Financial question about our salary cap situation in the following scenario

[Drucci]

I just read the Salary Cap FAQ made by Roy, very informative, thanks for the great work!

However I was wondering how much cap space we will have for next summer, now that Rondo has re-signed. Here is what Roy said pre-Rondo signing :

In summary:  Assuming a salary cap of $60 million, a roster of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and Rajon Rondo leaves us with less than $5 million in cap space in 2010, which is less than the amount if we utilized the MLE.  Even worse, reports are suggesting that the cap may be as low as $55 to $57 million in 2010, meaning we'd be right at the salary cap with only four players under contract.

In this scenario, re-signing Ray for, say, a 7 or 8 million dollars per year contract would put us 3 or 4 million above the luxury tax, right?

Meaning we would have to spend the full MLE on re-signing Marquis, Shelden and Eddie if we want to re-sign them?

I was wondering if it was possible, salary wise, and assuming that Ray, Marquis, Shelden and Eddie agreed to take paycuts to stay with the team, to trade Scal and Tony for Posey, and to keep the current rotation (Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, Perk, Sheed, House, Shelden, Big Baby) + Posey?

If not, is there a scenario in which it could succeed?

[Chris]

It's a soft cap, so they can absolutely take on Posey's salary.  The question is will ownership want to pay the extra $12+ million for his salary and luxury tax for the next couple of years?  And also, do they want to have his contract on the books in a couple years, when they likely will be looking to reload, and he will be even less effective?

The C's will be in the luxury tax next year, and probably the year after.  That isn't really in question.  The question is going to be whether ownership wants to overpay for guys who marginally improve the team.

[JBcat]

I don't think we have to use the MLE to re-sign Williams, Daniels, or House but I could be wrong there.   I believe we could re-sign all of those guys and still use our full MLE on someone.   I could see that happening since most likely Scal and TA won't be back. 

[PosImpos]

I've read that the salary cap could be as low as $50-53 million.  So our situation could be even worse.

[mgent]

First of all, we don't need to use the MLE to re-sign Eddie because we will have his bird rights.  We currently have about 63mil in salaries next year.  I'm guessing Eddie's worth about 2mil and Ray is worth about 10mil, so that'd bring us to 75mil.  Marquis would take about 4mil (I'm guessing) out of the MLE, leaving money to sign Sheldon if we really want to (assuming he'll want more than the minimum next year).  That'd bring us around 80mil which is pretty much the average for a contender.

Trading Scal and Tony for Posey would bring us up to a little more than we're spending this year (but probably not the most in the league).  Our roster would stand at 11 so we'd need at least 2 more minimums (Walker and Hudson).

The problem here is playing time for Posey.  He'd likely see 10min a game if he didn't take time from Marquis, which is probably not worth the extra 6mil.  I think the best option is to involve Baby in the trade, and let Rasheed and Posey share the PF minutes.  He's a much better player than Baby and can handle SF minutes a lot better than Scal and Daniels.

[billysan]

I think the Hornets jump at a chance to trade Posey only if we include baby with expiring like Tony. I dont see Scal being necessary, but it could be they want him over Tony if they plan to resign someone.

I think in answer to your question, half of the MLE will be used on Marquis Daniels and half on another FA player. Add them to PP, KG, Rondo, Sheed and Perk. Eddie and Ray will be offered low contracts. Walker and Hudson will be offered minimum end scale along with Williams.

That makes 12 along with a first rounder. If we dont have Davis then presumably we have Posey and that makes 14. Pretty much all we need IMO, but I am sure we look at a couple of minimum level guys as well.

Bye Scal, Bye Tony, Bye JR.

[Fan from VT]

even if money were no issue, i really don't think we want posey playing for this team anymore. He's really deteriorated the past couple years.

[mgent]

even if money were no issue, i really don't think we want posey playing for this team anymore. He's really deteriorated the past couple years.

Got a better option?
Or do you want Scal, Tony, and Giddens to just expire?

[Bahku]

even if money were no issue, i really don't think we want posey playing for this team anymore. He's really deteriorated the past couple years.

Got a better option?
Or do you want Scal, Tony, and Giddens to just expire?

I love Posey ... what he added went far beyond stats, and those kinds of qualities can't be measured. He brought a lot of energy and positivity ... and always gave 110%. Posey's worth much more than a Scal or a TA.

[Jon]

While I loved Posey, I find it tough to believe that ownership is going to bring him back.  While he could be helpful during the regular season, there's really only minutes for Posey or Daniels in a playoff rotation, not both.  And right now I'm not sure Posey could beat Daniels out.  So I don't see ownership paying what will amount to 12 million a year for a guy who might not even be able to crack our playoff rotation. 

The only exception might be if the plan would be to bump House out of the rotation, and have Posey and Daniels do what House and Daniels are doing right now.  But it's still a lot of money for what might not be that much of an upgrade. 

[KCattheStripe]

I'm not entirely sure Pose is better than Scal right now.

[Bahku]

I'm not entirely sure Pose is better than Scal right now.

Scal's a great guy, but I really don't see why he's so popular ... I don't think he's effective on the floor at all. I keep waiting to see all these "skills" everyone says he has, but most of what I see is mediocre, at best ... and a real nice guy.

[JBcat]

I think the Hornets jump at a chance to trade Posey only if we include baby with expiring like Tony. I dont see Scal being necessary, but it could be they want him over Tony if they plan to resign someone.

I think in answer to your question, half of the MLE will be used on Marquis Daniels and half on another FA player. Add them to PP, KG, Rondo, Sheed and Perk. Eddie and Ray will be offered low contracts. Walker and Hudson will be offered minimum end scale along with Williams.

That makes 12 along with a first rounder. If we dont have Davis then presumably we have Posey and that makes 14. Pretty much all we need IMO, but I am sure we look at a couple of minimum level guys as well.

Bye Scal, Bye Tony, Bye JR.

I just looked this up to clarify.    We can sign our non bird right players Williams and Daniels to a 20% pay increase without dipping into the MLE.   Any amount over than the 20% increase you have to dip into the MLE.   So really any amount over aprox. 2.4 mil for Daniels and 1 mil for Williams we will have to dip into the MLE if we re-sign them.  

[KCattheStripe]

I'm not entirely sure Pose is better than Scal right now.

Scal's a great guy, but I really don't see why he's so popular ... I don't think he's effective on the floor at all. I keep waiting to see all these "skills" everyone says he has, but most of what I see is mediocre, at best ... and a real nice guy.

Problem is Pose is just as mediocre now and at a much greater price.

[wdleehi]

I'm not entirely sure Pose is better than Scal right now.

Scal's a great guy, but I really don't see why he's so popular ... I don't think he's effective on the floor at all. I keep waiting to see all these "skills" everyone says he has, but most of what I see is mediocre, at best ... and a real nice guy.

Scali is a very good 12th man.  He can step on the floor and be successful for the team in a specific role.  He plays good defense at PF.  He does a great job keeping his man off the boards.  He doesn't need a lot of minutes to be effective, ready to step on the floor even if he hasn't been in a game in week.