Hornets Cap Outlook

[fatlever]

LOL, but, but I thought Warriors/Cavs steamrolling thru the playoffs was great for the league.

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[HornetJail]

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I'm assuming this kills our ability to offer anyone the full MLE and also stay under the tax, right?

Yes, we are somewhere between $112-113M once we lose Sessions. Dumping JOB and Weber gets us to a full MLE, but I feel like I prefer JOB + Weber + $6M piece over one $9M piece. All depends on who's available in that price range though.

[BlackOutBuzz]

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I'm assuming this kills our ability to offer anyone the full MLE and also stay under the tax, right?

Yes, but we can still use the full MLE if we stay under the "Apron" (projected at $125M). Our current roster - Sessions + pick 11 + MLE puts us at about $121.6M, a bit over the tax but still able to use full MLE. Even just enough room to slide the Bi-Annual in ($3.3M), and come in at $124.95M. That's 14 players, but adding pick 31 would put us over.

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[fatlever]

Blackout, do you think it is likely the Hornets will see the 31st pick in order to create some extra room for free agents?

Spencer has also been talking about this today

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Wouldn't we be better off just keeping 31 and not using the BAE?

[BlackOutBuzz]

Blackout, do you think it is likely the Hornets will see the 31st pick in order to create some extra room for free agents?

Spencer has also been talking about this today

Wouldn't we be better off just keeping 31 and not using the BAE?

It doesn't really work the way he's saying it, unless I'm misunderstanding him. Yeah, they can trade the pick for up to $3.6M cash, but that doesn't turn into cap space. In reality we'd only be saving a minimum cap hold of $815k, so I don't see it as worth it. I think it's much more likely that one of our unguaranteed contracts would be cut instead of just dumping the pick.

Then again, we haven't made a second round pick in five years, so who knows.

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[BlackOutBuzz]

Another thing; while yes we are so, so close to the line, the line still won't be official until the start of free agency. I really don't see us making a move like this when it could be for null in two weeks if the cap edges a bit higher.

Best guess is this won't even factor in tonight, unless we're talking about taking in another huge deal. Then, if we need a bit of breathing room to get under the official line we'll just renounce our FAs, Daniels TPE, and either the BAE or cut an unguaranteed contract.

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[fatlever]

This is why we pay you the big bucks Blackout.

[chabber]

There is an apron above the tax limit anyway before your exceptions start changing $ amounts and you always have until later in the season to get under the tax limit if paying tax is a concern.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Assuming Sessions is cut and we sign Bacon to a minimum deal as opposed to a two-way, I've got us at $126,259,796 if you include the Mid-Level and Bi-Annual exceptions (this means renouncing Wood, Roberts, and the Daniels TPE). Of course, based on recent projections, this puts us over the tax line ($119M) and more importantly the apron ($125M).

The last number is the critical one, because it impedes our ability to use the full MLE. This is seemingly a no-brainer, getting under the apron is a necessity. If everything stays as projected, the simplest way to do this is by cutting one of our 3 unguaranteed contracts in the $1.3M-$1.5M range and slide back under the $125M mark. (I'd say we could sign Bacon to a two-way contract, and we may, but removing his minimum amount isn't enough to get us under). From there we can use the MLE ($8,406,000) and BAE ($3,290,000) to find our backup point guard and another big.

Say we cut JOB to get under the apron:

Kemba, MLE, Weber
Batum, Monk, Lamb
MKG, Graham, Bacon
Marvin, Frank, BAE
Cody, Dwight

Then add a couple other players to two-way deals. I haven't seen if the tax rates changed under the new CBA, but under the old measures this would put our tax expense at $8,787,109.50.

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[Cheeze]

What if Charlotte simply keeps JOB and only uses the MLE? I think Charlotte will go shopping for a backup point guard, but I'm not convinced they'll pursue a full MLE-level player. I also think it more likely the Hornets try for a player in Session's salary slot and keep the bi-annual for injury insurance. 'Course, it's not my money. Maybe MJ would be willing to pay the tax if it gets them the right player.

[BlackOutBuzz]

What if Charlotte simply keeps JOB and only uses the MLE? I think Charlotte will go shopping for a backup point guard, but I'm not convinced they'll pursue a full MLE-level player.

Possible they waive the BAE, but I think they're at least gonna try to use it on a slight upgrade on the bench.

In the post-cap boom NBA it's gonna be hard to find a quality backup even with the full MLE. Though only using part of it is certainly a possibility.

It's worth noting that at the time Sessions' salary was above MLE, which is why we could only sign him with cap room. An equal player now might take the full MLE to acquire.

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[Cheeze]

What if Charlotte simply keeps JOB and only uses the MLE? I think Charlotte will go shopping for a backup point guard, but I'm not convinced they'll pursue a full MLE-level player.

Possible they waive the BAE, but I think they're at least gonna try to use it on a slight upgrade on the bench.

In the post-cap boom NBA it's gonna be hard to find a quality backup even with the full MLE. Though only using part of it is certainly a possibility.

It's worth noting that at the time Sessions' salary was above MLE, which is why we could only sign him with cap room. An equal player now might take the full MLE to acquire.

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Yeah, thought about that. But would Raymond Felton really get the full MLE?

[BlackOutBuzz]

Man, who knows. The cap went from increasing by 8 figures a year to going down a bit this year. We'll know soon enough.

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[stinger14]

Assuming Sessions is cut and we sign Bacon to a minimum deal as opposed to a two-way, I've got us at $126,259,796 if you include the Mid-Level and Bi-Annual exceptions (this means renouncing Wood, Roberts, and the Daniels TPE). Of course, based on recent projections, this puts us over the tax line ($119M) and more importantly the apron ($125M).

The last number is the critical one, because it impedes our ability to use the full MLE. This is seemingly a no-brainer, getting under the apron is a necessity. If everything stays as projected, the simplest way to do this is by cutting one of our 3 unguaranteed contracts in the $1.3M-$1.5M range and slide back under the $125M mark. (I'd say we could sign Bacon to a two-way contract, and we may, but removing his minimum amount isn't enough to get us under). From there we can use the MLE ($8,406,000) and BAE ($3,290,000) to find our backup point guard and another big.

Say we cut JOB to get under the apron:

Kemba, MLE, Weber
Batum, Monk, Lamb
MKG, Graham, Bacon
Marvin, Frank, BAE
Cody, Dwight

Then add a couple other players to two-way deals. I haven't seen if the tax rates changed under the new CBA, but under the old measures this would put our tax expense at $8,787,109.50.

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Maybe trade MKG for Wilson Chandler and save 1.7 million

[BuzzCity]

Man, who knows. The cap went from increasing by 8 figures a year to going down a bit this year. We'll know soon enough.

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If we were to pick up Sessions' team option and trade him ($6.27 mill) and Lamb ($7 mill) for Lin ($12 mill), what else would need to happen for us to be able to use the full MLE?

[BlackOutBuzz]

Man, who knows. The cap went from increasing by 8 figures a year to going down a bit this year. We'll know soon enough.

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If we were to pick up Sessions' team option and trade him ($6.27 mill) and Lamb ($7 mill) for Lin ($12 mill), what else would need to happen for us to be able to use the full MLE?

If the cap stays as currently projected, it could work if we renounce all other exceptions (BAE, TPE, Wood/Roberts holds) and then cutting all of Weber, Graham, and JOB (or keep one and not sign Bacon, I suppose). Would leave us pretty shallow.

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[BlackOutBuzz]

Man, who knows. The cap went from increasing by 8 figures a year to going down a bit this year. We'll know soon enough.

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If we were to pick up Sessions' team option and trade him ($6.27 mill) and Lamb ($7 mill) for Lin ($12 mill), what else would need to happen for us to be able to use the full MLE?

If the cap stays as currently projected, it could work if we renounce all other exceptions (BAE, TPE, Wood/Roberts holds) and then cutting all of Weber, Graham, and JOB (or keep one and not sign Bacon, I suppose). Would leave us pretty shallow.

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Alternative Lin trade: We can cut Sessions and offer up Lamb + 2 of Weber/Graham/JOB, then they can cut them if they want. Doesn't really change much from the previous scenario Re: MLE.

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[BlackOutBuzz]

Here's a simpler way to look at it: $116.6M, that's the number we have to stay under (assuming current projections hold) to still get the full MLE.

Current guaranteed salaries come to about $109.4 (9 players, including Monk) and then another 4 unguaranteed worth $5.1M. That brings us to $114.6M, so about $2M worth of breathing room to still keep the MLE.

However, I included Sessions in none if this, so he's gotta go. There's just enough room for Daniels' TPE, that is until it expires July 5. If we want to also use the BAE, we'll need to carve out another $1.3M, which can be done by cutting one of the Weber/Graham/JOB trio.

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[BuzzCity]

If we were to pick up Sessions' team option and trade him ($6.27 mill) and Lamb ($7 mill) for Lin ($12 mill), what else would need to happen for us to be able to use the full MLE?

If the cap stays as currently projected, it could work if we renounce all other exceptions (BAE, TPE, Wood/Roberts holds) and then cutting all of Weber, Graham, and JOB (or keep one and not sign Bacon, I suppose). Would leave us pretty shallow.

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Alternative Lin trade: We can cut Sessions and offer up Lamb + 2 of Weber/Graham/JOB, then they can cut them if they want. Doesn't really change much from the previous scenario Re: MLE.

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Does that leave us any more breathing room than the first Lin trade?

[BlackOutBuzz]

If the cap stays as currently projected, it could work if we renounce all other exceptions (BAE, TPE, Wood/Roberts holds) and then cutting all of Weber, Graham, and JOB (or keep one and not sign Bacon, I suppose). Would leave us pretty shallow.

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Alternative Lin trade: We can cut Sessions and offer up Lamb + 2 of Weber/Graham/JOB, then they can cut them if they want. Doesn't really change much from the previous scenario Re: MLE.

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Does that leave us any more breathing room than the first Lin trade?

Nah, we're just switching the guys that get cut and traded. Just thought it may be a bit more enticing to Brooklyn because it would take less of their space and they can create a bit more by cutting the unguaranteed players.

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