nate33 wrote:One other tangent to this conversation - directed at all of you who consider Abe to be cheap.
Teams that pay the luxtax miss out on the redistribution payment. This year, there will be more teams over the luxtax, and next year, even more teams will be over. Instead of the usual $3M redistribution, the redistribution will probably be in the neighborhood of $5-6M over each of the next 2 season.
Let's assume EG had a basic idea of the 2010/11 luxtax threshold prior to the draft. Let's also assume that we could have traded the #5 as a means of dumping DS^2 for raw cap space (via Portland or perhaps Dallas involving Stackhouse unguaranteed contract).
Had EG done so, we would have had a payroll of $72.5M this year, and $63M (after resiging Haywood to a $7M deal). Our total costs, counting luxtax and redistribution over the next two years would have been something like $137M. But by making the trade, our payroll is $76M and $70M over the next two years (assuming Haywood and Foye are resigned somewhat cheaply, and Miller is cut). That means our total costs are $170M (about $184M if we retain Miller). Ultimately, Abe could have saved between $33 and 47M by doing the cheap thing on draft day.
I have never accused Abe of being cheap. And if Abe was the one who wanted to sell the 2nd rounder for $2.5 million to put towards future luxury tax payments, I completely understand.
My problem is with EG putting us in this position in the first place. Contrary to CCJ's diatribe against the Arenas re-signing, I'd like to point to all the other moves EG has made where he totally ignored the long term financial implications. Songaila, AD, DeShawn for example. I understand the argument Sev made about needing to overpay to get a guy like AD but honestly they weren't worth the cost. The only time I'd say its worth overpaying to keep or acquire a role player is when the team has actual championship aspirations. Giving AD those extra years wasn't getting us out of the first round. And not giving DeShawn $20 million wasn't going to turn us from a 43 game winner into a 33 game winner.
Secondly, EG has traded the 5th pick on two occassions. I understand the desire to acquire a veteran and not have to wait for a young player to develop. But odds are, if you have a top 5 pick, your getting a solid NBA contributor. And one that has the added benefit of being paid on a rookie wage scale. So when EG trades for a veteran making $14 mil a year, or trades for two guys entering their contract years, not only does he forgo adding a relatively inexpensive contributor to the roster, he potentially explodes the cap by adding one or two pieces that cost significantly more.
I find it hard to believe that in one year Miller & Foye could potentially demand 12-15 million per year combined, when we could have easily had a talented guy on the rookie scale at around $4 mil per. Even if you add in Songaila's salary for one year, its still less than $9 mil combined.
To me that's poor financial mangement. Passing up the opportunity to use the 32nd pick to cheapily fill a roster spot also seems short sighted IMO as well. $2.5 million is nothing to sneeze at but its not like we were trading a mid or late 2nd rounder. The 32nd pick is often has more value then late 1st round picks b/c regardless of what draft it is, there's 1st round talent that slips to the 2nd round and can be had at a rookie minimum price. But we were forced into the position of selling off assets b/c of EG's inability to reign in spending.
