http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/20 ... t_pis.htmlA reality check on Detroit Pistons' 2010 salary cap situation
It's always fun to discuss trade rumors and potential free agents moves, but you can't address these topics in the NBA without taking the salary cap into consideration. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you're aware that the 2010 free agent class is one of the most exciting in NBA history. Superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Yao Ming could all be market. While it's fun to anticipate where these players might end up, you should know the Detroit Pistons currently don't have the cap room to make a significant offseason splash. Pistons.com's Keith Langois breaks it down.
The Pistons will be limited to their use of the mid-level and biannual exceptions next summer. But here’s what fans should know: Even if they hadn’t signed Gordon and Villanueva, it’s very doubtful they would have had enough cap room to bid on a player like Bosh. With their contract obligations to Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey, Austin Daye and Chris Wilcox (assuming he exercises his player option), the Pistons are on the hook for roughly $35 million next season. Throw in the contracts of Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers and add another $2 million, estimated. They’ll need to keep a cap hold for Will Bynum as a restricted free agent. And they’ll have to add three more minimum-salary spots to get to the 12 roster spots needed for calculating a team’s cap room. You’re basically at $40 million heading into July 1 when the NBA sets the salary cap for the coming season. There are estimates the cap could come down to as low as $50 million. For the sake of planning, most are using a figure of $53 million. That means the Pistons would have about $13 million or so to offer a premium free agent, when a player like Bosh will be expecting a maximum contract, which should start at something above $16 million. So that’s a pretty important point.
So without Gordon and Villanueva's contracts, the Pistons were still unlikely to be a player in next year's free agent market. With those contracts Detroit will already be on the books for more than $50 million not including the money it will take to retain Will Bynum. This of course assumes Detroit won't make any move before the trade deadline. Still, even trading away Hamilton and his $12.6 million salary for an expiring contract wouldn't clear up enough room to pursue a player like Bosh. If Detroit could manage to unload both Hamilton and Prince for a massive expiring contract like Houston's Tracy McGrady, the Pistons could potentially have the wiggle room to lure a player like Bosh, but at that point you have to wonder if giving away more than you're getting back.
