Re: Calling All Capologists

On Fri, 03 Jan 1997 21:47:43 -0500, you wrote:

>2 questions for all you cap geniuses out there:
>
>1.  For how much longer is Stacey Augmon signed?  I like the Brown for=20
>Augmon deal, but not if Augmon's contract is more of a millstone than=20
>Dee's.  Maybe ML will play Augmon, Day, Minor, Barros and Fox together=20
>-- the first all 2-guard lineup!

Stacey Augmon is signed through the 99-2000 season.  Which is to say
exactly the same length as Dee's contract.

>2.  Assuming David Wesley can be re-signed for any amount under the Bird=
=20
>rule, are there any limits on how his contract can be structured?  For=20
>instance, could the C's sign him to a 5 yr deal paying $10M in '97-98=20
>(when we won't need the cap space since there aren't any decent free=20
>agents anyway) and $1.25M in each of the following 4 yrs (when there=20
>will be a new crop of 3 yr players each yr)?  I think Wes has earned a=20
>long term deal (especially since I don't think any of the point guards=20
>out there are worth a top 10 pick this year); I just don't think it's=20
>worth sacrificing our maneuverability to give him one.  I recall the=20
>Knicks doing something like this with Ewing (he made $18.7M last year=20
>and is making about $3M this year -- the goal was to create cap space to=
=20
>sign free agents, which the Knicks obviously did).

Yes, there are limits on the structure of his contract.  Under the new
CBA, A player can only receive a raise equal to 20% of the first year
of the contract in any other year of the contract.  So the contract
Ewing negotiated with the Knicks would be illegal under the new CBA.
I haven't seen any comment on whether you can decrease the value of
the contract form year to year.  The arrangement you suggest clearly
violates the spirit of the CBA, but I don't know if it violates the
letter (I would certainly guess that it does).

Bill Cooper
wfcooper@tiac.com

P.S. I saw someone suggest that the Celts ought to negotiate a
contract extension with Wesley now.  While I certainly agree with the
sentiment (that Wes has contributed to the Celtics far out of
proportion to his current salary), this would be a disaster from a cap
point of view.  If the Celts extend Wesley's contract now, they lose
the ability to count his current salary (350K)+50% towards their cap
for the 97-98 season.  Instead they would have to count the
renegotiated value of the contract (surely more than 525K).