Interesting Sessions article

CBUCK06 · Post #1 » by **CBUCK06** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:43 am

The following is an excellent financially focused take on the Sessions decision. Even moving Elson or Allen (to a contender for cash, a nice thank you note or a late, late second rounder). As much as teams know we are trying to cut salary, other teams are also trying to get deeper in the playoffs. SAS, LAL, BOS could all use a cheap big.

Again, this is really a good read.

http://www.brewhoop.com/2009/2/16/75989 ... a-re-signi

Frank Nova · Post #2 » by **Frank Nova** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:51 am

Can u be over the cap and still use your MLE? I thot that was the case as long as the player was on ur team...

Im not sure how all the financials work but if that is true then what I got from the article is no matter what we can re-tain atleast Sessions next year because as a RFA he cant receive a big contract over the MLE which we can match?

Am I right or wrong or atleast in the ball park or what?

CBUCK06 · Post #3 » by **CBUCK06** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:07 am

weezybaby856 wrote:Can u be over the cap and still use your MLE? I thot that was the case as long as the player was on ur team...

Im not sure how all the financials work but if that is true then what I got from the article is no matter what we can re-tain atleast Sessions next year because as a RFA he cant receive a big contract over the MLE which we can match?

Am I right or wrong or atleast in the ball park or what?

I read that it limits were other teams can even start to open their first year offer for Razor Ramon which helps. The downside is that CV would be gone and we would really struggle to fill our roster out in a meaningful manner.

Moving Allen or Elson would be help, at this point every bit helps. Hopefully we can move a larger piece and be in an okay place to bring RS and CV back.

fam3381 · Post #4 » by **fam3381** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:13 am

You only use the MLE if you're over the cap (otherwise you can have more space by renouncing it)...every team has the option of using it each summer.

Bird Rights are what allow you to go over the cap in re-signing your own players. Sessions is an Early Bird FA, which is slightly different but the same basic gist.

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #5 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:22 am

weezybaby856 wrote:Can u be over the cap and still use your MLE? I thot that was the case as long as the player was on ur team...

Im not sure how all the financials work but if that is true then what I got from the article is no matter what we can re-tain atleast Sessions next year because as a RFA he cant receive a big contract over the MLE which we can match?

Am I right or wrong or atleast in the ball park or what?

I suggest familiarizing yourself with the CBA FAQ as much as possible. You don't have to read the whole thing if you don't want to, but anytime you have a question about something, just use your web browser's search feature to find the appropriate section of the FAQ.

www.cbafaq.com

Anyway, the "cap", as in "salary cap" is not the issue when it comes to Sessions. The luxury tax threshold is.

The MLE is ONLY used when you are over the salary cap. If you aren't over the salary cap, you use cap space and do not have your MLE. If you are over the lux tax threshold, you can still use the MLE, but you any spending you do above the lux tax threshold is taxed at a dollar-for-dollar amount and you miss out on the variable 1/30 share (which is smaller in direct proportion to teams being more fiscally responsible). That amount will probably be just under $3 mil this time around.

Our MLE doesn't even come into play in regards to Sessions. We have Early Bird Rights on Sessions and therefore have an Early Bird Exception attached to Sessions that we can use. Both exceptions have a maximum first year salary amount equal to the "average salary" (which is actually a CBA formula, rather than being precisely the average salary).

The Arenas provision sets things up so that an RFA protected by that provision can't receive an offer sheet with a first year amount that would require more than the EBE or MLE (for an Arenas RFA with only non-bird rights).

Sessions CAN still receive a huge offer sheet from another team, but that first year salary is limited to the average salary amount, and the second year is limited as well.

I think I may have unintentionally implied otherwise in a previous thread this week, but even if we were to offer Sessions a contract ourselves, it is impossible for his 09-10 salary to exceed the average salary (unless we somehow miraculously cleared enough space UNDER the salary cap to exceed that offer, which will not happen)

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #6 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:25 am

BTW, great series of articles, fam.

I never seem to get around to writing something up like that myself, but you've done an excellent job and made it unnecessary for me to do so. Plus, I am certain that whatever I had written wouldn't have been so easily digestible for the masses and you would have been drafted into editing it anyway

ACGB · Post #7 » by **ACGB** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:26 am

I learned about bird rights from playing NBA 2K9

fam3381 · Post #8 » by **fam3381** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:30 am

Dan, I bet you sometimes mutter this stuff in your sleep.

The last part is helpful to clarify--I was unsure on that myself, though it's nice to know the CBA will save us from ourselves...

GrandAdmiralDan · Post #9 » by **GrandAdmiralDan** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:57 am

fam3381 wrote:Dan, I bet you sometimes mutter this stuff in your sleep.

I probably would if I talked in my sleep, but I do not. I am a snorer though.

I also am not prone to any drunken babbling. I mean, whatever babbling I do in that state is not any greater amount than I already do sober

fam3381 wrote:The last part is helpful to clarify--I was unsure on that myself, though it's nice to know the CBA will save us from ourselves...

Don't worry, we still have the ability to pay one of our FAs more than necessary. We have full bird rights on Villanueva, no Arenas provision protection, and he is a personal favorite of Senator Kohl's.

I can see Hammond coyly waiting for CV to get an offer sheet from someone, only to receive a call from Senator Kohl.

Kohl: John, I ran into Charlie Villanueva last night. He was exiting some club just as I was on my way to George Webb for breakfast. We were just making a little small talk, but then one thing led to another, and I offered him a 5 year $60 million contract. He accepted. So you can scratch that off of your to do list.

Hammond: Wait... you did WHAT?!?!?

fam3381 · Post #10 » by **fam3381** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:02 am

GrandAdmiralDan wrote:Kohl: John, I ran into Charlie Villanueva last night. He was exiting some club just as I was on my way to George Webb for breakfast. We were just making a little small talk, but then one thing led to another, and I offered him a 5 year $60 million contract. He accepted. So you can scratch that off of your to do list.

Hammond: Wait... you did WHAT?!?!?

C'mon Dan, we all know Herb would give Charlie a six year deal.

trwi7 · Post #11 » by **trwi7** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:59 am

GrandAdmiralDan wrote:I probably would if I talked in my sleep, but I do not.

That's a shame. It's a joy to listen to people talk in their sleep. My brother fell off the Grand Canyon, must have been a dream when we were visiting our aunt, uncle and cousins.