Salaries: a little perspective

[dnbman]

Since this has come up a few times, thought it would be worth reviewing our salary space for the next two years.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/charlotte.htm

(tried to embed a screen shot with this year removed, but it didn't work.)

We actually look really good after this season with a ton of flexibility.

Of course, adding first rounders is guaranteed money, which will add to future obligations.

Still, we should be free and clear to make some good decisions to go along with our young talent.

I'm wondering who might be moved this coming season, if at all. (In order for an expiring to be worth anything, we'd have to take on another team's salary.)

[SWedd523]

-Sitting at $43.191 million for next year.
-The salary cap is projected to be in the $60-61 million range
-#2 pick will make $3.835 million next year
-Diop has a $7.372 PO that he will almost assuredly pick up
-Carroll has a $3.5 PO that he will almost assuredly pick up
-DJ is a RFA... future unclear
-White is a RFA... future unclear

We're looking at around $13 million in cap space. That number rises to about $24 million if Maggette is amnestied, $21 if Tyrus, and #20 if Diop


Kemba
Henderson/Carroll
Maggette/Williams
Mullens/Tyrus
Bismack/Diop

Adding 1 PG, 1 combo, 1 wing, and 1 big puts us at 13 players. Leaves one spot open to rotate D-leaguers and one spot for trade reasons

[Mustachio]

If you've heard Rick Bonnell on any of the talk radio recently he's been repeating quite a bit what a huge asset all that cap space will be. Saying basically that its Kemba, Hendo, Bismack, Mully and a ton of cap space in our stable of assets right now.

I don't think it means anything this year as far as free agents are concerned but I do think it may come up during the draft. I know the idea right now is to not take ANY contract burdens... but say a team has a guy they want off the books, they can store him on our cap space and maybe allow us to move around a bit during draft day acquiring more players.

[DUnit24]

-Sitting at $43.191 million for next year.
-The salary cap is projected to be in the $60-61 million range
-#2 pick will make $3.835 million next year
-Diop has a $7.372 PO that he will almost assuredly pick up
-Carroll has a $3.5 PO that he will almost assuredly pick up
-DJ is a RFA... future unclear
-White is a RFA... future unclear

We're looking at around $13 million in cap space. That number rises to about $24 million if Maggette is amnestied, $21 if Tyrus, and #20 if Diop


Kemba
Henderson/Carroll
Maggette/Williams
Mullens/Tyrus
Bismack/Diop

Adding 1 PG, 1 combo, 1 wing, and 1 big puts us at 13 players. Leaves one spot open to rotate D-leaguers and one spot for trade reasons

Thanks for the info! Let me get this right. After this season, Maggette's 11 mil, Diops 7 mil and Carrolls 3 mil comes off the books. That would give us around 30 or so million to spend?

Kemba
Bismack
Mullens
Tyrus
2012 1st rd pick
2013 1st rd pick
2013 1st rd pick

+ 30 million in cap space??

Cho is a genious.

[dnbman]

Thanks for the info! Let me get this right. After this season, Maggette's 11 mil, Diops 7 mil and Carrolls 3 mil comes off the books. That would give us around 30 or so million to spend?

Kemba
Bismack
Mullens
Tyrus
2012 1st rd pick
2013 1st rd pick
2013 1st rd pick

+ 30 million in cap space??

Cho is a genious.

Take a look at the first link, and you'll see the numbers for the next few years.

We're in really good shape in terms of starting over AFTER this season.

[spectre]

I'd think Bad Porn, Gana & Carroll are prime candidates to swap for a player with 2 years salary + an asset. I wouldn't go over a 3 year deal unless that asset is really good.

This probably wouldn't affect next year's space so much as it would the following season.

[tondi]

Cap space is nice but it's even better if you are one of only a few teams that have any, which gives you leverage. That means you have less competition for available players and may actually get good value for who you sign. When you look at the season after next when we are in such good shape, there are a bunch of other teams that are also going to be in good shape. That means all of our cap space won't be worth nearly as much if there are a dozen other teams that are looking to spend as well. Those are the scenarios where teams overpay for mediocre players and set themselves back for a few years. When you add in the fact that we may have to overpay regardless, because of who we are, the amount of cap space we have, relative to the other teams, is even less impressive.

Having said all of that, after the last few years of sucking and not having any flexibility to do anything about it, it will be nice to be able to do something positive should the opportunity present itself.

[dnbman]

Cap space is nice but it's even better if you are one of only a few teams that have any, which gives you leverage. That means you have less competition for available players and may actually get good value for who you sign. When you look at the season after next when we are in such good shape, there are a bunch of other teams that are also going to be in good shape. That means all of our cap space won't be worth nearly as much if there are a dozen other teams that are looking to spend as well. Those are the scenarios where teams overpay for mediocre players and set themselves back for a few years. When you add in the fact that we may have to overpay regardless, because of who we are, the amount of cap space we have, relative to the other teams, is even less impressive.

Having said all of that, after the last few years of sucking and not having any flexibility to do anything about it, it will be nice to be able to do something positive should the opportunity present itself.

Too true about cap space being relative, but hopefully a lot of those other teams will be spending much of their money overpaying to retain their guys, where as we have little that we need to spend a lot of money on. Granted, that also reduces the free agent pool considerably. However, if we can show a star that we have less money tied up in young resources--our quality guys should still be on rookie contracts-- and can possibly get two stars, we could be in good shape.

[cls77]

Contemplating trying to organize a mass Twitter movement to Diop's twitter account asking him to NOT pick up his player option. Would require lots of participation (100's of RTs, messages, etc.) -- on the fence if this would be crossing the line or not. That said, his $7+ million contract is absolutely horrendous.

Thoughts?

[WAM9]

Contemplating trying to organize a mass Twitter movement to Diop's twitter account asking him to NOT pick up his player option. Would require lots of participation (100's of RTs, messages, etc.) -- on the fence if this would be crossing the line or not. That said, his $7+ million contract is absolutely horrendous.

Thoughts?

I hear you and I would love for him to not exercise his option but there is absolutely zero chance in the world that he walks away from $7 million. Zero.

[Black]

Diop would be an idiot to turn down that money. Don't waste your time.

[dnbman]

I hear you and I would love for him to not exercise his option but there is absolutely zero chance in the world that he walks away from $7 million. Zero.

What if we put together a really nice gift basket?

[WAM9]

What if we put together a really nice gift basket?

Well, maybe if it was a really nice basket :)

[bbh2020]

And don't forget that the new, more puntitive luxury tax kicks in after this upcoming season which means less teams will have $ to spend on free agents. If we can suffer through one more season of awfulness we should be sitting pretty with a high lottery pick and one of the few teams with tons of cap room.

[millst2]

well we have the cap space for sure and that will be a pretty huge benefit to us even this yr. We would need to amnesty diop, may save us a million or two. TT we are stuck with i think and thats good considering he is a scrub, but tt could get a few teams going after him which is good in terms of saving us more cash.

I say we try and grab another first round pick for a few million. Look to trade DJ, and then we spend some of our cap this off season going after Harden, and I think Bosh or Wade is going to be bounced out of Miami this summer.

Harden as a starter is so much like Manu as everyone saw in this series that he would be instant offense for the cats. If we add a solid couple of first round draft picks that could be enough alone to start the turning process.

I was reading that OKC will have to dump some roster space to keep harden as they have a ton of money with durant, westbrook, perkins and they say Ibaka is their number 1 priority to re-sign.

just a thought.

[bes628]

Salary Cap space only matters if players actually want to play for the team. Im almost positive players would be willing to accept less from a more successful franchise.

[DUnit24]

THis is why I think MJ and Cho, in the end, will look like geniouses for trading away all our good players and building from scratch.

I keep hearing people say Harden wouldnt come to Charlotte. Why not? If a starting spot is there and the money is there, players listen. Doesnt mean he will come for sure, but if the organization does its job and drafts well and signs a few other good ones to go along with Harden, a player just might jump at the chance of leading the "NBA's worst team ever" to hopefully "One of the best teams in the East." Then so on..

[dnbman]

THis is why I think MJ and Cho, in the end, will look like geniouses for trading away all our good players and building from scratch.

I'm not sure they'll ever get credit for making these decisions. Cho might. My guess is that history will say we were lucky to get some young players and things worked out o.k. It's been awe-inspiring to see people willfully refuse to believe that this past season had a purpose.



I keep hearing people say Harden wouldnt come to Charlotte. Why not? If a starting spot is there and the money is there, players listen. Doesnt mean he will come for sure, but if the organization does its job and drafts well and signs a few other good ones to go along with Harden, a player just might jump at the chance of leading the "NBA's worst team ever" to hopefully "One of the best teams in the East." Then so on..

In general, I think a star would come here if he put the icing on the cake of a nice young team. I'm not banking on Harden, but the general idea is right.

[jwmann2]

Even though it appears fans know everything on paper, there are still behind close door matters when it comes to cap space. Hard to speculate because at the end of the day, the GM is going to do what he wants.

[raleigh]

I don't think Charlotte will be looking to add free agents just yet.

What I expect them to do is wait until the All-Star break and then offer Diop+Carroll for a mediocre player with a contract ending in 2014. For example, a guy like Marvin Williams, who is on a team facing luxury tax issues, will be relatively easy to get.

The team that gets the salary relief will be the one who offers the best draft pick.

[TheBeagle]

Thanks for the research dnb! I'm a lazy s.o.b and I've been wanting to know this info for a while now. +1, good sir

I just hope (and think with Cho that we will) we do better with some cap room than the last time we got some when JRich and Nazr's massive contracts solidified our mediocrity, then adding Diop the following year. Yuck.

[ChuckHayes69]

Here's a sorted view of the next few years.
512

[spectre]

Here's a sorted view of the next few years.
512

I think Tam always used Storytellers:

http://www.storytellerscontracts.com/

They show the cost of the 2nd overall pick and they don't include either DJ as their QO hasn't been offered yet (I think?).

That number for next year is 47 million with 10 players - 9 plus the #2.

[gamecocksmitty4]

My question is...what do you do with all that money? There aren't any major superstars becoming available in the near future and those that are won't want to come to Charlotte.

[dnbman]

My question is...what do you do with all that money? There aren't any major superstars becoming available in the near future and those that are won't want to come to Charlotte.

This has been a significant point of controversy on BCP for a while.

Suffice to say, we don't know who would or wouldn't sign here. The only thing we can do is create as an attractive destination as we can through acquiring young talent and assets while showing that we have resources (cap room and money) to add needed pieces.

If nothing else, we keep costs low while we develop young talent. There's really not much reason to overspend on mediocre talent. We might as well meet the salary minimum and bide our time.

Consider this though: plenty of free agents would go to OKC right now, and there's nothing desirable about that city that we don't have. Rather, they have a young, talented team that a player can join with a realistic chance of winning a ring.

[dnbman]

For those who have been keeping up with the horrific salaries of the last few years, take a look:

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/charlotte.htm

Freshly updated for 12/13 season, and almost all expiring deals! Gordon for one more year and TT for two more.

Shedding weight!

http://weightlosstrainer.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Lose-Weight-Fast.jpg

[Black]

Can't wait to have Diop and Carroll off the books. I hope the front office has learned from their mistakes; deals like those hurt you for a long time.

[kitch0202]

I think it's fair to say that we won't be doing ANY stupid trades with Cho guiding things. With him there is always a clear objective to every deal. Personal preference can lead to 'you' disagreeing on specific draft choices, but there can't be anyone who disagrees with the methodical way Cho is moving this team forwards.

[dnbman]

I think it's fair to say that we won't be doing ANY stupid trades with Cho guiding things. With him there is always a clear objective to every deal. Personal preference can lead to 'you' disagreeing on specific draft choices, but there can't be anyone who disagrees with the methodical way Cho is moving this team forwards.

As Bonnell mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Higgins and some of the other guys are a part of this too. They were the ones that initiated this strategy and brought Cho in. I think the biggest thing isn't so much having Cho as having a clear plan in place, which granted, is probably heavily informed by Cho. I definitely like the idea of him analyzing and pulling the trigger on trades.

The most important thing we need to be thankful for is that the FO isn't adding albatrosses to add one or two checks to the win column. We're committed to a sustainable development plan that makes sense.

[spectre]

As Bonnell mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Higgins and some of the other guys are a part of this too. They were the ones that initiated this strategy and brought Cho in. I think the biggest thing isn't so much having Cho as having a clear plan in place, which granted, is probably heavily informed by Cho. I definitely like the idea of him analyzing and pulling the trigger on trades.

The most important thing we need to be thankful for is that the FO isn't adding albatrosses to add one or two checks to the win column. We're committed to a sustainable development plan that makes sense.

Luck (mostly bad) til Cho.

[kitch0202]

As Bonnell mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Higgins and some of the other guys are a part of this too. They were the ones that initiated this strategy and brought Cho in. I think the biggest thing isn't so much having Cho as having a clear plan in place, which granted, is probably heavily informed by Cho. I definitely like the idea of him analyzing and pulling the trigger on trades.

The most important thing we need to be thankful for is that the FO isn't adding albatrosses to add one or two checks to the win column. We're committed to a sustainable development plan that makes sense.

I'm sure you're right and it's not entirely the one-man-band that my comment suggested, but for me the contrast between the trades/acquisitions prior to Cho's hiring and post is stark. Several highly questionable moves before he got here vs. none after.

[dnbman]

I'm sure you're right and it's not entirely the one-man-band that my comment suggested, but for me the contrast between the trades/acquisitions prior to Cho's hiring and post is stark. Several highly questionable moves before he got here vs. none after.

Yeah, it's hard to defend pre-Cho FO. I just keep thinking that they started getting rid of bad contracts and, again, they hired Cho. They figured out what they needed to do and that they needed help doing it. That's worth something, even if the previous several years, with a lot of egos getting in the way, were terrible.

[spectre]

Yeah but look how they got rid of those guys pre-Cho. Felton we let walk, Chandler for total crap...and you know what I think about the Crash trade.

The only one I could fully get behind was the Okafor for Chandler trade...but then we ended up moving him before he ever got fully healthy. Under Cho so far I've liked every trade.

[Black]

It really is night and day. Cho has a great feel for how to build a team.