Teams with deep pockets?

[BostonNative]

Ok i didn't want to make a thread about this but this really confuses me.

For example the Nets manager apparently has "deep pockets" so people make it seem like he can sign who ever he wants for how much he wants. To my understanding don't every team have the same Max amount of dollars they can spend on players?

Or is it that teams who have "deep pockets" can use their own money to pay for players? I'm really confused and would love for someone to clarify what is the purpose of saying a team has a lot of money is supposed to me.

It's not that the team has a lot of cap space because the nets don;t and the Lakers don't but yet both are being said to have deep pockets.

[BballTim]

  "Deep pockets" in the Nets case means that the owner has billions so he can spend whatever he wants, and he wants to win. While most of the other teams make moves to either avoid paying luxury tax or minimizing how much luxury tax they pay, the Nets don't seem to be concerned with that.

[BostonNative]

  "Deep pockets" in the Nets case means that the owner has billions so he can spend whatever he wants, and he wants to win. While most of the other teams make moves to either avoid paying luxury tax or minimizing how much luxury tax they pay, the Nets don't seem to be concerned with that.

Yeah and rather him being a billionaire or what ever don't he still have a cap to? I thought the nba had a cap of 70m that you could spend on players. So when he hits the 70m mark do he pay players out his own pocket or something?

[shake603]

I could be wrong but it seems you misunderstand where the money these players make is coming from. The owners pay these contracts, not the NBA. So the money these owners make by selling tickets/merchandise/marketing/ and other endorsement deals is what is being payed. The NBA only regulates how much teams can spend, and in what way they can spend it. So saying a team has deep pockets means that the owner doesn't mind paying luxury tax or spending money on larger contracts for longer time commitments because they simply have more money than other owners. Some owners don't turn enough of a profit owning a team so they don't allow their GMs to go sign big players if it is going to put them in the luxury tax. I hope this helps and I'm sorry if I'm mistaken as to what the issue was

[wdleehi]

  "Deep pockets" in the Nets case means that the owner has billions so he can spend whatever he wants, and he wants to win. While most of the other teams make moves to either avoid paying luxury tax or minimizing how much luxury tax they pay, the Nets don't seem to be concerned with that.

Yeah and rather him being a billionaire or what ever don't he still have a cap to? I thought the nba had a cap of 70m that you could spend on players. So when he hits the 70m mark do he pay players out his own pocket or something?

It is a soft cap.  Teams can go over the cap to keep their own players (or through sign and trades this season)  They pay a dollar for dollar tax when they go over (this season only, the tax becomes more punitive next year) 


So NJ used it's bird rights to sign Williams, Wallace and Brooks to big new contracts and used a bunch of smaller contracts to come up with a trade to get Joe Johnson. 


Teams without "deep pockets" have the ability to do such things, but can't or won't because their owners are not willing or financially able to take such hits.