Salary Cap Management 101
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:14 am
I'm not going to go into this in a lot of detail, but I do want to get a point across. We can not have a star player or a guy earning $10 Million plus at every position and then also have quality back ups.
This comes from constantly seeing posters mentioning who we should trade for, and who would make us a better team. For example, Dalembert or any player on a team that just beat us.
A GM has to control the salary Cap. One of the greatest examples is the Spurs. Take a look at their salaries
http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/san_antonio.htm
They have their 3 main guys making their money, and then they surround them with great role players. Look at two of their starters, Bowen making $4 million and after this year he'll be their 4th highest player, then they also have oberto making $3.6 Mill. You gotta get your 2 or 3 main guys making their big dollars ($10 to $16 Million) and then the rest you shouldn't be spending more than $5-7 Million on
The point I'm making there is that we can't just say we want to sign Josh Smith, Deng or AI2 to be our future SF, cus they'll be max or near max players. We have to sign a player like Moon to a smaller deal, but will help us long term. I'd rather pay Moon around $5 Million than Iggy $12 because then we'll have more money to spend on better support. As well, adding stars will take something away from our current star and it'll also take away from the player they're replacing, so in total, their effect on a team may not really be as great as it would seem. The same can go for signing a guy like Delfino, if we can have our 6th man or maybe future SG making around $4, who brings D and all around play then thats a good deal.
Pretty much, we have 15 players and this is how I think we should manage how much we should pay players.
PG $8-10 Million starter / $3-4 back up (yes that means deciding between Jose and TJ (one should be used to get us that 3rd main star) / vets or rookies min for 3rd string
SG - I think this is where our 3rd star should be (yes that means it's not a centre, as we've seen through the years Sam's style is not appreciative to a centre, no I'm not saying trade Bargnani) $8-10 million starter / $4 back up that can also play SF (Delfino) / Vet or rookie min, preferable a combo guard for 3rd string
SF - This is where we save with a defensive presense $5 million Moon / $3-4 for back up, as Sams style works well when we play small ball (preferable a guy who can play the 2 and 4 as well a little bit) / Vet or rookie min for 3rd string
PF - CB4 explains it $14-$18 million / $3 Kris or similar player as won't get much playing time / vet or rookie min for 3rd string
C - $6-8 Million, big men cost money, we pretty much need a guy who will give us 8 and 8 and provide D, Similar to a Varejeo, I just don't see it working having a 2nd scorer as a big, but I can see it from a SG because even though we get scoring from our point guards they are unselfish / $3 for back up, prob won't see much time, preferably a bruiser / vet or rookie min
If you noticed here we're paying big bucks to 3 starters, $5 to $7 for the other starters, then $3 to $5 for the back ups and the minimum for the 3rd strings.
As well, some of you may say, "hey if we do all this you'll be really close to luxury cap" and you're right we will be, but it'll be over time, it all won't happen as once, as well, some of the positions will be reduced if we get a rookie who is in the rotation which will reduce costs, or something similar to how we got Moon.
Pretty much I think this is a good template to follow when trying to manage your salary.
Even if you don't agree with what I say at least take one thing from this analysis. When you propose that we need a certain player try and think of how getting that player will affect our salary cap, not only for now, but also for the future and how it'll affect us in signing new players or making trades. Especially when talking about a player on a rookie contract cus eventually they'll get their pay day.
This comes from constantly seeing posters mentioning who we should trade for, and who would make us a better team. For example, Dalembert or any player on a team that just beat us.
A GM has to control the salary Cap. One of the greatest examples is the Spurs. Take a look at their salaries
http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/san_antonio.htm
They have their 3 main guys making their money, and then they surround them with great role players. Look at two of their starters, Bowen making $4 million and after this year he'll be their 4th highest player, then they also have oberto making $3.6 Mill. You gotta get your 2 or 3 main guys making their big dollars ($10 to $16 Million) and then the rest you shouldn't be spending more than $5-7 Million on
The point I'm making there is that we can't just say we want to sign Josh Smith, Deng or AI2 to be our future SF, cus they'll be max or near max players. We have to sign a player like Moon to a smaller deal, but will help us long term. I'd rather pay Moon around $5 Million than Iggy $12 because then we'll have more money to spend on better support. As well, adding stars will take something away from our current star and it'll also take away from the player they're replacing, so in total, their effect on a team may not really be as great as it would seem. The same can go for signing a guy like Delfino, if we can have our 6th man or maybe future SG making around $4, who brings D and all around play then thats a good deal.
Pretty much, we have 15 players and this is how I think we should manage how much we should pay players.
PG $8-10 Million starter / $3-4 back up (yes that means deciding between Jose and TJ (one should be used to get us that 3rd main star) / vets or rookies min for 3rd string
SG - I think this is where our 3rd star should be (yes that means it's not a centre, as we've seen through the years Sam's style is not appreciative to a centre, no I'm not saying trade Bargnani) $8-10 million starter / $4 back up that can also play SF (Delfino) / Vet or rookie min, preferable a combo guard for 3rd string
SF - This is where we save with a defensive presense $5 million Moon / $3-4 for back up, as Sams style works well when we play small ball (preferable a guy who can play the 2 and 4 as well a little bit) / Vet or rookie min for 3rd string
PF - CB4 explains it $14-$18 million / $3 Kris or similar player as won't get much playing time / vet or rookie min for 3rd string
C - $6-8 Million, big men cost money, we pretty much need a guy who will give us 8 and 8 and provide D, Similar to a Varejeo, I just don't see it working having a 2nd scorer as a big, but I can see it from a SG because even though we get scoring from our point guards they are unselfish / $3 for back up, prob won't see much time, preferably a bruiser / vet or rookie min
If you noticed here we're paying big bucks to 3 starters, $5 to $7 for the other starters, then $3 to $5 for the back ups and the minimum for the 3rd strings.
As well, some of you may say, "hey if we do all this you'll be really close to luxury cap" and you're right we will be, but it'll be over time, it all won't happen as once, as well, some of the positions will be reduced if we get a rookie who is in the rotation which will reduce costs, or something similar to how we got Moon.
Pretty much I think this is a good template to follow when trying to manage your salary.
Even if you don't agree with what I say at least take one thing from this analysis. When you propose that we need a certain player try and think of how getting that player will affect our salary cap, not only for now, but also for the future and how it'll affect us in signing new players or making trades. Especially when talking about a player on a rookie contract cus eventually they'll get their pay day.
