Andrew Bynum’s Continued Absence Hurts Star Center More Than Sixers

 Philadelphia  No Responses »
Dec 022012
 

I know how this looks. It looks as though the Philadelphia 76ers were bamboozled into trading Andre Iguodala and a first-round pick to land Andrew Bynum, who might not even play for the team this season and very well could sign elsewhere in the offseason.

In other words, it doesn’t look good for the Sixers.

But when you peel back the layers and really look at the possibility of Bynum barely playing this year, it’s the star center who comes out of this situation looking worse than the Sixers.

Let’s start by looking at this purely at the perspective of the Sixers. Even if Bynum doesn’t stick around, Philly needed to make a change. With Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young, the Sixers had an array of top-notch complementary players, but no real stars. Making a deal to land the second-best center in the league made sense in that regard.

And Iguodala had a big contract. Dumping that and freeing up cash to either retain Bynum or make another splash in free agency was the right move.

Even if Bynum doesn’t re-sign, it was time for Iggy to go. He wasn’t terribly popular with the fans, never fit the role of top gun in the offense and was being overpaid for filling the role of excellent defensive stopper, good athlete and above-average scorer.

The Sixers needed a go-to guy, and Iguodala was an elite role player.

No, it is Bynum who could suffer from this lengthy injury. For one, the Sixers own his Bird’s Rights, meaning they’re the only team that can offer him a five-year, max deal. If Bynum has burned bridges in Philly, he’s cost himself money and security.

But one wonders if Bynum’s shenanigans will limit his market value as well. Realistically, a center with his potential is going to get paid, but will he have as many suitors as he might have if he were more mature? Will he find he won’t get to choose his destination, as teams balk at his huge asking price?

We already know he was out bowling with a knee injury and caused more damage, which may have been innocent ignorance but also exhibited a lack of judgement. Bowling puts strain on the knees, and Bynum should have at least consulted someone before taking on the activity. 

And his immaturity is hardly a new story. There was the three-point shooting fiasco last season, and who could forget Bynum elbowing JJ Barea in the playoffs two years ago after the Los Angeles Lakers were en route to being swept by the Dallas Mavericks?

Now, he’s engaged in a lawsuit and subsequent counter-suit by his neighbors, who have accused him of marijuana use, letting his dogs run free around the neighborhood, cranking his video games and music to incredibly loud levels and even waving a gun around at them, amongst other things.

Yikes.

At some point, you have to think many teams will say, “You know what, this guy is talented, but I don’t trust him enough to pay him as a franchise player. He’s not worth the investment.”

Remaining in Philadelphia is still the best option for both Bynum and the Sixers. He can earn the most lucrative contract there, he grew up in New Jersey, Doug Collins is the right man to keep Bynum focused and he’ll be the center of the offense in Philadelphia. It’s a good scene.

But if nothing else, the Sixers took a chance, dumped a big contract and still have a nice foundation in place with young talent. 

It’s Bynum who has the most to lose in this situation. His immaturity and lingering injury concerns could cost him some serious cash this offseason. He had a good thing in Philadelphia, and if he’s blown that he may not find a better alternative in the market.

And all to go bowling. He may rue that decision for years to come.


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Which NBA teams have paid the most in luxury taxes, since the tax was created? (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Portland  No Responses »
Jul 262012
 

The idea of a luxury tax to rein in excessive NBA spending was proposed during the extended 1998-99 NBA lockout. Players wanted to retain “Bird Rights,” which allowed teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign players. With no real hard cap in place, the NBA responded by bargaining in a second soft cap of sorts with a luxury tax — a dollar for dollar penalty that would be distributed amongst all non tax-paying teams at the end of the season, only if the NBA met certain income requirements. It was first instituted in 2000-01, though the NBA didn’t meet those requirements, and the tax wasn’t collected that year or in 2004-05.
With a new and more punitive luxury tax about to hit in a couple of years, the great Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (and sometimes The Basketball Jones ) has decided to pay tribute to the history of the dollar-for-dollar days, offering up his typically studied answer to the question , “who has paid the most tax?” Actually, we had more than one question heading into this reading, this answered just about all of them, and it’s worth pointing out that if you’re not using ShamSports as your go-to NBA salary guide and following Mark on Twitter , then you’re missing out on quite a bit.
A list of the biggest offenders follows, after the jump.

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NBA Rumors: Is Nenad Krstic Considering a Return to the Boston Celtics?

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 082012
 

The Boston Celtics have been active early in the free agency period, already getting verbal agreements from a handful of players that will help to fill out most of their roster. However, the C’s may end up needing extra help in the front court, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN reports that Greg Stiemsma is garnering a lot of interest from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Although the Celtics would like to hold on to the promising center, they can only match offers that fit into the salary cap restrictions, which means they will be unable to match any offer above the bi-annual exception. 

However, the Celtics may be in luck, as they still own the Bird Rights for center Nenad Krstic, who they received along with Jeff Green in the Kendrick Perkins trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Krstic didn’t stay with the team long—as he signed overseas during the lockout—but he did hold an option to terminate his contract with CSKA Moscow. Chris Forsberg highlighted that Carchia of Redazione Sportanda in Russia has reported that Krstic will not be returning to CSKA Moscow next year, and he plans to terminate his current contract. 

There hasn’t yet been much U.S. news about the possibility of Krstic returning to the NBA, but a translated report from Sportska Centrala titled “Krstic on the Verge of Returning to Boston” expresses that Krstic plans to return to the NBA and has interest in joining Milwaukee, Brooklyn, or Boston. However, the Celtics hold the exclusive Bird Rights for Krstic and therefore can sign him to a larger contract than most other teams by going over the salary cap to pay his salary. 

Although Krstic only played in 24 games with the Celtics, he actually put together solid performances by averaging 9.1 points on 53.7 percent shooting as well as 5.4 rebounds per game. Boston could still use depth in the frontcourt—especially if Stiemsma leaves—and Krstic would give the team another 7-footer that can make mid-range shots and is a capable defender in the paint.

The added depth at the center position that Krstic provides would allow Kevin Garnett the rest he needs to make it through the season, as well as provide another player that can provide the rebounding that the C’s were missing last season. 

It isn’t clear how interested Krstic is in returning to Boston, or if the team has even reached out to him and considered making an offer. Yet the move would make sense for both Krstic and the Celtics, especially now that Boston has room below the luxury tax cap due to the loss of Ray Allen.

Although it is not a perfect solution to the Celtics’ needs at center, it will greatly improve the overall performance of the team and help to provide the size Boston has been missing. 

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Post-Nash Lakers Must Focus on Dwight Howard’s Bird Rights, Not Dwight

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 072012
 

Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak acquired future Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash using an $8.9 million trade exception and is likely focusing on another technical tool within the new CBA in his quest to land Dwight Howard.

The legalese of interest is none other than Bird Rights—a critical component to the NBA‘s labor agreement and a cornerstone to the soft cap salary structure governing team payrolls. 

Named for the inimitable Larry Bird, Bird Rights permit teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign players as free agents after playing with a team for three years. When a player is traded, his new team inherits his Bird Rights.

Using Chris Paul‘s rejection last week of the Clippers‘ three-year, $60 million extension as an example, I discussed how the new CBA complicates a Howard trade because players will typically hold out and become free agents for more money on longer-term contracts instead of signing extensions.

Why would anyone accept an extension when he can let his contract expire and get a longer deal for more money as a free agent under their Bird Rights?

Signing extensions is a thing of the past. A player’s agent simply won’t allow it.

At first, it muddled the Lakers’ quest to land Howard as Lakers management was insisting D12 sign an extension if they traded for him.

Shrewdly, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has switched tact and is reportedly no longer demanding contract assurances from Howard in a possible trade.

And true to form, Kupchak is ahead of the curve.

The Lakers should be doing all they can to trade for Howard’s Bird Rights.

Why? Let’s look at how the Deron Williams signing unfolded.

After months of conjecture, Williams’ possible destinations came down to two choices—the Dallas Mavericks and the Brooklyn Nets.

The Mavericks could only offer four years, $75 million to the free-agent point guard, whereas the Nets, with Williams’ Bird Rights in hand, offered him a max five-year, $100 million deal.

Dallas was at a clear disadvantage without Williams’ Bird Rights and ultimately lost out on their bid to the hometown offer from Brooklyn.

Williams is now a local hero in Brooklyn and is viewed by many as a loyal franchise player, but really he took the best offer for the most money.

Which brings us back to Howard.

Given the structure of the CBA and the advantage Bird Rights give a team when looking to re-sign a player, we already know that Howard will choose to become a free agent in 2013.

It’s a no-brainer. He’s a fool not to wait until 2013 to sign a max five-year deal as a free agent.

So when that time inevitably comes, the team with the best seat at the table is whoever holds Howard’s Bird Rights. These are by far the best bargaining chips in contract negotiations.

If Kupchak can acquire Howard and his Bird Rights this summer, the Lakers can offer the best deal to their free-agent superstar and blow the 29 other NBA teams out of the water with their prime Bird Rights positioning.

After proclaiming last week that he’ll only re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets, Howard has not made it clear if he wants to play for the Lakers.

These comments, of course, were issued in a pre-Nash era.

Now that Steve Nash is a Laker through 2015, the entire NBA landscape has changed, and Howard’s perceptions of Los Angeles have likely followed suit.

If Howard does indeed get traded to the Lakers this summer, he’ll have an easy decision to make when he becomes a free agent in 2013.

He’ll have Hollywood.

He’ll have Nash and Kobe.

He’ll have the branding, the powerful media market and the championship success of Los Angeles to point to as reasons for staying with the Lakers.

But in any business—trade or sport—it all comes down to money, and the Lakers would be set up to offer him the best deal out there in 2013.

Kupchak already delivered one superstar to the Lakers this offseason using a CBA technicality. Don’t be surprised if the Lakers’ Rembrandt returns for an epic encore using similar tactics.

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Jeremy Lin Rumors: Is Linsanity Really Worth an Eight-Figure Salary?

 New York  No Responses »
Jul 032012
 

Jeremy Lin is the most important free agent on the New York Knicks‘ radar at this point. Thankfully for them, they were winners in his (and Steve Novak’s) Bird Rights case, meaning they’re allowed to sign him even if they were to go over the salary cap when it’s all said and done.

So, that’s it then, right? The Knicks are going to do whatever it takes to keep Jeremy Lin and the media-hype machine that comes along with him.

Not so fast my friend. There’s a possibility that if a team wants to sneak Lin away enough (and they are out there) that they could offer him a severely back-loaded contract that would potentially pay him an eight-figure salary in the final two years of the deal.

As a restricted free agent for the Knicks, the best they can offer Lin is a four-year, $24.5 million deal, while another team could put together a “poison pill” contract paying Lin up to $40 million over four years, with the first two seasons paying him $5 million each and the final two seasons paying him $15 million each.

The Knicks, however would have the option to match that salary.

While it can’t be foreseen whether or not anyone is going to offer this contract (Toronto makes sense if they end up whiffing on Steve Nash), the real concern at this point is whether or not the Knicks would match that contract offer.

Whether the Knicks actually sign this deal or not isn’t really the story; rather, it’s the fact that a kid who has just over 500 career points and 250 career assists is being talked about in terms of an eight-figure deal.

I wrote at length yesterday about the financial implications of Jeremy Lin. Basically it all states that Lin is worth more in ticket and jersey sales and television ratings than a salary could cover.

However, looking at basketball from a business standpoint is something that guys in suits do. The Knicks need to look at basketball from a basketball standpoint.

If the Knicks were to sign Lin to a deal that pays him, let’s say, $10 million in each of the final two years of his contract, they would have $71 million locked up in him, Tyson Chandler, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire once the 2014-15 season rolls around, which will probably be just under the luxury-tax line by then, assuming basketball-related income continues to increase.

What the Knicks would be paying for here is hope of continued excellence, and not reward for proving Lin can play in the past, which is a very risky move.

The only way Jeremy Lin would actually be worth that kind of money is if his game matures. He would have to take much better care of the ball, be more patient when looking for his own shot and become a more consistent passer.

What really sticks out, however, when talking about Lin and the Knicks is the thought that the team probably won’t be able to find another point guard quite as good as Lin in the near future with their current salary-cap situation.

So, to the entire league he’s worth the money in business terms, but paying him eight figures for two years may be a bit of a stretch.

But it’s a gamble the Knicks need to take.

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NBA’s Settlement with NBPA Gives Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak Early-Bird Rights

 New York  No Responses »
Jun 292012
 

After apparently intending to appeal an arbitrator’s ruling in favor of the NBA Players Association, David Stern and the NBA have reversed course and reached a settlement that will allow free agents Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak to retain their “Early Bird Rights” (via Newsday’s Alan Hahn):

NBA announces settlement with NBPA regarding Bird Rights arbitration. Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak will have Early Bird Rights. #Knicks #fb

— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) June 29, 2012

Maybe all that booing at the NBA Draft got to the commissioner after all.

Bird Rights allow a team to re-sign a player even when his new deal would force the team’s collective contractual obligations to exceed the salary cap. It’s an exception designed to spare veterans the need to change teams when they’d prefer to remain in place.

Typically, a player must have spent two years with his current team in order to be awarded Early Bird Rights, and three years for full-fledged Bird Rights.

The wrinkle in the cases of Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak is that they signed with the New York Knicks after having been previously waived.

The NBA maintained that the subsequent changes of scenery forfeited those players’ rights to the kind of cap exceptions a tenured veteran would ordinarily be afforded. Meanwhile, the Players Association maintained that being waived wasn’t the players’ faults, so they should receive the same benefits under their new teams.

Ultimately, the two sides were able to strike a compromise according to New Jersey Star-Ledger staff:

The two had been the beneficiary of an earlier ruling by an arbitrator that awarded the rights to them, causing the NBA to appeal. As a result of the settlement today, the scope of the ruling will be limited. Players claimed on waivers will have Early Bird rights but will only be granted full Bird rights if they were picked up after going through the amnesty procedure.

The agreement will enable the New York Knicks to potentially retain Jeremy Lin by signing him to a new deal rather than matching offers he accepts as a restricted free agent, a move that could certainly save the team some money.

It will also free the Knicks to use their mid-level cap exception to sign another player rather than having to spend it on Lin.

In other words, the deal makes it far more likely that New York will retain Lin and Novak, and it also provides the team with greater flexibility to improve its roster despite being so far over the cap.

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NBA Appeal Will Hold Up Knicks Offseason

 New York  No Responses »
Jun 252012
 

With the buzz of excitement coming from Knicks land following the arbitration hearing the NBA is about to douse the franchise with cold water, according to several people I’ve talked to this weekend.

While it seems unlikely that the decision to award Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak, in particular, Bird Rights, the NBA will appeal and that process could take weeks to even months depending on the process.

What this means for the Knicks is that while under appeal the old (new) CBA rules apply and that the market place will operate as usual starting in July. This means that the Knicks may in fact be frozen out on potential free agents in the marketplace as they sit back and wait on a ruling from the appeal unless a resolution happens quickly.

Based on who I talked to around the league and in the legal world, this seems very unlikely.

 

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Jason Kidd Now a No-Brainer for the New York Knicks

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jun 242012
 

With the New York Knicks succeeding in their early Bird Rights appeal earlier in the week, it’s safe to say that the NBA offseason has officially kicked off in the Big Apple. 

Knicks fans can breathe easy again now that Jeremy Lin is all but guaranteed to return to New York. The question now is whether or not the Knicks can swoop in and nab one of two future Hall of Fame veteran point guards this offseason.

First, there’s Steve Nash. The former two-time MVP has done it all over the years besides win a ring, and he’s looking for one before his storied career finally comes to a close.

Is New York a good fit for him? Sure. Will he accept $3 million to play there? Not likely. Especially if a team like Miami can offer him the same deal, or better. 

Yes, even with all this coveted cap space this offseason, Nash is a long shot at how best to come to New York.

As for Jason Kidd, the Knicks should have called his agent as soon as the Bird Rights decision was in. He’s the kind of leader that the Knicks need, and he’s the kind of mentor that Lin deserves.

Let’s be honest. Lin needs a mentor, not a competitor, which is exactly what Nash will be as soon as he puts on a Knicks jersey. And even the most casual NBA fan can tell you that Jeremy Lin ain’t no Steve Nash.

If the Knicks really see Lin as the future of their franchise, then Kidd is by far the best choice for New York. Kidd is willing to take a back seat and teach the young point guard how to be great, and if you really can get an opportunity to get a quality veteran like Kidd on your team for cheap, you go all in. 

Plus, he’s a champion, he’s played with Knicks center Tyson Chandler and he knows what it’s like to win as the face of a franchise. 

As for his age? Well, that’s just the risk you take every single year in this league, especially when you have three guys sucking up a substantial amount of your payroll. But if he can give the Knicks even one solid year, then count that as a success.

Still, Jason Kidd is one of the biggest missing pieces for this young, dysfunctional Knicks team as a leader, a player and a teacher.

I see no reason why the Knicks shouldn’t be knocking on his door right now and telling him to join the Linsanity. 

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Free Agency: How Does Jeremy Lin’s Bird Rights Ruling Affect Steve Nash?

 New York  No Responses »
Jun 222012
 

When is a story about minor salary cap details a major story? When it involves the Knicks, that’s when! 

An arbitrator has sided with the players union in allowing players claimed off waivers to count under Bird Rights (via the New York Times). In short, this means that the Knicks can be permitted to comfortably sign Jeremy Lin or Steve Novak, both of whom have been claimed off waivers. As the New York Times puts it:

The ruling means that both Lin and Steve Novak of the Knicks will be able to re-sign with the team without respect to the salary cap, for a starting salary around $5 million each.

What it also means is that New York can spend $3 million per year (the mini mid-level exception) on a free agent. In other words, let the Steve Nash whispers begin!

Without the Bird Rights’ exception, it would be impossible for the Knicks to retain Lin and pursue Nash. Thanks to the ruling—if upheld—New York can make that $3 million per year offer. 

Would Nash take it? Nobody but Steve can answer that question.

He’s likely to garner much more than that on the open market, possibly around $10 million per year on a short-term deal. But, if Nash wants to take a pay cut at the end of his playing days, the ever cosmopolitan point guard might just make such a sacrifice.

Put it this way: Yesterday, there was no shot of Nash on the Knicks, and today, it’s quite possible. 

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