MagicMatic wrote:Magic aren’t paying 3 guys max money and going to be able to field a real team. That’s not for 3-5 years from now, but it’s the truth if they plan on building a sustainable roster. Orlando’s ownership isn’t paying that tax either
. Not trying to be Phoenix 2.0 because people live in fantasy land.
And yeah, Orlando is in a GOOD spot. Let’s keep it that way for a little bit until the ceiling is capped. I have no problem with them going out and getting a guy to fill in, but this talk of Booker etc. is borderline absurd 2k talk from Twitter children.
There are vastly different degrees of "max" contract though.
Year ---- 6 years or less ---- 7-9 years ---- 10+ years
2024/25 - $36,725,670 - $44,070,804 - $51,415,938
2025/26 - $39,446,090 - $47,335,308 - $55,224,526
2026/27 - $42,166,510 - $50,599,512 - $59,033,114
2027/28 - $44,886,930 - $53,864,316 - $62,841,702
There's a massive gap between the $36M max that Franz will agree to this summer and somebody like Damian Lillard who is making $54.2 and $58.6M in the last two years of his deal.
That 20 extra million that a guy like Lillard makes, when you spread out over 3 different max contracts is the equivalent to a 4th max deal.
The cap next year is going to be $141M with the luxury tax at $172M. The second apron of the luxury tax is going to be $190M. All of those figures are going to keep increasing over the next 7-10 years with the new television contracts and the two expansion teams that will inevitably be added in the next 4-5 years.
The Magic won't really be in any sort of real financial danger until Paolo, Franz and Suggs are signing their third contracts to be frank.
They are in a great position to get aggressive without really hurting the long-term future as much as people think.
The teams that are in the most trouble in the short term are the teams like the Clippers and Bucks and Celtics, the ones who have been actively trying to win the championship for the last 5-6 years.