Set Off

[shrink]

I have struggled with this for years, so let me know if I finally got this right, using Barea as an example.

MIN waived Barea, and his $4,519,500 contract.
DAL picked him up, for the minimum at $1,302,578
Minimum salary for a one year vet: $816,482

Set Off = ($1,302,578 - $816,482)/2 = $486,096/2 = $243,048

Their obligation (and resultant cap number) to Barea becomes $4,276,452


Is that right?

[DBoys]

"Is that right?"

It could be, more or less. That's the proper calculation for a "standard" set-off.

But my understanding is that whether and how it's applied can be negotiable from one deal to the next. There was reportedly a buyout preceding his waiver (ie, a negotiation of the guarantee if he cleared waivers, and perhaps of the set-off amount as well), so the precise resultant cap number may be a bit different.

Also impacting the numbers is that Barea missed a day or two of the season with the Mavs, before he was able to sign, which would reduce the minimum salary he was eligible for by a pro-rated amount.

[Smitty731]

If what I have read is correct, and his Cap charge seems to confirm this, Barea took less in his buyout than he was owed. Likely this was so he could get out and get to Dallas. His Cap charge for Minnesota is $3,216,922.00. So, he took ~1.3 million less in his buyout from what I can see. That could be where the numbers are off in your calculation. I know for certain the Cap charge is what the NBA has Minnesota on the hook for him.

[DBoys]

"whether and how it's applied can be negotiable from one deal to the next. There was reportedly a buyout preceding his waiver (ie, a negotiation of the guarantee if he cleared waivers, and perhaps of the set-off amount as well), so the precise resultant cap number may be a bit different."

"Barea took less in his buyout than he was owed... His Cap charge for Minnesota is $3,216,922.00."

Shrink, taken together, there's the answers on Barea you were looking for.
1 His cap number is 3,216,922
2 Reverse-engineering that cap number, it seems to imply that the following simple buyout agreement was reached in the event he cleared waivers
(a) his guaranteed amount reduced by minimum salary, which presumes he can recoup that amount by any signing with another team of his choice...leaves a net of 3,216,922
(b) eliminate set-off when he signs elsewhere

[shrink]

Thanks guys. One last question?

If what I have read is correct, and his Cap charge seems to confirm this, Barea took less in his buyout than he was owed.

I'm just curious ... is there a good place to read such things, or was this private contract information that a few of you have special access to?

[Smitty731]

Thanks guys. One last question?

If what I have read is correct, and his Cap charge seems to confirm this, Barea took less in his buyout than he was owed.

I'm just curious ... is there a good place to read such things, or was this private contract information that a few of you have special access to?

I have access that I don't think is public. I'll check with my contact and find out for certain. Whenever I do need to confirm something, I check Eric Pincus Salary page at Basketball Insiders. His stuff is spot on and usually pretty timely. He is awesome. I love Mark Deeks' stuff, but Pincus tends to be a bit more timely. Not a criticism of Deeks at all, as his pages were my bible for years as I learned the Cap.

[Smitty731]

Thanks guys. One last question?

If what I have read is correct, and his Cap charge seems to confirm this, Barea took less in his buyout than he was owed.

I'm just curious ... is there a good place to read such things, or was this private contract information that a few of you have special access to?

Oh, and on what I "read" it was reported a few different places that Barea and the team were working on a buyout for less than the full amount he was owed. For me, each day I read as many blogs, online papers, and general NBA sites as I can. When a transaction is made, I read every thing I can find on it.

[Dunkenstein]

I check Eric Pincus Salary page at Basketball Insiders. His stuff is spot on and usually pretty timely. He is awesome. I love Mark Deeks' stuff, but Pincus tends to be a bit more timely. Not a criticism of Deeks at all, as his pages were my bible for years as I learned the Cap.

Since Mark is now devoting the majority of his energy to the web site BBall Breakdown, he hasn't update his salary pages since mid-summer. I agree that Eric's salary pages on Basketball Insiders is definitely the most accurate resource of up-to-date player salaries available on the internet. They can be found here:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-t ... -a-glance/

[shrink]

Eric has always impressed me.

As we all know, the general sports media regularly gets things wrong financially, reporting things that would be violations of CBA rules. I don't expect them to know every rule, since the CBA may only be a small percentage of their overall, multi-sport expertise. However, accurate reporting is necessary since the implications can often be huge.

Anyway, when I see the media make reports that violate the CBA, I'll often shoot the author a quick, polite, email, and I might suggest what he may have heard that follows the rules. As you can imagine, the responses i get are all over the board - some ignore, some change their article without saying anything, some defend their mistakes, and a few of them will say thanks.

Eric has had the best responses I've received over the years. He didn't just accept the response, he asked questions so that he could better understand the rule in the future. I have a lot of respect for people that are wise enough to admit when they don't understand something, and actively try to remedy that situation. Because of this, he is much better with the numbers than he was five years ago, and everyone benefits from it, so i applaud him.