Salary Cap FAQs: Abbreviated 2012 Edition

[DavorCroatiaFan]

So, if salary cap is 61 mil.
If KG retires, wouldn't be best to trade Paul Pierce for draft picks or amnesty him?
We would have Rondo, Bradley, JJJ, Moore, 2 first round picks for about 15,9mil. Add Stiemsa on QO and is about 17mil. That would leave us with 44mil in cap room.
Lets say we take a risk and throw (overpay)Eric Gordon and Roy Hibbert with near-max deals with 15 mil first year. That would leave us with 14 additional million...try to split this on Ilyasova and Green. Round up the roster with vet.min guys.
That would leave us with roster:
Rondo / Moore / vet.min (Dooling)
Gordon / Bradley / vet.min (Daniels)
Green / Ilyasova / White / vet.min (Pavlović)
Ilyasova / White (21st pick) / Johnson
Hibbert / Melo (22nd pick) / Stiemsma
It would be the youngest team in the league and with most potential.
Imagine backcourt of Rondo (brilliant passing) / Gordon (brilliant shooting and scoring) / Bradley (brilliant  defense).
At forwards all-around players Jeff Green, Ersan Ilyasova (great rebounder and 3pt shooter) and Royce White (Hercules)
Hibbert one of the best young centers in league.
That team would be solid in 2013, great in 2014 and champs in 2015. Rondo would average 15 asist with so much offensive options and with that roster we would run other teams into the ground.
Too bad it woudn't happen.

[James Haley]

THis is an awesome post.  The best move for the C's is not to renounce key free agents then we can trade. Howard would only work in trade he doesn't want to come to Boston. He would only be in town for 1 year and maybe want to stay but a lot of money and passing on other players to chance that. Beasley and Mayo are the only young unrestricted free agents to help the current roster and help the rebuild.  Sign Jeff Green and use bird rights for Ray.

[Roy H.]

THis is an awesome post. 

Thanks.  If I can find time between work, baby-raising, and moving, I'll hopefully have an updated version out in about a week.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I have a quick question, though you used Green as an example in your FAQ in the first post. Does Jeff Green actually have a cap hold for us considering that he didn't play for us last year for all intents and purposes, hence the reason why we can't sign and trade him even though we own his bird-rights?

Seems to me that he's in a similar situation to a player who's retired, so does he really count against the cap without being signed?

[Roy H.]

I have a quick question, though you used Green as an example in your FAQ in the first post. Does Jeff Green actually have a cap hold for us considering that he didn't play for us last year for all intents and purposes, hence the reason why we can't sign and trade him even though we own his bird-rights?

Seems to me that he's in a similar situation to a player who's retired, so does he really count against the cap without being signed?

Yes, he does.

There are all kinds of holds against our cap right now, including many retired players.  Heck, we still own the rights to Roshown McLeod, for instance.  We've never renounced him, and thus, there's a $3.7 million cap hold on our cap.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I have a quick question, though you used Green as an example in your FAQ in the first post. Does Jeff Green actually have a cap hold for us considering that he didn't play for us last year for all intents and purposes, hence the reason why we can't sign and trade him even though we own his bird-rights?

Seems to me that he's in a similar situation to a player who's retired, so does he really count against the cap without being signed?

Yes, he does.

There are all kinds of holds against our cap right now, including many retired players.  Heck, we still own the rights to Roshown McLeod, for instance.  We've never renounced him, and thus, there's a $3.7 million cap hold on our cap.

Thanks, now I understand.

Another question, has it been revealed what the salary cap for this year is? Been trying to find it, but don't see it anywhere.

[Roy H.]

Another question, has it been revealed what the salary cap for this year is? Been trying to find it, but don't see it anywhere.

Nope.  One of the purposes of the "July moratorium" we're in right now if for the NBA's number crunchers to figure out what precisely the cap and luxury tax numbers are. 

They'll be announced at the end of the moratorium, i.e., July 11.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Another question which always confuses me. Say you renounce your free-agents. You're under the cap. Can you then sign players up to the cap, then gain the MLE and BAE exceptions? Or are those only provided to teams that are above the cap from the get go?

[Roy H.]

Another question which always confuses me. Say you renounce your free-agents. You're under the cap. Can you then sign players up to the cap, then gain the MLE and BAE exceptions? Or are those only provided to teams that are above the cap from the get go?

Teams actually have "holds" for the MLE and BAE.

Let's say a team has $57 million committed in salaries on a $61 million cap.

It has two options:  despite seemingly having cap room, it can use both the MLE and the BAE, or it can use it's $4 million in cap space to sign free agents.  If it chooses the latter, it has to renounce both the MLE and the BAE.

Teams basically have to elect to use either cap space or their exceptions.  You don't get to use cap space, and then also get the benefit of the MLE and BAE.  Teams below the cap *do* get a new exception, though, called a "room exception" that allows below the cap teams to exceed the cap by using a $2.5 million exception.  

[Brendan]

Put this in another thread, but useful here - its the C's roster, FA signings, draft picks, and reasonable cap holds (i.e. people I don't think they are willing to renounce to get a deal done.)

Player	Salary (millions)	Salary Source
Pierce	$16.8	Hoopshype
Rondo	$11.0	Hoopshype
AB	$1.6	Hoopshype
JJJ	$1.1	Hoopshype
Moore	$0.8	Hoopshype
Williams	$0.9	Hoopshype
Roster	$32.2
Garnett	$11.3	News
Green	$9.0	News
Bass	$7.0	News
Terry	$5.2	News
FA Signings	$32.6
Sullinger	$1.1	Rookie scale
Melo	$1.0	Rookie scale
Joseph	$0.5	Guess based on Moore's deal
Draft Picks	$2.6
Steisma	$1.0	Hoopshype
Kristic	$8.3	150% of last salary
Cap Holds	$9.3

Total: $76.7m
Dooling has a 4m cap hold, and I guess that could be used in a sign and trade. The other guys are basically minimum guys who could be renounced and then resigned at vet minimum.

[thirstyboots18]

Does anyone have an update of this list?  thanks.

[Roy H.]

Does anyone have an update of this list?  thanks.

Link

Interesting:  it looks like the Celts partially bought out Dooling, only paying him $400k.

[Fafnir]

Does anyone have an update of this list?  thanks.

Link

Interesting:  it looks like the Celts partially bought out Dooling, only paying him $400k.

NPV of the total salary that wouldn't be subsidized by the league?

[thirstyboots18]

Thanks, Roy.  I didn't realize that all the rookies were making more than the free agents, who will actually be participating this year.  Very interesting.