HOLY
Cavaliers and Mitchell agree on extension. 4/273M
So nearly 70M a year
The backside of that deal is gonna be bad.
So much for the argument that these extensions are a thing of the past. I guess more accurately, it's "these extensions are a thing of the past *in Boston*".
But, I agree with you: Mitchell is unlikely to age well. But, it's the cost of doing business; you pay some extra salary at the end of a player's career so that you maintain a window of contention while you have stars in place. That's the tradeoff, with the other choice being not to have those stars at all.
I mean, that deal is absolutely putrid and I'd put Cleveland at less than a 10% chance, at best, of winning any championships before it's over. I don't think being jealous of crap franchises overspending to stay relevant is the way to go.
Eh. I wouldn't call them a crap franchise, nor would I dismiss their chances. Allen / Mobley / Lebron (likely) / Mitchell / Harden has as realistic a shot at a title as most EC teams.
And, JB is a wildly different player than Mitchell. I think that paying two stars roughly 55% of the first apron is a very reasonable way to sustain a franchise. You've still got $100 million to fill out a team. And, a top tier franchise in revenue can easily afford to go into the second apron for a couple of years.
You figure:
Top-tier stars (2); $110 million or so
Third option (1): $30 million
Additional starters and sixth man (3): $45 million
Rotation: (#7 - #9): $21 million
Bottom 5 (#10 - #14): Combined $12.5 million
Open spot (#15)
That's $218.5 million. The first apron line is $220 million next year. It seems like a pretty doable budget.
Maybe to keep within the budget long term you need to sign Andre Drummond for the minimum rather than Mitchell Robinson for the MLE. But, no team should be acting like this is some sort of Gordian Knot (which Brad solved in about the same way as Alexander).