The Point Four-Ward: Questions and Answer

The events of the past week or so have me thinking – as I fill in for Robert – a lot more about the Cavs’ off court issues than I am about how next season will shape up on the court. (One), we have the disappointing news of Iman Shumpert’s arrest for DUI and Marijuana possession. As Joe Vardon reported, the marijuana possession probably won’t get him suspended, but the DUI could.

Shumpert’s admitting he smoked weed and possible conviction would land him in the league’s treatment policy. If it’s his second offense, he’d get a $25,000 fine, and a third offense would result in a five-game suspension.

But the NBA could also suspend him a few games merely for the DUI charge. Both Ty Lawson and Greg Monroe were suspended two games apiece last season for DUI or similar charges.

By my calculations, two game checks total about $236,000 for Shumpert this season. Iman claimed that he was driving from “his homegirl’s house” to pick up his father at the airport. Given all the fines, legal fees, and docked pay, the incident will be about a quarter of a million dollars more expensive than just paying for a ride which would have cost at most $200 round trip. It seems like a bad financial decision.

In retrospect, it gives me even more heartburn over the Cavs decision to retain Shumpert (who could’ve been moved easily) over Dellavedova who has a very similar contract this season and is cheaper going forward. A consistent backup combo guard (even though he didn’t run much in the finals) still seems much more important a defensive wing who – despite good size and athleticism – routinely got lost on defense, turned the ball over most times he put it on the floor, and wasn’t smart enough to call Uber while high.

(Two) speaking of David Griffin’s decisions, more distressing news about the Cavs offseason came out just over a week ago when the ESPN’s Chris Haynes reported that even though Tyronn Lue agreed to a five year $35 million dollar extension in July, assistants Jim Boylan, Damon Jones, Phil Handy, and James Posey are currently working without contracts, and a promised raise for associate head coach Larry Drew has yet to come to fruition.

This has led to “frustration at its worst” that has “reached the point of hostility” among the assistants. It seems baffling that the Cavs are playing hardball on contracts that seem to make up a tiny fraction of the team’s overall expenses (J.R. Smith’s saga notwithstanding). While some might say Griffin is playing a dangerous game messing with team chemistry while the Cavs are poised for another fantastic year, I’m sure he’s banking on the fact that the Cavs have shown the ability to “turn it on when it matters,” and that having LeBron, Kevin, Kyrie, and Tristan under contract for multiple seasons, will dry up any rain clouds that grumpy assistants might summon. On the other hand, it’s disrespectful that the Cavs haven’t gotten this done yet.

(Three) The reluctance to open the checkbook really makes one wonder how much money Dan Gilbert is making (or losing) on the Cavs each year. Basketball Related Income averages out to around $188 million per team this season. And the Cavs are possibly on the hook for $121 million in salary (given an estimated $15 million dollar salary for J.R. Smith) and approximately *$39 million (see below) in luxury taxes for a total of $160 million on players. This does not include any of the team’s operating expenses, nor coach and executive salary. Yes these are just educated guesses, and I’m not privy to the Cavs local and TV revenue (nor am I willing to do the research tonight), but the difference between profit and loss might be smaller than we’d think for @CavsDan right now.

I hope this doesn’t mean that the Cavs are going to start cheaping out on things like employee benefits (like when the Yankees cut their employee dental plan) and fan perks, or that Gilbert considers selling. We all remember LeBron’s exodus from Miami when Mickey Arison started pinching pennies. But with an evaluation of $1.1 billion, in July by Forbes, the Cavs’ capital appreciation is going to far outpace any operating losses. It will be interesting to see if Gilbert, now that he has a ring on his finger, is content to keep just breaking even, or if he sells out or cuts costs for a big payday (like when the Cavs sold all their 2010-2011 season tickets before the Decision).

The Cavalier payroll also changes the calculus for Gilbert during the league’s next labor negotiations. He’d certainly like to get a reprieve from the massive luxury taxes he’s paying. And these luxury taxes don’t seem to be having the desired effect of allowing small market teams to retain their superstar players (see, Durant, Kevin). After being one of the most zealous owners when it came to “sticking it to the players,” this time around Gilbert will probably just want to keep labor happy and get back to the business of chasing championships at a profit.

(Four) If the Cavs can’t sign their assistants, maybe they can find an answer somewhere else. Allen Iverson (see what I did there?) shouted out Ty Lue while stealing the show at this year’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction. Iverson who was inducted along with Shaq, Yao, Sheryl Swoopes, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Tom Izzo, gave a speech that has been universally praised. The off-the-cuff half-hour long speech praised dozens of people in Iverson’s life on and off the court, from coaches to family members to trainers, and was positively inspirational even if just due to ther force of its emotional delivery. Philly.com’s Bob Cooney described it well.

His speech lasted just past 30 minutes on Friday, and Iverson was teary-eyed even before he took the stage with his presenters – Larry Brown, Julius Erving and John Thompson. He seemed to thank pretty much everyone he knows. His list of friends who have passed was longer than anyone his age should have, a sign of the tough upbringing he endured. And perhaps his broadest smile during the speech was saved for close to the end, when he brought up the Philly fans.

Iverson was as polarizing a player as ever competed in the NBA and changed the game almost immediately after coming into the league. Much of his early career he fought the stigma of being labeled a “thug” for his look, his time in prison, his “street” game, and his unpolished honesty when dealing with the media.

A.I.’s look influenced a generation: cornrows, tats, bling, black clothes, long baggy shorts, and an undeniable sense of self and style. Iverson embraced the look of hip-hop culture and immediately became one of its biggest influences. I remember seeing those skinny legs at Georgetown and thinking A.I.’s drawers were the most oversized I’d ever seen. After A.I. and the Fab Five, no one ever wore short shorts again. The Sixers changed their jerseys to black for him. Players wanted to look like him. J.R. Smith’s torso T-Shirt would look remarkably different if it weren’t for AI.

And the NBA establishment was terrified of him. Many of the changes in the bench dress code policies for players were a direct result of the way Iverson (and subsequently, his many followers) dressed. The NBA was more than a little worried about selling a game dominated by young black men emblematic of hip-hop culture to a white audience.

Iverson’s time in prison also reflected what so many young black men faced in the Clinton 90s: a national obsession with cracking down on crime and a legacy of convicting and imprisoning young black men at staggeringly disproportionate rates. Iverson was convicted of “maiming-by-mob” after a bowling alley brawl. Ironically, the conviction was via a rarely used law that was meant to prosecute lynch mobs. Iverson was sentenced to 15 years (10 suspended) and served just four months until he was pardoned by Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder. (The conviction was later overturned due to insufficient evidence in 1995). It makes one wonder if Iverson would have ever been granted justice if he was not one of the best basketball players in the state of Virginia.

No player in NBA history could be in more influential than Iverson. At every YMCA in America there are still a dozen kids on any given night who will isolate you at the wing, cross you up, and get to the rack or hit a step-back J. Dribble isolation existed before Iverson, but no one perfected it like him, and no one did it with as much ferocity, fearlessness, and full body control as A.I.: pausing the ball at the end of his hand two feet out from his body until the defender was lulled into reaching, then crossing back through those ridiculous shorts to make the defender lunge at air as he went to the rim.

And Iverson was diminutive. Listed at six foot, Iverson was a wiry bit of skin and bone and muscle who took on guys over twice his weight. And if The Answer was 6-foot, then I’m 7-foot-two. That’s why he was so relatable to so many. Shaq and Yao Ming were genetic freaks of height and coordination, but with enough practice, anyone could work on that killer crossover and do an Iverson impersonation. Never mind that they couldn’t dunk like the most athletic 5-foot-10 guy I’ve ever seen.

Iverson also had one of the most famous post game conferences in NBA history. “We talkin’ about practice.” And in a way, it was one of the great truths in sports history: the connection and disconnection between great gamers and practice.

Throughout his career, critics would question whether his iso-heavy game could get other players involved enough for his team to win, and whether he played defense to do anything other than steal the ball. But once again, despite the admonition of so many, he never changed his game: unrepentant scorer, who passed just enough to keep ’em honest, and who could shoot the gap and score at the other end in less than two ticks.

It’s no coincidence that after this weekend’s shout out, TMZ hounded Tyronn Lue about A.I. until he gave ’em a juicy soundbite: “Allen Iverson, can come coach with me.” As crazy as it might sound, there’s more than a little of the Answer’s game in Kyrie Irving. Having A.I. around so Irving, Felder, Jordan, Shump, and Co. can pick his brain or just sharpen their handles couldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Imparting some of the humility that Iverson has acquired couldn’t hurt anyone either, and maybe Gilbert would even pay him.

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*Thanks to reader Jason for this Cap math:
Cap = $94,143,000
Tax threshold = $113.3 million (approximately)
Cavs with Liggins sans JR = $116,494,180.
Difference = $3.2 million without JRs.
Say JR gets $15 million (a tad high) = $18.2 million
Tax payment on $18.2 million = $39.15 million
If JR signs for just under $12 million = $15 million over = $28.75 in taxes

This first $5 million over is taxed at 1.5 times ($7.5 million). The next $5 million over is taxed at 1.75 per ($8.75 million). The third $5 million over is taxed at a 2.5 rate ($12.5 million). So, at $15 million over, a team will pay $28.75 million in taxes. If JR signs for just under $12 million, this is where we’ll be at. If he gets the full $15, we’ll need to tack on $3.2 million at a rate of 3.25 = $10.4 million, for a total of $39.15 million.

Again,depending on JR’s final number (just under $12 vs. $15), the tax bill will be $28.75 to $39.15 million.