Re: cap space, max contracts, baker deal

[Roy Enrile <renrile@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, Ken Kokubo wrote:

> >wouldn't Kenny have given us nine million or so of cap space? 
>Also someone had done the math during the year and figured there 
>would be almost no way to sign a Duncan FA class player to a max contract 

No, I think with rookie raises, and Pot's increases, the C's would
have less than nine million if they stood pat.  

Here are 2 scenarios from a cap space standpoint, using the players
affected by the trades, and trying to factor in the rookie scale raises.

I calculated approximate salary in 2003, plan A:
Baker + Delk + Kedrick - Shammond(salary dump) - Rogers(salary dump) =
16.5 Million

Then by standing pat w/ our 2 allstars and picks, plan B:
JJ + Kedrick + Forte + Casey Jacobson(or the equivalent instead of Delk) +
Potapenko - Anderson(salary dump) = 
10.5 million


Assuming other players on the team put you at the luxury hard cap, then:
Plan B lets you keep all the listed draftpicks plus about a 6 million
dollar free agent.  Plan A might give you a guy who outplayed then held
his own with Duncan for a bit in the playoffs, and who still looked 
skillful/athletic compared to other U.S. Olympians). 

The gamble(trades) don't seem too risky.  Before BSG and others come with
more depressed/suicidal posts, I say wait.  The 2003 cap space loss
isn't a death blow.  Baker is hungry (in a basketball sense). From some
playoff and olympic performances, he's still more coordinated/polished
than Jermaine Oneal, or any big man in the east.


-Roy

P.S. I'm praying that Obie doesn't go only with his comfy plays,
turning Baker into a bailout/15FootJumpshootingCenter.  I remember
getting angry because Vitaly and Battie had a bit of lowpost skill till
Pitino and Obie got ahold of them.  

Also hope that even though Wallace lost the number 10 pick AGAIN (JJ,
Moiso), for pretty much nothing, maybe the next yrs pick from the Moiso
trade #16-26 turns into a  PASSER/bomber point guard like Brett Nelson,
Steve Blake.