A little perspective from SI.com’s Michael Rosenborg:
In 2009, the Lakers sold the No. 29 overall pick for $3 million. Kobe Bryant, the highest-paid player in the league this year, made $24.8 million. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined make $28.5 million. The Sacramento Kings’ entire team only made $44 million. Yet Gilbert was willing to spend some-$30 million for two first-round picks. And that is before he actually paid the guys that the Cavs picked.
If the lottery balls bounce the wrong way, our only solace might be that our owner is incredibly willing to spend money.
30mill worth spending I guess…
The title of this post is misleading… Gilbert didn’t spend 30 million on two draft picks. The buyout of Rip Hamilton’s contract and pick from Detroit didn’t fall through. You are basically left with his Mo Williams for Baron Davis/unprotected 1st rounder to analyze, which, damn near every NBA expert agreed made sense for the Cavs. The extra 12 million spent on Davis’ contract is spread out over two years. 6 million per year is a little over a 10% bump in overall player salary. Considering the Cavs have virtually no cap flex next year, the only hit we are taking is in ’12-’13 when an extra 6 million goes to Davis. In exchange, the Cavs added a lottery pick that turned out to be the overall No. 1. There isn’t a GM in the league that wouldn’t take that.
Even if the Clippers pick ended up being No. 8, I still think the extra 6 mil was worth it.
They are rebuilding. They won’t compete for an NBA Title in the next two years anyway. You can either spend the little cap room you have on a marginal player, do nothing and pocket the cash, or spend it on draft picks that may yield results down the road. One of those options benefits nobody, one of them benefits the owner, and one of them benefits the long term health of the franchise. I’m glad the Cavs have Gilbert as an owner.