Prokorov wrote:as of now like 18.3M if we renounce foye 20M if we waive acy/goodwin 23 million.
with raises we can meet even the steepest asking price. although i wouldnt really want to go with much more then 18M per
We could potentially offer even more money by creatively using performance bonuses. I've recently read an interesting article about how Miami used them this offseason in order to "maximize their cap space", so I just thought it might be worth sharing in addition to your explanation:
So how did the Heat manage to create an extra $2.1 million of cap room?
By cleverly leveraging a tool they tend to only rarely ever utilize – the performance bonus.
Performance bonuses are exactly what they sound like – bonuses that a player can earn if he achieves certain performance-related milestones (e.g., games played, points per game, rebounds per game, etc.). But how they are treated for salary cap purposes has the potential to create intricate opportunities.
Performance bonuses are classified by the NBA as either “likely to be achieved” or “unlikely to be achieved.” The distinction is critical because likely bonuses are included in the player’s salary (and thus count toward a team’s maximum available cap space), but unlikely bonuses are not.
With a bit of creativity, the Heat could therefore potentially increase its total cap space beyond the limits of the $99 million salary cap by offering players contracts that contains bonuses which are deemed by the NBA as “unlikely to be achieved.” In such a case, the bonus portion of the contract could potentially not count against the salary cap (but still be paid out if it is ultimately earned), freeing up that cap space to be spent elsewhere!
The NBA determines whether a bonus is deemed likely or unlikely to be achieved based on whether the criterion was achieved in the previous season. For example, if a player averaged 7.0 assists per game in 2016-17, then a performance bonus for 2017-18 based on 7.0 assists per game would be classified as “likely to be achieved” (and included in the player’s cap hit), but a bonus based on 8.0 assists per game would be classified as “unlikely to be achieved” (and not included in the player’s cap hit). Therefore, it’s rather easy to structure a bonus for a guy like Waiters, who played just 46 games last season, which might be considered unlikely to be achieved but, in reality, seem imminently achievable.
Bonuses deemed unlikely to be achieved are limited to 15% of the base salary in each season of the contract at the time of signing. All bonuses are re-evaluated at the end of each season, to determine whether they should be reclassified as likely or unlikely.
This type of maneuverability would seem too good to be true, as if the Heat would be perpetrating a scheme that would effectively be bending (if not outright breaking) the salary cap rules. But would it be?
Absolutely not!
Despite the fact that this is rarely used in NBA circles (for various, practical reasons), it is perfectly legal.
The CBA contains detailed and explicit rules specifically designed to reduce the likelihood of this very thing. But the rules only reduce the possibility, not eliminate it. It is this weakness that the Heat exploited!
Follow the following explanation closely: NBA rules state that when a new contract is submitted to the league office for approval, the entire potential payout – including the base salary, any likely bonuses, and any unlikely bonuses – must fit within the team’s available cap room (or available exception, as the case may be). Not only that, when determining the team’s available cap room, the unlikely bonuses from all contracts signed that season are subtracted. Which, seemingly, eliminates the possibility.
But here’s the thing: the rule only applies at the point the incentive-laden contract is signed.
As long as the first-year salary – including both likely and unlikely bonuses — in any new contract(s) fits within the team’s cap room at the point the contract is officially executed, the contract is legal. The first-year salary thereafter excludes the amount of the unlikely bonus.
The Heat manipulated these rules with each of Waiters, Olynyk and Johnson:
Dion Waiters’ contract was publicly reported as 4-years, $52 million, but that’s not technically how it is structured. Waiters will actually receive $47.3 million in base salary, plus up to another $4.7 million in bonus money. All of that bonus money has been deemed unlikely to be achieved. Which means that after the contract was approved, only the first-year base salary was charged against the cap for this season; that’s $11.0 million, without the $1.1 million in bonus money.
Kelly Olynyk’s contract was publicly reported as 4-years, $50 million (with a player option on the final year), but that’s not technically how it was structured. He will actually receive $45.6 million in base salary, plus up to another $5.6 million in bonus money. All of that bonus money has been deemed unlikely to be achieved. (He also has a trade bonus equal to the lesser of 5% of the remaining value of the contract and $2 million.) Which means that after the contract was approved, only the first-year base salary was charged against the cap for this season; that’s $10.6 million, without the $1.4 million in bonus money.
James Johnson’s contract was publicly reported as 4-years, $60 million (with a player option on the final year), but that’s not technically how it was structured. He will actually receive $59.1 million in base salary, plus up to another $946K in bonus money(1). That bonus money, unlike the others, does count against the salary cap. Which means that after the contract was approved, the $13.7 million first-year salary, and the $220K bonus, was charged against the cap for this season; that’s $14.0 million.
http://heathoops.com/2017/07/the-miami-heat-creatively-locks-in-its-vision-for-the-future/This seems like something Sean Marks and his team could pull off as well.
