RealGM

No guarantee that Miami Heat could afford Big 3
By Ben Volin and Ethan J. Skolnick
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 5:58 a.m. Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Posted: 11:37 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2011

MIAMI — The Big 3 is under contract through the 2014 post-season. But if the NBA emerges from this summer's collective-bargaining negotiations with a hard salary cap, Commissioner David Stern said, it's possible the Heat wouldn't be able to keep all three superstars.

Chris Bosh and LeBron James signed $110.1 million contracts last summer while Wade signed for $107 million. The Heat likely wouldn't be able to fit all three under a hard cap.

"That's part of the negotiation," Stern said before Game 1. "This is very complex. If there's a will, we'll be able to work all those issues out."

The NBA, like the NFL, is headed to a lockout July 1 if players and owners cannot agree to a new CBA before the current one expires on June 30.

Ew. I can already hear hater nation fap to the idea.

Don't worry Homie LEBRON/Wade not going anyway...lol Hater!!

Beside there 16 other teams with a higher salary then the Heat

Bro LOL I am not a hater. I am a big heat fan and have been since Timmy Hardaway. I don't think the new agreement will apply to the Heat because when they signed Wade, James and Bosh they did it under with the rules that were in place. The NBA can't make them dump a player and the best part is I think Riley knew this might happen so he formed this team before the rules. Riley is a beast.

Don't hate the messenger. It was all over the internet today. GO HEAT!!!!!

Well, if that's the case... Bye Bosh.

David Stern can kiss my black ass.

Right... Miami won't be the only team screwed.

If teams get forced to honour existing contracts, while fitting under a hard cap that's lower than the luxury tax line then there will be a degree of smoothing that happens to the cap figures - whether it be a maximum amount that counts or a % that counts.

Miami wont be screwed, they will be fine as far as the big 3 go. Where they are more likely to hurt is in their ability to sign new FA at more than the vet min.

the way Bosh is playing in the Finals and the way he played against Boston, I think we'd know who's leaving if this does occur.

I don't think this will happen, it would hurt other teams more than it'd hurt us IMO. If it does, sorry Bosh is a goner.

What kind of crap is this? They're going to just have a fantasy draft of all the players that have to be cut do to a hard cap?

There's no way in hell this happens, it would be lawsuits galore.

There is no way this happens. The NBA doesn't want to kneecap teams like the Heat. Too good for business. Such a provision in the new CBA would put every contender in disarray. The Lakers owe 50 mil. to 2 players in 2013. How could they even field a squad? Teams like the Magic would need to be blown up. Teams like the Knicks and Bulls wouldn't really be able to improve themselves and a team like the Bulls could even find themselves in a pickle when it came to re-signing Derrick Rose. This idea of a hard, inflexible cap with no exceptions would hurt the product on the court.

'There's no guarantee'. This just sounds like speculation for the sake of it.

If Miam can't afford their payroll under the hard cap, then it doesn't look good for LA, Dallas, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Memphis, San Antonio, and possibly a handful of extra teams, that are currently spending more than Miami.

It's worth pointing out, that only 3 of 16 playoff teams had a lower payroll than Miami - Denver, Chicago, & OKC.

lukekarts wrote:'There's no guarantee'. This just sounds like speculation for the sake of it.

If Miam can't afford their payroll under the hard cap, then it doesn't look good for LA, Dallas, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Memphis, San Antonio, and possibly a handful of extra teams, that are currently spending more than Miami.

It's worth pointing out, that only 3 of 16 playoff teams had a lower payroll than Miami - Denver, Chicago, & OKC.

Pretty sure Rose is going to demand a new contract too.

Alex Trevelyan wrote:There is no way this happens. The NBA doesn't want to kneecap teams like the Heat. Too good for business. Such a provision in the new CBA would put every contender in disarray. The Lakers owe 50 mil. to 2 players in 2013. How could they even field a squad? Teams like the Magic would need to be blown up. Teams like the Knicks and Bulls wouldn't really be able to improve themselves and a team like the Bulls could even find themselves in a pickle when it came to re-signing Derrick Rose. This idea of a hard, inflexible cap with no exceptions would hurt the product on the court.

I think this is a ploy by Stern more that likely to get some leverage on another issue. For instance Stern would say we will drop the issue about the hard salary cap but only if the player association agrees to X. Stern isn't stupid.