don’t think fits in their long term plans anymore. We’ll take a look at some teams who we think may find themselves outside of contention and who they may be willing to trade.-
-New Jersey Nets
Lets face it, the Nets aren’t competing this year. Nor are they trying to. They’re too busy putting all their eggs in one basket. The Nets will continue to be sellers. They’d love to move Vince Carter’s contract before 2010. They would love to take back an expiring contract to make it happen. Would the Cavs be interested in acquiring a player like Carter? Would they be interested in helping the Nets’ 2010 plan? Tough to say yes to either one.
-New York Knicks
Similar to the Nets, the Knicks have their eye on only one prize. They’re dying to get rid of Zach Randolph to be able to make a max offer to LeBron in 2 years. Other Knicks that will probably be available if you want them: Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, and Quentin Richardson.
-Indiana Pacers
Moving out from the shadows of Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird wasted no time in making a major move in bringing in T.J. Ford in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal. That move alone won’t be enough to make Indiana a playoff team. Expect them to continue to look to move Jamaal Tinsley. Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy are both guys the Pacers might consider trading if they decide they want to clear up immediate cap space for next summer and go in a new direction.
-Chicago Bulls
It’s hard to say what the Bulls will end up looking like once all is said and done this year, so it’s hard to predict who they might put on the block. If they don’t believe they’re going to sign Drew Gooden, they might look to move him to a contender in an attempt to get something in return. Kirk Hinrich is a guy who will definitely be on the block. It’s hard to fathom the Cavaliers looking to bring back Drew Gooden, but Hinrich would be a possibility. It’s always tough to trade in-divsion, though.
-Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks think they can contend now. I’m not so sure they can. Richard Jefferson is a really good basketball player. Sometimes he’s even great. Andrew Bogut had a solid year, but is now one of the most overpaid players in the NBA. So can a team of Mo Williams, Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, and Andrew Bogut be enough to compete in the Eastern Conference? It might be. But the Bucks are still kind of thin on the bench, and this is still a team that won only 26 games last year. How many more wins is Richard Jefferson worth? If the Bucks can’t compete with this team, it’s easy to envision them then reconsidering their stance on Michael Redd and finally trading him to the Cavaliers. Again, it’s tough to trade within the division, and it’s entirely possible the Bucks won’t want to be the team responsible for pairing LeBron with his suitable sidekick. None the less, the Bucks will be an interesting team to monitor this year.
-Atlanta Hawks
Yes, they made the playoffs last year. However, they were a sub-.500 team and their future is entirely in flux. Faced with the prospects of losing Josh Smith and/or Josh Childress and Mike Bibby being in the last year of his contract, who knows what this team will look like this year. Should they be out of contention, though, they just might be sellers. If for any reason they are unsure of their ability to re-sign Joe Johnson 2 years from now, would they trade him for some extra cap space and maybe a young player with a friendly contract like Daniel Gibson? It may not be likely, but it’s possible. The more likely scenario, though, is the Hawks sending Bibby to a contender in a rent-a-player fashion.
-Miami Heat
The Heat like Shawn Marion and have been trying to sign him to an extension, but have thus far not been able to do so. Who knows, with Wade, Marion, and Beasley, this team could very well be a playoff contender this year. But if they’re not, and if contract talks with Marion have stalled, they would likely then try to trade him to a buyer to get something in return.
-Denver Nuggets
Two facts: One, Denver is desperately cutting salary to avoid the luxury tax. Two, they squeaked into the playoffs as the #8 seed last year and after losing Marcus Camby and not doing anything to improve their team this year, their playoff prospects this year are fairly thin. Those facts add up to a team that will be a seller. Who will they be selling? Allen Iverson will be a free agent after this year, and it’s hard to see them re-signing the Answer unless other moves are made. If they want to keep Iverson, perhaps they will try to trade Kenyon Martin or Nene to free up some cap space. Otherwise, faced with the prospects of AI walking away, the Nuggets may be open to trading him if the price is right.
-Minnesota Timberwolves
The T-Wolves have made no secret that they are in full rebuilding mode. It started with the trade of Kevin Garnett. Now, the Wolves look to build around Al Jefferson, Mike Miller, Craig Smith, and Kevin Love. The question is, does Randy Foye fit into those plans? The Timberwolves do have a team option on him for next season before he becomes a restricted free agent the following year. If a team would be willing to take Brian Cardinal and his $6.75 million contract for next season off their hands, it’s possible they could throw Foye into the deal in attempts to go a different direction in free agency. Kevin McHale seems pretty high on Foye, so this scenario is a little less likely, but if the Timberwolves struggle as a team again, he could be feeling pressure to make a move to clear space so the Wolves can make a splash in free agency next summer and thus earn some faith from the fans back.
-Oklahoma City Thunder
Evidently stealing a team wasn’t bad enough, but now the new Oklahoma City team decided to give itself arguably the worst name in the NBA (ok, not the worst….there are a few really bad names, but “Thunder” ranks up there). Anyway, the Sonics Thunder aren’t likely to contend, and would probably like to be sellers, but they are pretty short on tradeable assets. Luke Ridnour, Nick Collison, and Earl Watson could all be available, but none of them are likely to draw a whole lot of interest. Collison has been solid for most of his young career, but isn’t really the kind of player who will step in and make a huge difference on a playoff team.
-Phoenix Suns
The Suns are already slightly over the luxury tax. With Shaq, Amare, and Nash all set to come back next year for a combined $49.5 million, they will be left without much wiggle room to improve their team. When you add in the contracts of Boris Diaw and Leandrinho Barbosa, their salary on the books for next year just from those 5 players is a stunning $65 million. The Suns are happy to pay it, as long they are winning and competing for top position in the Western Conference. With new head coach Terry Porter, it’s possible the Suns could end up playing a different style of basketball that could make certain players more expendable should the Suns find themselves more towards the bottom of the Western Conference Playoffs totem pole. In that scenario, it’s not unimaginable that the Suns could look to move Barbosa or Diaw or even both in exchange for some expiring contracts to allow them to build a new team for Porter around Nash and Amare.
-Houston Rockets
The Rockets are already at least thinking about seeing what they could get in exchange for Tracy McGrady. There have been not-so-quiet whispers about the Pistons considering moving Billups to land T-Mac in Detroit. If you take out the 06-07 season, T-Mac’s productivity based on his PER has declined every season since 2002-03. So it’s very plausible that the Rockets are testing the waters to see what they might be able to get in return for T-Mac. They aren’t going to trade him for expiring contracts, that’s for sure. They will look for a package of young players and top draft picks for sure.
-Dallas Mavericks
Ever since the Mavs fell to the Heat in the NBA Finals it has felt like the Mavs are hanging onto relevancy for dear life. It feels like their window of opportunity is quickly narrowing. They are currently 3rd in the NBA in team salary (just a couple hundred thousand dollars behind the Cavs, who are now 2nd in team salary), and they seem to not have a lot of elite talent for that size of payroll. Their payroll isn’t going to be all that much better over the next 2 years, either, with the likes of Nowitzki, Howard, Dampier, Terry, Stackhouse, and Diop all signed at least through 2010. If this team fails to be an elite contender, will Mark Cuban pull the plug on this configuration and look to take a new route for the future? Possibly. If that is the case, only Nowitzki would probably be untouchable. Josh Howard and Jason Terry would be the most attractive pieces, but their asking rate would be extremely high. A different possibility, though, would be Jason Kidd, who is expiring next year anyway. The only situation Dallas would trade any of these guys is if they are completely out of contention by the trade deadline, and that scenario is very hard to imagine. But I also never imagined the Cleveland Indians being out of contention and trading CC Sabathia away either, so you just never really know. Sports are funny sometimes.
-Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies could be in for another long season. Last year, I really liked their roster. They had good players in Kyle Lowry, Mike Miller, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Mike Conley. However, the team never really united and they certainly never played any defense, and the team really struggled, and eventually traded away Gasol and Miller. I’m sure the Grizzlies wouldn’t mind moving Antoine Walker and Darko Milicic, but will find few takers. However, the Grizz do have a plethora of PGs. Jarvis Crittenton, Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, and Marko Jaric all play point and newcomer OJ Mayo has played the point as well. The Cavs are interested in acquiring a true point guard, so the Grizzlies could be a natural trade partner.
As you can see, this is all playing a lot of “what if”. Predicting sports is a tricky business. The point of this exercise isn’t to say that any or all of these scenarios will definitely come to fruition. Rather, it serves to look at the worst case scenarios for some of these teams in order to point out that Danny Ferry doesn’t have to make a move right now, as there will possibly be some very good players available as the trade deadline draws near. The question, then, is whether it will be better for Ferry to make a move at that time, or save his expiring contracts to allow the Cavs to be a player in the free agent market next summer. The only way to do that is to see who is available next summer. So next up, Rick will take you all through next summer’s free agent market…
Playing The Market
If the Cavs do not make a move they would find themselves with $35 million in expiring contracts. The current Cavs still around would be LeBron, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, Daniel Gibson, J.J. Hickson, and possibly Delonte West.
What players could be available that summer? Here’s the list.
Now, obviously the Cavs couldn’t just pick whoever they wanted off this list, but tell me the prospect of playing alongside LeBron, for at least one season, wouldn’t be appealing? The “Celtics model” if you can call it that would say the Cavs would need 2 all-stars or borderline all-stars to be legit title contenders. Who might the Cavs target? Point Guards are the best bet.
Allen Iverson, PG– Yeah, I know captain practice. But of all the guys on this list not named Kobe Bryant (by the way, Kobe went from 99% not going to exercise the option in his contract to stay with L.A. to probably 80% certain to stay) Iverson is the most dangerous scorer. He can create his own shot. He is not afraid to drive to the basket, something the Cavs struggled with this year. Delonte West was willing to drive, but couldn’t finish. Even at 34, Iverson could still finish.
Jason Kidd, PG– LeBron wanted Kidd last season. After playing in the Olympics with Kidd this summer, it is more than likely that desire will not go away. Then again, Kidd struggled after his trade to Dallas. Perhaps he is starting to break down? Even so, I expect the Cavs to take a run at Kidd.
Andre Miller, PG– Miller would probably be the least likely PG of this group to end up in Cleveland. Miller might have to be enticed away from a young and exciting Sixers team with a longer contract than he really should get.
Mike Bibby, PG– Another player rumored to be headed to Cleveland in the past could make his appearance in ’09. If the Hawks build on what they started last year, Bibby might want to stay in Atlanta. Otherwise I would say he is the second most likely PG to sign with the Cavs behind Kidd.
Steve Nash, PG– Now Nash has a team option for 2010, so he would only be available if the Suns decided to go into rebuilding mode. In other words, not extremely likely, but not outside the realm of possibility.
Lamar Odom, PF– Odom has obviously had some durability issues during his career, but he is a 15 point 9 rebound guy. Can he play defense the way Mike Brown wants? Is he too passive to be teamed with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, another big man that likes the ball outside the paint? Might not be the best fit for the Cavaliers, but would certainly be an improvement over Varejao, Smith and one-dimensional Ben Wallace.
Jamal Crawford, SG– Crawford would have to opt out of his Knicks contract, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Afterall, who would want to play in New York? (See what I did there?) Crawford is not an outside shooter. If the Cavs bring in a Point and a Shooting Guard, one of them had better be able to make threes and one better create off the dribble. Crawford and Kidd paired up together? Not good. Crawford and Iverson? Yeah, that would be better.
Shawn Marion, PF– Rock mentioned Marion’s contract situation earlier. If Marion decides to go his own way the Cavs should be on Marion like stench on manure. James, Marion, Gibson, Z and say Kidd or Bibby? Yeah, I’d go to battle with that group.
Of course we could always bring back Drew Gooden…
Obviously we would want to save room under the cap to offer James a max deal in 2010, but don’t forget that Wallace’s $14 mil, and Z’s $11.5 mil deals would come off the books the same year. That would be plenty to sign James.
My fear is that Danny Ferry panics. Let’s face it, his job is pretty much on the line. If he doesn’t make a trade in season and the Cavs get bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs he would more than likely be shown the door wouldn’t he? If that’s the case and he knows a deal needs to be made would he have the guts to turn deals down? Wouldn’t he take on bad contracts for a chance to win a title in ’09 because he knows he won’t be around long if he doesn’t? That would have serious long-term implications.
So what do you think? We’ve given you a look at what some of the potential options are, now we want to hear what you think. What would you do if you were Danny Ferry? Would you make a deadline deal to bring in one of those guys, or would you hang on to the cap space and make a big free agent move or two? Leave us your comments and let us know what you think the Cavaliers should do to finally take the next step.
30 Comments
No mention of trading for Wade the year his deal expires and then rolling with Wade and LBJ for the next decade? Oh, wait, maybe that’s just in my head.
The thing that scares me about that second batch of guys is that they’re all on the downhill of their career. Ben Wallace was once an All-Star, and Donyell Marshall was 20/10/2 with a three back in the day. They’re also two prime examples of guys just not having it any more.
Guys like Danny Granger, David Lee, Francisco Garcia, Paul Millsap, Deron Williams, and Ray Felton would likely prvovide us with more value than big money guys like Odom and/or Crawford.
Definitely a solid recap – it just pains me to know that we’ll have to go another half season with a slew of guys that aren’t going to be here at the end, only to revamp and hope to mesh by playoff time.
so when are we going to start hearing the rumors about dwayne wade, chris bosh and carmelo anthony bolting their respective towns for NYC as soon as their current contracts are up?
Our payroll is about $75 mill if I’m not mistaken? we have $35 mill coming off the books, that would leave us with a payroll of $40 mill, so would we be about $15 mill under the cap? or what type of space does that leave us?
I agree with Scott.
For whatever reason, nobody seems to know who Chris Bosh is, so once they do, then that charade will begin.
We aren’t allowed to acquire Drew Gooden in a trade until a year after the trade I think it is, theres a trade restriction about reacquiring players or something like that. And to Scott I agree with you, although Deron Williams just signed a big extension so you can take him off that list. I would prefer a trade for a top level player as opposed to free agency. For one, we wouldn’t have 35 million dollars in cap space next year, right now we are 23 mil over the cap, that doesn’t include Gibson’s new contract or the one that we will be giving to D-West. We have 35 mil or in expiring contracts, so that would leave us with roughly 12 million dollars (depending on how much certain players salaries rise for the next season) in cap space. Enough to sign one really good player or 2 pretty good players but for long term contracts. Any player we acquire in a trade would more than likely not have as many years left on his contract as a player we would have to sign, thus not killing our cap flexibility in the future. Barbosa was being offered earlier in the summer, I would love to have him and it probably wouldn’t cost us Wally’s expiring deal. I also like Troy Murphey and Heinrich for the same reason. Michael Redd would be nice if the Bucks end up sucking, but Shawn Marion would be an absolutely perfect fit next to Lebron. He can guard 1-3 at an elite level, can shoot pretty well (although it makes me sick to watch him shoot), create his own shot, and rebound. He is kinda like Ron Artest but without the holding onto the ball way to much thing.
Thank you Ricky! Finally someone has pointed out the fact that the Cavs are not nearly in as good a salary cap situation after this comming season as most think. Actually its possible that they could be over the cap again next year just with current players salaries. Here’s the numbers:
As its stands today(With the Gibson deal figured in, without Delonte, and assuming that both Anderson and Z pick up their player options) the Cavs are in for 57.78M for the 2009/2010 season. The cap should be between 60M-61M.
There are a few things that can change that 57.78M number. Delonte. Do they sign him and for how much? Probably yes and between 4M-6M going by the Gibson deal. Does Anderson opt out? That would take 6.2M off the books. Does Z opt out? Probably not he’s set to get 11.5M.
Most likely scenario i think is Anderson opts out, they sign Delonte, and Z stays for last year.
What all this means is the Cavs will be in for around 56M-58M in salary and the cap will be 60M-61M leaving them between 3M-5M in cap space.
Bottom line is the Cavs can’t be a major player in next year’s free agency and if Anderson does not opt out will probably be over the cap again.
First off, Varejao is 99.999999% opting out. He didn’t want to be here, that’s why he signed with Charlotte. He thinks he’s worth closer to $10 million. There’s bad blood between Ferry, Varejao, and Fegan. AV is gone.
Secondly, I think Z opts out. I think he will opt out and agree to take less money to help the Cavs sign a free agent. Now, the Cavs will hold his Bird Rights, allowing them to go over the cap to sign him. Assuming West gets $4.5 million MAX next year, and Z opts out, that leaves the Cavs with $44.525 million in salary. If the cap is $61 million, that leaves the Cavs with $16 million to spend. Truth be told, the Cavs could sign a free agent or two, then use Z’s Bird Rights to sign him, and then use the MLE to still sign another role player or two.
Yes, that all depends on Z opting out, but at this point in his career, I think Z wants the Cavs to be more successful than anyone else on that team.
RockKing. I agree that Anderson will opt out. He is set to make 5.784M this year and 6.212M in his option year next year. (FYI to all. Salary numbers for any player or team can be found on hoopshype.com) I could also see Z doing something with his contract to help the team. If he did opt out that would leave the team a number somewhere in the mid-teens to play with in free agency. Not sure if there is a clause in the bird rules to prevent a player opting out then resigning just to clear cap space have to do a little research but i like the scenario.
RockKing. Z cannot opt out then resign just to clear cap space. His potential salary would still count against the cap sort of like a credit card hold until he signs a new deal either with the Cavs or another team. Its really complicated but check the following link and read answers 27-35 it is all explained.
http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#27
I can’t expect Z to opt out, that would be above and beyond anything I could expect a player to do. He does not have much time left to earn money in this league, and he has to look out for his financial future. It would be hard for someone to pass up 11.5 mil and instead take half of that, no matter how much they wanted to win
Even if it were possible for Z to opt out (which evidently it isn’t) I doubt he would after the Cavs wouldn’t let him play in the Olympics. You can’t honestly turn down a guy’s request one summer and then expect him to take a pay hit for you the next.
Hopefully someone with some talent falls apart this year and those expiring contracts become gold.
Hoy
That cap space looks great on paper until you see what it gets you. Any market that pays Rashard Lewis $118 million is not one in which the Cavs need to be spending their money. Use the expirings to get an all-star at or before the deadline and take your shots in 08 and 09. As long as you don’t take on any bad contracts that run beyond 2010, you aren’t really mortgaging all that much.
I nominate “Memphis Grizzlies” and “Charlotte Bobcats” as two other really awful team names.
Bobcats? Sounds like a rec league team. And Memphis Grizzlies just sounds horrible all around. I don’t understand why the NBA is starting to put up all these team in extremely small markets while some of the big-market teams continue to suffer. I mean, they have teams in OKC, Memphis, and Salt Lake City, for crying out loud, while the team in New York has sucked for a decade. Far be it for me to be a big market honk, but the league will never be what it once was if the big market teams like the Knicks continue to be a joke and the league keeps stationing teams in these obscure middle-of-nowhere places like OKC, SLC, and Memphis.
I just completely went off on a tangent, but oh well. Just started typing whatever came to my mind.
Oh and why do you mention being under the cap to re-sign LeBron? Don’t you understand that the Cavs’ cap situation plays no role in them offering LeBron the absolute maximum no matter what their payroll is? Larry Bird Rules.
@Mark, thanks for the info. I had forgotten that was how it worked when guys opted out of their contract. I personally think it’s ridiculous that it works that way. When a guy opts out, he’s a free agent and can sign anywhere, so why should his potential salary count against your cap before he signs with you? It doesn’t make sense. But, alas, the rules are what they are.
As for everyone saying Z won’t opt out, I think you have a much more petty view of Z than I do. Z has always been the ultimate team player. Remember, he could have chased more money on the market the last time he was a free agent, and he took slightly less money to come back to the Cavs. I still think if the Cavs ask him to opt out for less money, there’s a chance he’d do it, as long as the price cut isn’t too dramatic. I’m not saying the Cavs definitely will ask him too. It evidently doesn’t matter since that money counts against the cap regardless. So who knows what will happen, but I don’t think Z is the kind of person who would not opt out just to get revenge for the Cavs not letting him go to Beijing. I think Z just wants to win a title at this point in his career.
Actually, I just read that again, and as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent making more than league average, 150% of his previous salary would count against the cap. So if Z opts out, he would count as $16.2 million against the cap until he signs. So Z opting out would actually hurt the Cavaliers. So, yeah, nevermind. Unless Z would be SO generous as to accept the MLE. Then, he could opt out, the Cavs could renounce his Bird Rights, at which point he no longer counts against the Cavs’ cap number. Then the Cavs could sign a free agent and then use the MLE to sign Z. Somehow I don’t see Z taking a 50% pay cut, though. 🙂
@Amar: The knicks won’t be a joke anymore after LeBron signs with them in 2010, thus resurrecting the league. He will then refuse to play in small market cities because spending too much time away from a major media outlet hurts his net worth, which he tracks via blackberry ala tracking your mpg in a hybrid. This results in the NBA relocating the league to L.A, Texas, Chicago, NY. The divisions pretty much create themselves.
@Amar: In the defense of the Grizzlies, it was somewhat apropriate given the start in Vancouver. However, now it’s right up there with Utah Jazz and LA Lakers… Makeanosense
given that the smokey mountains and Appalachian trail are part of TN, i would imagine that grizzly bears can be found in the general Memphis area or at least somewhere in TN (i am not all that geographically familiar with TN however). so grizzlies is in my opinion at least moderately appropriate for memphis. that still doesnt explain lakers in LA? jazz in Utah (thats the worst of them all).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_bear#Range
nope, no where near TN.
adam – thanks for the clarification. i checked and i guess its black bears that are found in that area of TN. i guess they could change their name from Grizzlies to Blackies.
Adam, do you have an Austrailian accent by any chance?
@Tom: Probably bad but I laughed a lot
@Scott: Only if it makes my posts more amusing, stickybeak.
“that still doesnt explain lakers in LA? jazz in Utah (thats the worst of them all).”
Well there’s no logical connection. The Lakers relocated from Minnesota (“Land of 1000 Lakes) while the Jazz relocated from New Orleans.
‘Obviously we would want to save room under the cap to offer James a max deal in 2010’
They can and will offer him a max contract no matter the situation of their cap room…
EZ – i realize that, but thanks. Jazz is especially ironic in Salt lake city. jazz connotes party, fun, drinking all of which connect with new orleans. but salt lake city? thats anything but a party/drinking town.
I’ve seen it all when a pro sports team chooses its name just because they want to use a song for their intro…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unlDidiv7l8
if Z decides to take less money, he can opt out and then re-sign the same day. Then his current salary will only hurt the cap between the time he opts out and the time he re-signs. Once he resigns, then his new contract is all that will count against the team cap (according to the link above…). If he were to agree to re-sign for cheaper, then I’m sure he would agree to sign the new deal the same day he opts out. not a big deal in my opinion.
You wrote “Obviously we would want to save room under the cap to offer James a max deal in 2010” – Wrong. Ideally we want to be over the cap and re-sign him with Bird rights. Being over the cap allows you to use the cap exceptions, which you cannot use if under the cap (one of the reasons we were hamstrung after Boozer bailed – limited cap space, no exceptions). Actually, inflating your cap # (provided you have revenue to support it) is a skill and Ferry should get minor kudos. It helps to draft and retain your own players as the easiest way to do this as well. Bottom line, we need two more low-level all-star types (#20-#30 best ranked players in NBA) to get where we want to go. The Hickson choice will play out like Bynum’s….
We don’t need two “low level” allstar types, we only need one if we have good enough role players. Lebron is so good that he does not need 2 of those types of players. The only way we could get 2 of those players is if one is drafted, since acquiring for 1 is hard enough as it is and you don’t want to strip your team of quality role players since those are still very necessary. And I thought that the rules were set that you could go over the cap to resign a player even if you were under the salary cap just a little. But I could be wrong
Hickson and Bynum are 2 very different players, but I guess they are similar in that they were raw when they got to the NBA. Although Hickson is more skilled now than Bynum was coming out, given that Hickson played a year in college and Bynum did not, but Bynum is much bigger. Bynum was also a lottery pick I believe…he was definitely lower than 19
No way Z opts out and gives up millions for no reason, I think we can put a stop to that talk. I think it would be rude for the Cavs to even ask