'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 42

[nasty daddy]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/07/08/mone ... n-the-nba/

Money Just Got Tighter in the NBA
For just the second time since the NBA adopted a salary cap in 1984-85, the cap will decline from the previous year. David Stern first hinted at the possibility during the All-Star break, and the league officially confirmed the news late Tuesday night. According to the official release: "the Salary Cap for the 2009-10 season will be $57.7 million. The tax level for the 2009-10 season has been set at $69.92 million." For those scoring at home, that's down from $58.68 million and $71.15 million, respectively, in 2008-09.

That's a difference of a little more than a million, which may not seem like much unless you're a fringe NBA player hoping to land a job for the league minimum. While many teams have signed 14 or 15 players to guaranteed contracts, my guess is that we'll see more teams opt for a 13-man roster. For all the free agents hustling for a job this week in the Orlando Pro Summer League and next week in the Vegas Summer League, that's awfully depressing news.

It's not all that surprising to see the NBA forced to tighten its purse strings, but it's worth noting that even in this notoriously difficult economy, all isn't lost: league revenues actually climbed 2.5% this past season; the reason the cap declined is because of the formula used in the CBA. Also of note: the league's mid-level exception is now worth $5.854 million; when you factor in the annual 8 percent raises allowed under the CBA, a player receiving the MLE for the full five years will make slightly more than $33.9 million over the life of his contract, or nearly $6.8 million a year.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/07/mc ... or-piston/

McDyess apparently will be a Spur or Piston
The Spurs are the frontrunners for Antonio McDyess, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Adrian Wojnarowki of Yahoo! Sports reports the same. But there’s a good chance Antonio McDyess returns to the Pistons, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports. Berger says its between Detroit and San Antonio. The Express-News says McDyess’s offer from the Spurs is two years at the full mid-level exception with a third year partially guaranteed. That would mean his deal would start at $5.85 million. The NBA announced today the salary cap is set at $57.7 million. By my count, that leaves the Pistons with nearly $4 million cap room.

The NBA announced today the salary cap is set at $57.7 million. By my count, that leaves the Pistons with nearly $4 million cap room.
Player 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Richard Hamilton $11,625,000 $12,650,000 $12,650,000 $12,650,000 $0
Tayshaun Prince $10,324,380 $11,148,760 $0 $0 $0
Ben Gordon $9,000,000 $9,720,000 $10,440,000 $11,160,000 $11,880,000
Charlie Villanueva $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000
Jason Maxiell $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $0
Kwame Brown $4,100,000 $0 $0 $0 $0
Rodney Stuckey $1,805,040 $2,767,126 $3,868,442 $0 $0
Fabricio Oberto $1,800,000 $0 $0 $0 $0
Austin Daye $1,398,200 $1,503,100 $1,875,500 $2,875,142 $4,019,448
Arron Afflalo $1,086,240 $1,959,577 $2,906,053 $0 $0
Will Bynum $825,497 $0 $0 $0 $0
Walter Sharpe $736,420 $0 $0 $0 $0
TOTALS: $53,700,777 $51,248,563 $43,739,995 $39,185,142 $23,899,448
Team Option, Qualify Offer, Player Option

So, the Spurs could make a fairly larger offer. And they obviously have a better shot at a title. Throw in his summer home in Houston, it makes sense for McDyess to leave. But it’s clear he likes Detroit. And the Pistons would definitely benefit by his return. He’d help the team with his rebounding, mid-range shooting and defense. He’d also be a great mentor for younger players. I’m hoping he stays. But the numbers don’t look promising.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/0 ... index.html

Reports: Bibby staying put in Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Mike Bibby will re-sign with the Hawks for three years and about $18 million. Bibby isn't necessarily the perfect fit at point for the Hawks (a true play-making point would get more out of Josh Smith), but he's a good shooter who can play off of Joe Johnson.

The Hawks need another player to take the next step to contention, but they're busy trying to bring back Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia. They added Jamal Crawford in a June 25 trade and could still former Hawk Josh Childress, who played in Greece last season. But they still need more offensive firepower to take the pressure off of Johnson.

Bibby staying in Atlanta isn't a surprise, and leaves Andre Miller as the only unrestricted point guard who can make an impact on a new team next season.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/0 ... index.html

Andersen agrees to re-sign with Nuggets
A source close to the discussions said late Tuesday that Denver Nuggets free agent center Chris Andersen has agreed with the team on a five-year, $26 million contract extension.

Andersen was Denver's top offseason priority, and the team moved quickly to re-sign him, meeting with the veteran, who turned 31 Tuesday, and his representatives this past weekend. Because Andersen did not possess his "Larry Bird" rights, which would have allowed the Nuggets to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him, the only way the Nuggets could keep him was to use the mid-level exception. They did not use all of it, though, because they are right at the tax threshold (and above next year's threshold of $69.92 million), and wanted to backload Andersen's deal. "Everything they said they would do, they did," said a source close to Andersen. "They said he was their priority, and they came out to see him, and they got it done." "I think what we're trying to do is make things work for each other," the source said. "There's mutual respect between Chris and the Nuggets."

Because Denver is already perilously close to paying luxury tax next season -- the Nuggets have already committed $70 million in salaries to 10 players, including first-round pick Ty Lawson, and last year's tax threshhold of $71.15 million is likely to come down for 2009-10 -- the Nuggets are trying to back-load Andersen's deal, paying him less up front and more of the deal in the final few years. Andersen has found a home in Denver, where he played early in his career, and where he returned last season after a brief stint in New Orleans toward the end of the 2008-09 season. He came back to the Hornets after serving a two-year suspension by the league for substance abuse, but wasn't in shape and didn't play much. Last season he came back strong, drawing a cult following in Denver for his defense and rebounding off the bench for the Nuggets. Re-signing him is their top offseason priority.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/0 ... index.html

LARGEST TRADE EXCEPTIONS
Team Amount(MILLIONS) Traded Expires
Denver $9.7 Allen Iverson (Detroit) 11/3/2009
Miami $4.3 Shawn Marion (Toronto) 2/15/2010
Denver $3.2 Chucky Atkins (OKC) 1/10/2010
Portland $2.9 Ike Diogu (Sacramento) 2/18/2010
Indiana $2.6 Jermaine O'Neal (Toronto) 7/9/2009
Houston $2.6 Steve Francis (Memphis) 12/24/2009
L.A. Lakers $2.5 Chris Mihm (Memphis) 2/15/2010
Milwaukee $2.1 Mo Williams (Cleveland) 8/13/2009
Orlando $2.0 Keyon Dooling (Nets) 7/21/2009

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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13217

Salary Cap Set At $57.7 Million
The NBA has set the salary cap for the 2009-10 season, and it's almost a million less than many expected (a flat number from last season's $58.6 million). Here is the text of the NBA's press release: The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2009-10 season will be $57.7 million. The tax level for the 2009-10 season has been set at $69.92 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $69.92 million. The 2008-09 Salary Cap was $58.68 million and the tax level was $71.15 million. Although league-wide revenue increased 2.5% this past season, the decrease in the Salary Cap and tax level for the 2009-10 season is the result of the formula used to set the Cap and tax under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The new Salary Cap and tax level go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 8, when the league's "moratorium period" ends and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades. The mid-level exception is $5.854 million for the 2009-10 season and the minimum team salary, which is set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $43.275 million.

So what does this mean? It means all those players who have already agreed to full MLE deals - Ron Artest with the L.A. Lakers, Trevor Ariza in Houston, Rasheed Wallace in Boston, Marcin Gortat with an offer sheet in Dallas - will have salaries that look like this if they do in fact sign for the full MLE:
Year 1 - $5,854,000
Year 2 - $6,322,320 (yearly increase of $468,320 - 8%)
Year 3 - $6,790,640
Year 4 - $7,258,960
Year 5 - $7,727,280
Total - $33,953,200

It also means that teams who committed all their cap space to a given free agent - such as the Toronto Raptors with Hedo Turkoglu - will be paying that player much less over the course of the contract than we initially thought. Reportedly the cap was going to stay relatively flat - or increase ever so slightly - so any previously supposed numbers will now have to be re-evaluated. It also means two players who will begin their fifth year in the NBA this season and signed maximum deals last summer to kick in after the end of their rookie contracts - Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams and New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul - will make less than they originally thought as well. That number is calculated based on a formula that includes 48.04% of projected Basketball Related Income - for more details on maximum contracts and other details surrounding this announcement, check out Larry Coon's CBA FAQ (question 11). Another thing to note is teams that had not spent their cap space now need to re-evaluate how much they have to spend and how much they are willing to spend for the remaining uncommitted free agents. Rest assured this announcement will impact quite a few teams - stay tuned to HOOPSWORLD on just how that will happen.