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So it appears that the MLE will now be set to 8.4M with 5% raises. That puts the MLE at 4/36M for the Wizards to try and add a rotation player. Below are the FA in 2017. Be aware that I have added some 2017 FA with PO who will decline it (Dedmon, CJ Miles, etc.) and I have removed FA that will in no way, shape, or form be available for that amount (I.E. Curry, Durant, Blake, Gallo, Hayward, etc.)

Player - Age (16/17 Salary)

PG
Derrick Rose - 28 (18.86M)
Deron Williams - 32 (10M)
Jose Calderon - 35 (7.25M)
Ramon Sessions - 30 (6M)
Shaun Livingston - 31 (5.54M)
Langston Galloway - 25 (5.2M)
Darren Collison - 29 (5.01M)
Brandon Jennings - 27 (5M)
Patrick Mills - 28 (4.33M)
Aaron Brooks - 31 (2.7M)
Shelvin Mack - 26 (2.43M)
Mo Williams - 34 (2.15M)
Tyler Ennis - 22 (1.66M)
Raymond Felton - 32 (1.55M)
Beno Udrih - 34 (1.55M)
John Lucas III - 34 (1.4M)
Ty Lawson - 29 (1.32M)
Brian Roberts - 31 (1.05M)

SG
Manu Ginobili - 39 (14M)
Andre Iguodala - 32 (12M)
Sergio Rodriguez - 30 (8M)
J.J. Redick - 32 (6.94M)
Jodie Meeks - 29 (6.27M)
Kyle Korver - 35 (6M)
Nick Young - 31 (5.44M)
Tony Allen - 34 (5M)
CJ Miles - 29 (4.58M)
Vince Carter - 39 (4.09M)
Brandon Rush - 31 (3.5M)
Anthony Morrow - 31 (3.34M)
Randy Foye - 33 (2.5M)
James Young - 21 (1.75M)
Jason Terry - 39 (1.55M)
James Jones - 36 (1.55M)
Sasha Vujacic - 32 (1.41M)
Gerald Green - 30 (1.41M)
Marcus Thornton - 29 (1.32M)
Alan Anderson - 34 (1.32M)
C.J. Wilcox - 25 (1.16M)
Ian Clark - 25 (1.02M)
Justin Holiday - 27 (0.98M)
Hollis Thompson - 25 (0.82M)

SF
Jeff Green - 30 (15M)
Rudy Gay - 30 (13.33M)
Tyreke Evans - 27 (11M)
Ersan Ilyasova - 29 (8M)
P.J. Tucker - 31 (5.5M)
Thabo Sefolosha - 32 (4M)
Omri Casspi - 28 (2.9M)
Steve Novak - 33 (1.55M)
Metta World Peace - 37 (1.55M)
Luke Babbitt - 27 (1.16M)
Alonzo Gee - 29 (1.15M)
James McAdoo - 23 (0.98M)
Michael Beasley - 27 (0.86M)
Reggie Williams - 30 (0.72M)

PF
Amir Johnson - 29 (12M)
Zach Randolph - 35 (10M)
Tiago Splitter - 31 (9M)
Taj Gibson - 31 (8.25M)
Patrick Patterson - 27 (6.05M)
Jared Sullinger - 24 (5.63M)
Luis Scola - 36 (5.5M)
Jonas Jerebko - 29 (5M)
Derrick Williams - 25 (4.6M)
Kris Humphries - 31 (4M)
Udonis Haslem - 36 (4M)
James Johnson - 29 (4M)
Nick Collison - 36 (3.75M)
Mike Scott - 28 (3.33M)
Nene Hilario - 34 (2.9M)
Adreian Payne - 25 (1.94M)
David West - 36 (1.55M)
Brandon Bass - 31 (1.55M)
Anderson Varejao - 34 (1.55M)
Chris Andersen - 38 (1.55M)
Terrence Jones - 24 (1.05M)
Thomas Robinson - 25 (1.05M)
Mike Muscala - 25 (0.74M)

C
Andrew Bogut - 32 (12M)
Roy Hibbert - 30 (5M)
Zaza Pachulia - 32 (2.9M)
DeWayne Dedmon - 27 (2.9M)
Mo Speights - 29 (1.46M)
JaVale McGee - 28 (1.4M)
Jeff Withey - 26 (0.98M)

Hmmm let's go for Marcus Thornton

Wow guys are getting up there in age

Looking at this list, I see a number of interesting names that I will keep an eye on throughout the season:

PG
Patty Mills - Great backup PG, but he will probably be looking for more then the MLE or at the very least a chance to start

SG
CJ Miles - One of the last straight from HS players that has proven to be a solid all around player. Lights out 3 point shooter than score in multiple ways while playing strong defense. He turns 30 in the spring, which is the only reason he would get the MLE instead of 4/75M someone 3-5 years younger would get for the same production. No injury history and only 13k minutes on the tires.

Ian Clark - 4 year player from Belmont that has shown to be a solid all around scorer that doesnt turn the ball over, but he doesnt get to the line and his improvement so far could be product of SSS/GSW. Keep an eye on

SF
No one stands out and we have Otto and Oubre

PF
Patrick Patterson - Top 10 recruit out of HS and played with Wall at Kentucky. Has turned into a real stretch 4 that doesnt hurt you with TOV or fouls. 5th in RPM according to ESPN and has playoff experience with Toronto. Could probably get more money (4/60M would be my guess), but you never know sometimes

Terrance Jones - Another highly recruited PF from Kentucky, but has not shown he can space the floor. His defense is pretty good, but I dont see him as a better player than Morris and he seems to have a lot of the same Strengths and Weaknesses. Probably not a good fit.

Mike Muscala - My personal favorite and someone I really liked in the 2013 draft. Can score in many ways including from 3. Has cut down on his fouling a really looks solid defending either 4's or 5's. The minute FA starts I would through the MLE and pray he accepts. Might be under appreciated because of:
- Skin color: white bigs can be viewed as nonathletic if they dont blow you away with dunks.
- Pedigree: Not highly recruited, played 4 years at Bucknell, was a 2nd round pick, and is not a starter.
- Team: The Hawks have been good the last couple years, but they didnt get national recognitation and played a less exciting, cerebral ball/player movement type of basketball (Coach Bud)

C
Dewayne Dedmon - Should of been signed instead of Mahinmi ... Plays great defense, scores efficiently and rebounds. But does not get to the line that often and fouls too much

Jeff Withey - Much like Dedmon, Withey is a defense first player that scores efficiently and blocks shots. But he doesnt rebound well.

Both of these guys (along with Muscala) are at the top of the list for FA and would then trade Gortat in a heart beat. Withey has a higher likelihood of being available due to Utah having Gobert and many other FA-to-be. Gun to my head... I probably take Withey over Dedmon due to shot blocking and FT shooting, but I would need to dig deeper to give final assessment.

Well... All yours folks

Pickins' are awfully thin at the point. If backup PG can't be filled any other way, maybe we go for Collison - even though he'll probably cost the full MLE. Let's not go for Ramon Sessions - who's back around his career norm in scoring efficiency with a 42% eFG and a steep decline in production - though he is higher in assists this season.

Withey's playing well for the 4th straight year and still doesn't get much PT.

pcbothwel wrote:Looking at this list, I see a number of interesting names that I will keep an eye on throughout the season:

PG
Patty Mills - Great backup PG, but he will probably be looking for more then the MLE or at the very least a chance to start

SG
CJ Miles - One of the last straight from HS players that has proven to be a solid all around player. Lights out 3 point shooter than score in multiple ways while playing strong defense. He turns 30 in the spring, which is the only reason he would get the MLE instead of 4/75M someone 3-5 years younger would get for the same production. No injury history and only 13k minutes on the tires.

Ian Clark - 4 year player from Belmont that has shown to be a solid all around scorer that doesnt turn the ball over, but he doesnt get to the line and his improvement so far could be product of SSS/GSW. Keep an eye on

SF
No one stands out and we have Otto and Oubre

PF
Patrick Patterson - Top 10 recruit out of HS and played with Wall at Kentucky. Has turned into a real stretch 4 that doesnt hurt you with TOV or fouls. 5th in RPM according to ESPN and has playoff experience with Toronto. Could probably get more money (4/60M would be my guess), but you never know sometimes

Terrance Jones - Another highly recruited PF from Kentucky, but has not shown he can space the floor. His defense is pretty good, but I dont see him as a better player than Morris and he seems to have a lot of the same Strengths and Weaknesses. Probably not a good fit.

Mike Muscala - My personal favorite and someone I really liked in the 2013 draft. Can score in many ways including from 3. Has cut down on his fouling a really looks solid defending either 4's or 5's. The minute FA starts I would through the MLE and pray he accepts. Might be under appreciated because of:
- Skin color: white bigs can be viewed as nonathletic if they dont blow you away with dunks.
- Pedigree: Not highly recruited, played 4 years at Bucknell, was a 2nd round pick, and is not a starter.
- Team: The Hawks have been good the last couple years, but they didnt get national recognitation and played a less exciting, cerebral ball/player movement type of basketball (Coach Bud)

C
Dewayne Dedmon - Should of been signed instead of Mahinmi ... Plays great defense, scores efficiently and rebounds. But does not get to the line that often and fouls too much

Jeff Withey - Much like Dedmon, Withey is a defense first player that scores efficiently and blocks shots. But he doesnt rebound well.

Both of these guys (along with Muscala) are at the top of the list for FA and would then trade Gortat in a heart beat. Withey has a higher likelihood of being available due to Utah having Gobert and many other FA-to-be. Gun to my head... I probably take Withey over Dedmon due to shot blocking and FT shooting, but I would need to dig deeper to give final assessment.

Well... All yours folks

CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

Too bad 9 million a year doesn't buy what it used to...

Sent from my XT1650 using RealGM mobile app

Meliorus wrote:

pcbothwel wrote:Looking at this list, I see a number of interesting names that I will keep an eye on throughout the season:

PG
Patty Mills - Great backup PG, but he will probably be looking for more then the MLE or at the very least a chance to start

SG
CJ Miles - One of the last straight from HS players that has proven to be a solid all around player. Lights out 3 point shooter than score in multiple ways while playing strong defense. He turns 30 in the spring, which is the only reason he would get the MLE instead of 4/75M someone 3-5 years younger would get for the same production. No injury history and only 13k minutes on the tires.

Ian Clark - 4 year player from Belmont that has shown to be a solid all around scorer that doesnt turn the ball over, but he doesnt get to the line and his improvement so far could be product of SSS/GSW. Keep an eye on

SF
No one stands out and we have Otto and Oubre

PF
Patrick Patterson - Top 10 recruit out of HS and played with Wall at Kentucky. Has turned into a real stretch 4 that doesnt hurt you with TOV or fouls. 5th in RPM according to ESPN and has playoff experience with Toronto. Could probably get more money (4/60M would be my guess), but you never know sometimes

Terrance Jones - Another highly recruited PF from Kentucky, but has not shown he can space the floor. His defense is pretty good, but I dont see him as a better player than Morris and he seems to have a lot of the same Strengths and Weaknesses. Probably not a good fit.

Mike Muscala - My personal favorite and someone I really liked in the 2013 draft. Can score in many ways including from 3. Has cut down on his fouling a really looks solid defending either 4's or 5's. The minute FA starts I would through the MLE and pray he accepts. Might be under appreciated because of:
- Skin color: white bigs can be viewed as nonathletic if they dont blow you away with dunks.
- Pedigree: Not highly recruited, played 4 years at Bucknell, was a 2nd round pick, and is not a starter.
- Team: The Hawks have been good the last couple years, but they didnt get national recognitation and played a less exciting, cerebral ball/player movement type of basketball (Coach Bud)

C
Dewayne Dedmon - Should of been signed instead of Mahinmi ... Plays great defense, scores efficiently and rebounds. But does not get to the line that often and fouls too much

Jeff Withey - Much like Dedmon, Withey is a defense first player that scores efficiently and blocks shots. But he doesnt rebound well.

Both of these guys (along with Muscala) are at the top of the list for FA and would then trade Gortat in a heart beat. Withey has a higher likelihood of being available due to Utah having Gobert and many other FA-to-be. Gun to my head... I probably take Withey over Dedmon due to shot blocking and FT shooting, but I would need to dig deeper to give final assessment.

Well... All yours folks

CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

I love it... the all Pat FA haul. E.G. can follow it up by asking Patrick Dempsey to do the Wolf Blitzer pregame video and Ted can hand out green urinal cakes on St. Patrick's Day.

Only makes sense that Grunfeld finally signs Ilyasova to a 4 year contract so that he can play out the tail end of his career with Washington.

I wouldn't even be mad to be honest, but there's just as big a chance that he spends the money on Jeff Green, a guy he's had a hard on for since the Thunder made him available.

Meliorus wrote:CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

My plan for the Centers would be to start Mahinmi and trade Gortat. My first choice would be to get Muscala, but if not I'd happily pay Withey and trade Gortat.

pcbothwel wrote:

Meliorus wrote:CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

My plan for the Centers would be to start Mahinmi and trade Gortat. My first choice would be to get Muscala, but if not I'd happily pay Withey and trade Gortat.

Muscala is having a great year, wow! Are you sure the Hawks don't want to keep him long-term?

Meliorus wrote:

pcbothwel wrote:

Meliorus wrote:CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

My plan for the Centers would be to start Mahinmi and trade Gortat. My first choice would be to get Muscala, but if not I'd happily pay Withey and trade Gortat.

Muscala is having a great year, wow! Are you sure the Hawks don't want to keep him long-term?

They might want to, but he is a UFA. The Hawks are falling off fast and dont see Millsap re-signing after he opt out this summer. Schroder looks good, but not AS level player, just average starting PG. Bazemore looks terrible and makes 17.5M per year. Dwight looks great, but he will be 32 with 35k minutes going into next year. And his back is starting to flair up again. I also think it is no coincidence he looks this good playing next to Milsap. That guy is such a jack of all trades, true professional... And he's gone

If Muscala loves it there, then sure. But they are not a contender or an up-and-comer, so I just dont see it.

Patrick Patterson is an underrated option here. Ask a Raps fan and they'll say he's a much more valuable player than his stats say. He's one of their best defenders, rarely misses defensive assignments (opposite of Markieff). He has nice lateral quickness which makes him useful on switches. He would tremendously benefit from the Wall effect. His career 3 point shot is 36.6%, so he would an upgrade in a lot of ways over Morris.

Someone interpret the advanced stats on him. I think he's a key guy to Toronto's success. I just watched a game where the Toronto announcers repeatedly mentioned how different the game would be with Patterson's defense.

Meliorus wrote:Patrick Patterson is an underrated option here. Ask a Raps fan and they'll say he's a much more valuable player than his stats say. He's one of their best defenders, rarely misses defensive assignments (opposite of Markieff). He has nice lateral quickness which makes him useful on switches. He would tremendously benefit from the Wall effect. His career 3 point shot is 36.6%, so he would an upgrade in a lot of ways over Morris.

Someone interpret the advanced stats on him. I think he's a key guy to Toronto's success.

I like him and dont think he's underrated, but the reason I didnt bring him up is because the MLE is 4/36M and I fully expect Patterson to get double that amount.

Unless we dump salary I think using the MLE is out the question because it will put us over the luxury tax. If we have to give the max to Otto, based on conservative cap estimates, we may be right at or just over the luxury tax line without making any additional moves.

Fact is Ernie really screwed the pooch this past off-season. The $106 million we gave to Mahinmi, Nicholson & Smith has put us in the position where we may have to dump Gortat or give up an asset to remove one of our bad contracts off the cap this summer.

Meliorus wrote:

pcbothwel wrote:Looking at this list, I see a number of interesting names that I will keep an eye on throughout the season:

PG
Patty Mills - Great backup PG, but he will probably be looking for more then the MLE or at the very least a chance to start

SG
CJ Miles - One of the last straight from HS players that has proven to be a solid all around player. Lights out 3 point shooter than score in multiple ways while playing strong defense. He turns 30 in the spring, which is the only reason he would get the MLE instead of 4/75M someone 3-5 years younger would get for the same production. No injury history and only 13k minutes on the tires.

Ian Clark - 4 year player from Belmont that has shown to be a solid all around scorer that doesnt turn the ball over, but he doesnt get to the line and his improvement so far could be product of SSS/GSW. Keep an eye on

SF
No one stands out and we have Otto and Oubre

PF
Patrick Patterson - Top 10 recruit out of HS and played with Wall at Kentucky. Has turned into a real stretch 4 that doesnt hurt you with TOV or fouls. 5th in RPM according to ESPN and has playoff experience with Toronto. Could probably get more money (4/60M would be my guess), but you never know sometimes

Terrance Jones - Another highly recruited PF from Kentucky, but has not shown he can space the floor. His defense is pretty good, but I dont see him as a better player than Morris and he seems to have a lot of the same Strengths and Weaknesses. Probably not a good fit.

Mike Muscala - My personal favorite and someone I really liked in the 2013 draft. Can score in many ways including from 3. Has cut down on his fouling a really looks solid defending either 4's or 5's. The minute FA starts I would through the MLE and pray he accepts. Might be under appreciated because of:
- Skin color: white bigs can be viewed as nonathletic if they dont blow you away with dunks.
- Pedigree: Not highly recruited, played 4 years at Bucknell, was a 2nd round pick, and is not a starter.
- Team: The Hawks have been good the last couple years, but they didnt get national recognitation and played a less exciting, cerebral ball/player movement type of basketball (Coach Bud)

C
Dewayne Dedmon - Should of been signed instead of Mahinmi ... Plays great defense, scores efficiently and rebounds. But does not get to the line that often and fouls too much

Jeff Withey - Much like Dedmon, Withey is a defense first player that scores efficiently and blocks shots. But he doesnt rebound well.

Both of these guys (along with Muscala) are at the top of the list for FA and would then trade Gortat in a heart beat. Withey has a higher likelihood of being available due to Utah having Gobert and many other FA-to-be. Gun to my head... I probably take Withey over Dedmon due to shot blocking and FT shooting, but I would need to dig deeper to give final assessment.

Well... All yours folks

CJ Miles and Patterson look like perfect options. Really want Mills but he won't play behind Wall. We're not signing any centers with that much money tied to 3 of them already.

Mills/Patterson/Miles would be good choices if available for the MLE. Other than that I think the best option is to split the MLE - I think Muscala may be available for a fraction of the MLE.

Dat2U wrote:Unless we dump salary I think using the MLE is out the question because it will put us over the luxury tax. If we have to give the max to Otto, based on conservative cap estimates, we may be right at or just over the luxury tax line without making any additional moves.

Fact is Ernie really screwed the pooch this past off-season. The $106 million we gave to Mahinmi, Nicholson & Smith has put us in the position where we may have to dump Gortat or give up an asset to remove one of our bad contracts off the cap this summer.

As long as the Wizards continue to follow The Plan™ and compete for the playoffs while staying under the luxury tax, it's all good.

Dat2U wrote:Unless we dump salary I think using the MLE is out the question because it will put us over the luxury tax. If we have to give the max to Otto, based on conservative cap estimates, we may be right at or just over the luxury tax line without making any additional moves.

Fact is Ernie really screwed the pooch this past off-season. The $106 million we gave to Mahinmi, Nicholson & Smith has put us in the position where we may have to dump Gortat or give up an asset to remove one of our bad contracts off the cap this summer.

This year, we had the following cap numbers:
Salary cap: $94.1M
Luxtax threshold: $113.3M
4-year vet max contract: $22.1M

Applying those same ratios to the projected cap next year, we get:
Salary cap: $103M
Luxtax threshold: $124M
4-year vet max contract: $24.2M

Our committed salary next year for the 9 players under contract is $96.0M. Assuming no trades this year, we will add to that total a 1st round pick in the teens, which will cost about $1.5M. So that brings our payroll up to $97.5M.

If Otto gets a full max contract, we will have just $2.3M in luxtax room to add another player. We're also going to need 2 or 3 minimum salary vets to get our roster size up to 13-14, so there is no effective luxtax room if Otto gets the max.

So ultimately, our flexibility to add free agents will come solely from whatever disparity there is between Otto's actual contract and the $24.2M max salary. If Otto signs a $16M a year contract, then we'll have the full MLE. If Otto signs a $20M contract, then we'll have $4.2M available.

nate33 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Unless we dump salary I think using the MLE is out the question because it will put us over the luxury tax. If we have to give the max to Otto, based on conservative cap estimates, we may be right at or just over the luxury tax line without making any additional moves.

Fact is Ernie really screwed the pooch this past off-season. The $106 million we gave to Mahinmi, Nicholson & Smith has put us in the position where we may have to dump Gortat or give up an asset to remove one of our bad contracts off the cap this summer.

This year, we had the following cap numbers:
Salary cap: $94.1M
Luxtax threshold: $113.3M
4-year vet max contract: $22.1M

Applying those same ratios to the projected cap next year, we get:
Salary cap: $103M
Luxtax threshold: $124M
4-year vet max contract: $24.2M

Our committed salary next year for the 9 players under contract is $96.0M. Assuming no trades this year, we will add to that total a 1st round pick in the teens, which will cost about $1.5M. So that brings our payroll up to $97.5M.

If Otto gets a full max contract, we will have just $2.3M in luxtax room to add another player. We're also going to need 2 or 3 minimum salary vets to get our roster size up to 13-14, so there is no effective luxtax room if Otto gets the max.

So ultimately, our flexibility to add free agents will come solely from whatever disparity there is between Otto's actual contract and the $24.2M max salary. If Otto signs a $16M a year contract, then we'll have the full MLE. If Otto signs a $20M contract, then we'll have $4.2M available.

We have Otto's bird rights. Does that change anything?

Meliorus wrote:

nate33 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Unless we dump salary I think using the MLE is out the question because it will put us over the luxury tax. If we have to give the max to Otto, based on conservative cap estimates, we may be right at or just over the luxury tax line without making any additional moves.

Fact is Ernie really screwed the pooch this past off-season. The $106 million we gave to Mahinmi, Nicholson & Smith has put us in the position where we may have to dump Gortat or give up an asset to remove one of our bad contracts off the cap this summer.

This year, we had the following cap numbers:
Salary cap: $94.1M
Luxtax threshold: $113.3M
4-year vet max contract: $22.1M

Applying those same ratios to the projected cap next year, we get:
Salary cap: $103M
Luxtax threshold: $124M
4-year vet max contract: $24.2M

Our committed salary next year for the 9 players under contract is $96.0M. Assuming no trades this year, we will add to that total a 1st round pick in the teens, which will cost about $1.5M. So that brings our payroll up to $97.5M.

If Otto gets a full max contract, we will have just $2.3M in luxtax room to add another player. We're also going to need 2 or 3 minimum salary vets to get our roster size up to 13-14, so there is no effective luxtax room if Otto gets the max.

So ultimately, our flexibility to add free agents will come solely from whatever disparity there is between Otto's actual contract and the $24.2M max salary. If Otto signs a $16M a year contract, then we'll have the full MLE. If Otto signs a $20M contract, then we'll have $4.2M available.

We have Otto's bird rights. Does that change anything?

No. The issue here isn't cap room. It's luxtax room. There are not shenanigans available (like postponing the signing of Porter until others are signed) that will make any difference. The bottom line is that Ted will not permit a payroll exceeding $124M.