NBA AM: Time to Re-evaluate Player Values

[Andrew]

NBA AM: Time to Re-evaluate Player Values

With the salary cap projected to increase from $70 million to an unprecedented $92 million thanks to the NBA’s new national television deal, just about every free agent will likely receive a contract that would’ve seemed ludicrous just two or three years ago.

Put simply, it’s time to re-evaluate how NBA players are valued since there will be so much money thrown around moving forward. Some seemingly ridiculous contracts will be handed out this offseason, and not just to the big-name players.

As I've said a couple of times in previous threads, it seems like $12-15 million is the new $5-8 million for yearly salaries.

[[Q]]

Is the mid-level changing too? or will that have to be re-negotiated in the next CBA

[benji]

It's locked in through 2020-21 if no changes.

For non-taxpayers:

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2016-17   $5.628 million
2017-18   $5.797 million
2018-19   $5.971 million
2019-20   $6.150 million
2020-21   $6.335 million

For taxpayers:

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2016-17   $3.477 million
2017-18   $3.581 million
2018-19   $3.688 million
2019-20   $3.799 million
2020-21   $3.913 million

But everybody is having cap space so few teams have to resort to those.

[NovU]

I am expecting Curry and Durant to get something like 40m per season. Oh shit, this is new age.

[benji]

They won't, for a while, the max is capped for everyone at 35% or below of the cap.

[[Q]]

They won't, for a while, the max is capped for everyone at 35% or below of the cap.

I think they should keep it at 35%, because when guys like Kobe could eventually get $30-33 million with annual raises limiting a team to only half of its salary cap for the rest of the roster, that's just not smart to allow teams to do because they'll do it, fuck themselves over, and want a bailout like they did with that amnesty clause

[Andrew]

I'm in two minds about that. On one hand, I do believe there should be a "safety net", and restrictions in place to ensure teams remain financially stable and don't do something incredibly foolish. On the other hand, I also believe that teams need to take responsibility for their own decisions, and deal with the consequences.

[benji]

Kobe was grandfathered in under older CBA rules. Contracts that are extended play by the old rules not the new ones, it's why LeBron, Wade and Bosh actually gave up more than just their base salaries when they teamed up because they all started new contracts with different raise scales and such. (LeBron has technically started a new contract again, but they've been done as one year extensions so he gets the raises.)

Shaq was in a similar situation, as was Dirk, but both notably took paycuts as they aged and the new CBA came about.

Jordan's years at $30 and $33 million (which IIRC were both 100+% of the salary cap for him alone) were because of another clause in a far older salary cap, there was no limit on teams over the cap repaying their own players. IIRC, Falk negotiated those two years (and a prospective third year before Jordan chose to retire) as if Jordan had been paid in line with other stars who had signed contracts since his in the years inbetween. Jordan actually played 1995-96 for like $3.5 million or something just above league average because he was still on his old deal, retiring doesn't stop your contract if you unretire. When he came back for the Wizards he simply played for the league minimum since those deals with the Bulls were only for one year each.

When Magic came back for the Lakers in '95-96 they used some crazy loophole... magic... to pay Magic two salaries since he was still being paid for his prior contract but he was also technically still a part owner and lol