Conspiracy Theory about Rasheed's contract

[Roy Hobbs]

So minimum contracts work both ways.....hmmmm...that's interesting. All I ever knew was that that didn't count in trades for teams over the cap. So that's an optional thing? They can and they can't dependent upon whether the team wants it to count or not?

Yep.  If a team wants them to cap, they just include them in the trade like you would any other player.

If they *don't* want them to count, you just send them in a second, simultaneous trade that's made at the same time as the main trade.  Usually, trades like these are reported as a single transaction, even though I think they're technically not.

For example, let's say a guy has a minimum contract (based upon service time) of around $1.2 million.  You can trade him for nothing, but you can also trade him for a player making around $1.6 million.  The only thing you couldn't do under the matching-salaries rule is trade him for a guy who is on a non-minimum deal for around $700k (although even then, you could do two separate transactions, in the first, trading the $1.2 million for nothing, and then acquiring the $700k player with the trade exception created by the first deal.)

[nickagneta]

Wyc Groubek did state that there was a scenario by which the Celtics would be able to sign a max level free agent this summer. I don't remember if that was before or after he signed Wallace but clearly I think he had a feeling Pierce would opt out early. So perhaps they did think Wallace would retire after a year.

He said it before the Rasheed signing and the Rondo extension, I believe.

I think people are over-thinking Danny's foresight with the Rasheed deal.  If the team's plan was to trade Rasheed's contract in the second year all along, why give him a third year (which was fully guaranteed?)  Why not just make the second two years non-guaranteed?   The reason is because Rasheed and his agent bargained for those extra years, because at the time they thought Rasheed might want to extend his career.

  Just my opinion (not based on anything I heard) but I think it was kind of like circumventing the cap. Sheed plays a year at the full MLE, retires, and gets a buyout, so he gets an extra few million for that one year. If he plays 2 years he does the same thing. I don't think either Danny or Sheed thought there was any way he'd play in year 3.

He's retiring, not taking a buyout. Once he retires officially with papers filed, he walks away from the rest of his money.

[FallGuy]

Not much insight but perhaps Sheed is not retiring after all.

From David Aldridge at NBA.com:

Rasheed rethinking retirement? Dirk re-ups with Dallas

- With Doc Rivers deciding to return to the Celtics next season, and Boston close to re-signing Paul Pierce to a four-year deal, a source said Saturday night that there is a "possibility" that veteran forward Rasheed Wallace could re-think his decision last month to retire after 15 NBA seasons. The Celtics believed Wallace would retire after the team's seven-game Finals loss to the Lakers, and he appeared to make the decision final a week or so later.

Because Wallace had two years and $13 million (including $6.32 million next season) remaining on his deal when he retired, the Celtics have been looking into moving his contract to another team, which would then get the savings from Wallace's cap number, in exchange for assets. But obviously, if Wallace decides to play next season, that team wouldn't get the money off of its cap.

[Brendan]

He's retiring, not taking a buyout. Once he retires officially with papers filed, he walks away from the rest of his money.

Who knows what he's doing - retiring, taking a buyout, taking a paid sabbatical - we'll have to see how it plays out, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up getting a buyout.

[BballTim]

Wyc Groubek did state that there was a scenario by which the Celtics would be able to sign a max level free agent this summer. I don't remember if that was before or after he signed Wallace but clearly I think he had a feeling Pierce would opt out early. So perhaps they did think Wallace would retire after a year.

He said it before the Rasheed signing and the Rondo extension, I believe.

I think people are over-thinking Danny's foresight with the Rasheed deal.  If the team's plan was to trade Rasheed's contract in the second year all along, why give him a third year (which was fully guaranteed?)  Why not just make the second two years non-guaranteed?   The reason is because Rasheed and his agent bargained for those extra years, because at the time they thought Rasheed might want to extend his career.

  Just my opinion (not based on anything I heard) but I think it was kind of like circumventing the cap. Sheed plays a year at the full MLE, retires, and gets a buyout, so he gets an extra few million for that one year. If he plays 2 years he does the same thing. I don't think either Danny or Sheed thought there was any way he'd play in year 3.

He's retiring, not taking a buyout. Once he retires officially with papers filed, he walks away from the rest of his money.

  I've heard a lot of people say he's going to negotiate a buyout. Might not be true, but it's part of most of the rumors.