So how does the 2014 – 2015 Salary Cap situation look now?
2013-07-07
Next off-season has frequently been mentioned as the time to sell a big name free agent on:
- Playing with Kyrie,
- Joining a young, up-and-coming team that just made the playoffs for the first time (hopeful thinking), and
- a maximum contract
After the signing of Jarrett Jack, how is the Cavs’ cap situation shaping up?
The 2013 – 2014 cap is $58.5 million, so an approximate level of $60 million seems likely for 2014 – 2015.
Kyrie, Tristan, Dion, Bennett, and Karasev will make $24 million combined. Jack’s deal adds $6 million.
Tyler Zeller could be kept for $1.7 million, but could be released. The 2014 rookie, or rookies, will contribute some towards the team’s salary limitations, unless they are traded or euro-stashed. Here’s a table of rookie salary scale. Take whatever draft slots that you think Cleveland will hold next year, and multiply by 120%.
Varejao’s contract is for a non-guaranteed $9.8 million ($4 million buy-out) in 2014 – 2015. Alonzo Gee and Earl Clark are also team options at $3.3 and $4.5 million, respectively.
A max contract for a ten-year veteran starts at around $21 million. If the team only kept the six rookie contract players and Jack, they could add a maximum player for total team salary of around $57 million (includes Varejao buy-out). If the cap went a bit higher, the team could waive Zeller and keep Andy.
Going through every permutation is silly, but the addition of Jack still allows the flexibility to make a maximum free agent offer in the summer of 2014. Let’s see what other signings and trades occur over the next seven months.
Say what you will but I guarantee Barnes is not happy with the signing and I think we’re seeing again that Barnes is best as a 3rd or 4th option. But I may be wrong and maybe this means they would consider moving Thompson for the right deal? Maybe?
Where does a 1 year deal for Bynum fit into all of this?
David, yeah I understand that but rookie max deals aren’t as big as vet max deals, also not all of our players will be offered max contracts either.
No David, there isn’t a hard cap. If there were there wouldn’t be a ton of teams WAY over the cap.
And yes, you can sign everybody to max contracts as long as they are all people you have Bird Roghts for.
I honestly think if LBJ wants to win here, he’s going to have to take less than the max so we can keep a nice batch of players around him. I really doubt he is staying in South Beach. Wade will probably be gone. The dino’s career might be near extinction by then. Possible scenarios I see- Cleveland- To realign his PR and general image. LA Lakers- Makes ANOTHER super team, I could probably see Kyrie and Dion following him there eventually. First year it’s a Nash and possibly old Kobe. Speaking of Kobe I wonder how the NBA managed… Read more »
I’m not sure we are dealing in reality or in a utopian fantasy league where multiple players gladly give up max contracts to play in Cleveland.
There is a hard cap… You can’t sign everybody to max contracts.
How can you be so sure of not being sure Not Sure on Lebron coming back? So to your question on salary it doesn’t work BECAUSE HE AIN”T COMING BACK! Ugh!!! What part on this do people not understand??
No way he takes less than what he made in Miami, we can give all our rookies Max contracts if we really want to, they are restricted you can sign them at whatever you want assuming another team offers them a contract. It’s the luxury tax you have to worry about. (If you are Dan Gilbert, I don’t really care how much he spends.)
Ok, say LeBron comes back… do you think he would take less than max, say somewhere in the 10-15 mil range? Maybe 70 million over 5 years? Or something less than max? I think he might. If he really wants to win we throw Kyrie the max, he takes less and we surround them with solid guys.
Thoughts on if that would work?
Kj- I don’t think that means anything about how high the Warriors are on Barnes. Last playoffs showed that he can be very effective from the stretch 4, and I would expect him to play about 15 mins a game at the 4 there next year.
@KJ – I agree. Its an odd signing. But with Jack out, I think Iggy will get significant minutes at the 2, and they will still find Barnes 30 minutes. I don’t think the addition of Iggy means they are down on Barnes. Like the Cavs, they now have a bunch of guys that can play multiple positions, so I think the best players will still get their minutes.
Off-topic but I wonder what the Barnes lovers that inexplicably still populate this board think about the Warriors signing of Iggy? He will be the starting SF for GS. Sounds like his own team might not be as high as Barnes as some of you seem to be…
Miles will be a UFA in 2014 if the Cavs decide to keep him by guaranteeing his 2013-4 contract.
Basically the point of this article is to advise Cavs fans not to fall in love with anyone on the team outside of the six first rounders and Jack, because they are all easily jettisoned to make room for a big name player during the Great FA Migration of 2014. Even some of those six picks could be in play in the right situations.
I doubt that Grant signs anyone else to a contract that is guaranteed beyond the coming season.
On basketball-reference, CJ Miles’ 13-14 contract is not listed as a team option, but the notes say this season is not guaranteed. Does that mean we could buy him out for less?
In any case I prefer to keep him.