Norm2953 wrote:Could they have signed Batum if they had not used their full MLE?
yeah, but it's tricky
Batum signed for a vet minimum deal. He's a 10-year veteran so his scale was 2.56M. However, the NBA pays part of that salary over that of a 2 year veteran, and it's only the 2 year veteran scale that counts against a team's cap. That amount is 1.6M. Now, that's for a full season. Players signed during the season will have those scales adjusted downward based upon how much of the season has passed....or how much is remaining I guess. It used to be that teams could offer the full scale, even for a partial season, but the scale they were charged against their cap was pro-rated. Great deal for the player. The last CBA may have changed those rules, or at least adjusted the differential but I'm not sure
anyway, if Portland signed Batum with what was left of an MLE, they would not get that differential break that minimum contracts allow. They'd be assessed the simple value of the salary they gave Batum.
I think the odds are pretty high that Batum would have had little interest playing for Stotts again. But if Portland would have offered him 5-6M, he may have signed. Paying Batum 6M would have been much much better than paying Jones 9.3M
Olshey definitely blew the full-MLE this season. He gave max money to a guy that didn't fit the coach. Of course, that same guy didn't fit well on his last team either. Just another example of Olshey's poor performance.