Wednesday, July 14, 2004
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Midnight came and went Tuesday, and Kobe Bryant remained uncommitted to anyone but himself.
Kenyon Martin, meanwhile, was holding a $23.5 million lottery ticket. The Detroit Pistons and Rasheed Wallace were inching toward an agreement (despite earlier reports they already had agreed). The infamous Carlos Boozer quietly signed his six-year, $68 million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz.
But the two most important players in the news were Melvin Ely and Eddie House, hurriedly traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats once the NBA's salary cap was set a few million dollars lower than anticipated.
Here's a quick look at what did (and didn't) go down as Tuesday rolled into Wednesday ...
Kobe a Clipper?
Neither the Lakers or the Clippers announced the signing of Kobe Bryant. However a small, seemingly meaningless trade raised more than a few eyebrows among folks searching for signs of which way Kobe might be leaning.
Melvin Ely
Forward-Center
Los Angeles Clippers
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
42
3.7
2.4
0.5
.431
.595
The Clippers quietly agreed to trade forward Melvin Ely and guard Eddie House to the Bobcats for future second-round draft picks.
Insider reported earlier Tuesday that, given the lower than expected salary cap, the Clippers would have to move Ely and House's salaries to get far enough under the cap to offer Bryant a six-year, $106.3 million deal -- the most any team (other than the Lakers) can offer.
The fact they did it so quickly has to make you wonder -- do they know something? Neither Ely or House were essential players for the Clippers, meaning the team could be moving them just as a precaution. What's the real loss? But look at it this way: Ely is a former lottery pick who stands 6-foot-11 and can play center; you have to believe he could bring a lot more on the open market than a second-round pick.
Did the Clippers need to unload Ely and House in a hurry? There is only one free agent who could command more than the $11.6 million in cap room the team already had.
Quentin Richardson
Shooting Guard
Los Angeles Clippers
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
65
17.2
6.4
2.1
.398
.740
There were other signs early Wednesday that the Clippers could be closer to landing Kobe. Two league sources, one affiliated with the Clips, claimed to be confident, after Monday night's meeting with Kobe, that the team was the favorite to land him.
Meanwhile, another league source was confident the Clippers weren't going to match the Suns' offer sheet to Quentin Richardson. Given the smaller-than-expected salary cap, the Suns aren't going to be able to offer much more than the mid-level to Richardson. Why wouldn't the Clippers match? Perhaps, Kobe would be taking up L.A.'s cap room?
Unfortunately, all we have now are signs and speculation. Kobe is not talking, and his agent declined comment Tuesday night. The Clippers aren't talking, nor are the Lakers, who also are privately confident Kobe will pick them.
And despite all those signs, you've got to believe that all the Lakers' maneuverings and contortions to keep Kobe have them in the lead. There's also the little issue of money -- the Lakers can offer an additional year and $30 million more in guaranteed money than can their Staples Center rival.
What happened to the Shaq trade
Did the Shaquille O'Neal-to-Miami deal really hit a snag?
Lamar Odom
Forward
Miami Heat
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
80
17.1
9.7
4.1
.430
.742
According to sources, concerns about Lamar Odom's trade kicker are trivial. He's due $7.5 million in a lump sum once he's traded. Every NBA team has access to every NBA player's contract details, and given how common trade kickers are these days, it's just not a show-stopper. The Heat can kick in $3 million to cover some of the cost. They'll sell that in season tickets in the first five minutes the minute Shaq comes aboard, if they haven't already.
Both teams were progressing toward making an announcement on the trade as early as today. However, there is an interesting conspiracy theory floating around the league.
Did the Lakers leak information about the Odom trade kicker in an effort to stall the deal long enough to see what Bryant plans to do? Obviously the O'Neal trade makes much less sense if Bryant leaves the Lakers.
It's been speculated that it was Bryant, wearing his GM hat, who lobbied for, and approved, the O'Neal trade to Miami. But with owner Jerry Buss claiming he didn't consult Bryant on the trade, was the speculation off target? Buss would have to be crazy not to talk to Bryant first.
Boozer signs with Utah
Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor slept like a baby Tuesday night.
League sources said that Boozer was in Utah Tuesday night and officially signed the Jazz's six-year, $68 million offer sheet.
With all the rhetoric flying around the Boozer situation, there had been some concern he could change his mind and head back to Cleveland. Now that he has signed the offer, the Cavaliers have until July 29 to match it. Will they?
Sources in Cleveland say it's very unlikely. Owner Gordon Gund and GM Jim Paxson made a late push to convince Boozer to stay but seem resigned to the fact he's gone. A statement claiming the team has moved on could come as early as Wednesday.
Kenyon's $15 million bonus
Kenyon Martin
Power Forward
New Jersey Nets
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
65
16.7
9.5
2.5
.488
.684
Sign-and-trade talks between the Nuggets and Nets broke down Tuesday afternoon, and Denver essentially was forced to take it's "last resort" position -- sign Kenyon Martin to an offer sheet.
It came as no surprise their offer was front-loaded with a $15 million signing bonus. The Nuggets offered a similar bonus to Andre Miller last year in an effort to discourage the Clippers from matching. GM Kiki Vandeweghe has been stressing for days that if the Nuggets made an offer, they'd try to make it as difficult as possible for the Nets to match.
With that said, Nuggets sources believe New Jersey is going to match the offer -- $15 million signing bonus or not. Martin's cap number is unaffected by the bonus. Signing bonuses are pretty rare in the NBA, and they're fairly complicated to figure. Essentially NBA teams are allowed to give a player a one-time signing bonus of up to 25 percent of the total value of the contract.
How did the Nuggets figure that into their offer to Martin? The maximum Martin can make on a six-year contract is $82.3 million. If there was no bonus, he could have a starting salary of up to $10.97 million next year. For simplicity's sake, round up to $11 million. Factoring in the pro-rated portion of the the $15 million bonus ($2.5 million per year) however, reduces the actual salary figure to $8.5 million.
Here's how the numbers would break down for cap purposes:
Year 1: $8.5 million + $2.5 million = $11 million cap number
Year 2: $9.35 million + $2.5 million = $11.85 million
Year 3: $10.15 million + $2.5 million = $12.55 million
Year 4: $10.9 million + $2.5 million = $13.4 million
Year 5: $11.75 million + $2.5 million = $14.25 million
Year 6: $12.6 million + $2.5 million = $15.1 million
The downside of bonuses is that the total contract actually comes out a little lower than the max contract Martin could get without a signing bonus. In this example, Martin's deal is actually six years for $78.1 million. Why? Because the 10 percent annual increases are based only on the first-year salary. If that number is $8.5 million, he gets an $850,000 raise each year. Had Martin chosen to forego the bonus, his first-year salary would've been roughly $11 million, making the annual raises $1.1 million and bringing the total value to $82.3 million over six years.
The trade-off for Martin in taking a $78.1 million deal over an $82.3 million deal? While the bonus is pro-rated for cap purposes over six years, Martin gets the entire $15 million up front. That makes his total first-year compensation $23.5 million -- $8.5 million starting salary plus the $15 million bonus. In year two, however, Nets owner Bruce Ratner will owe Martin only $9.35 million.
If a team can absorb the huge, up-front bonus payment, it actually saves money in year two and beyond.
Nets GM Rod Thorn took a hard line in trade negotiations, indicating to the Nuggets he wasn't giving up Martin for nothing or very little in return.
So why did the Nuggets sign Martin? Because he had an offer on the table from Atlanta, and the Nuggets chose to honor their commitment. Unfortunately for Denver, if the Nets do match K-Mart's offer, they likely won't do so before July 29. By then, all of the other top free agents will be off the market and the Nuggets will be forced to either stand pat for a year or try to add players via trades.
Pistons, Sheed still talking
Reports Tuesday claiming Rasheed Wallace already had agreed to a contract with the Pistons were inaccurate. The two sides are still negotiating, but they haven't come to a deal yet.
What's the hold-up? With salaries rising exponentially over the past two weeks, the Pistons had to revise their offer to Wallace to make it more in line with what the open market has been dictating. Pistons sources claim they're "close" to a deal and are confident something will be done shortly.
By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Midnight came and went Tuesday, and Kobe Bryant remained uncommitted to anyone but himself.
Kenyon Martin, meanwhile, was holding a $23.5 million lottery ticket. The Detroit Pistons and Rasheed Wallace were inching toward an agreement (despite earlier reports they already had agreed). The infamous Carlos Boozer quietly signed his six-year, $68 million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz.
But the two most important players in the news were Melvin Ely and Eddie House, hurriedly traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats once the NBA's salary cap was set a few million dollars lower than anticipated.
Here's a quick look at what did (and didn't) go down as Tuesday rolled into Wednesday ...
Kobe a Clipper?
Neither the Lakers or the Clippers announced the signing of Kobe Bryant. However a small, seemingly meaningless trade raised more than a few eyebrows among folks searching for signs of which way Kobe might be leaning.
Melvin Ely
Forward-Center
Los Angeles Clippers
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
42
3.7
2.4
0.5
.431
.595
The Clippers quietly agreed to trade forward Melvin Ely and guard Eddie House to the Bobcats for future second-round draft picks.
Insider reported earlier Tuesday that, given the lower than expected salary cap, the Clippers would have to move Ely and House's salaries to get far enough under the cap to offer Bryant a six-year, $106.3 million deal -- the most any team (other than the Lakers) can offer.
The fact they did it so quickly has to make you wonder -- do they know something? Neither Ely or House were essential players for the Clippers, meaning the team could be moving them just as a precaution. What's the real loss? But look at it this way: Ely is a former lottery pick who stands 6-foot-11 and can play center; you have to believe he could bring a lot more on the open market than a second-round pick.
Did the Clippers need to unload Ely and House in a hurry? There is only one free agent who could command more than the $11.6 million in cap room the team already had.
Quentin Richardson
Shooting Guard
Los Angeles Clippers
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
65
17.2
6.4
2.1
.398
.740
There were other signs early Wednesday that the Clippers could be closer to landing Kobe. Two league sources, one affiliated with the Clips, claimed to be confident, after Monday night's meeting with Kobe, that the team was the favorite to land him.
Meanwhile, another league source was confident the Clippers weren't going to match the Suns' offer sheet to Quentin Richardson. Given the smaller-than-expected salary cap, the Suns aren't going to be able to offer much more than the mid-level to Richardson. Why wouldn't the Clippers match? Perhaps, Kobe would be taking up L.A.'s cap room?
Unfortunately, all we have now are signs and speculation. Kobe is not talking, and his agent declined comment Tuesday night. The Clippers aren't talking, nor are the Lakers, who also are privately confident Kobe will pick them.
And despite all those signs, you've got to believe that all the Lakers' maneuverings and contortions to keep Kobe have them in the lead. There's also the little issue of money -- the Lakers can offer an additional year and $30 million more in guaranteed money than can their Staples Center rival.
What happened to the Shaq trade
Did the Shaquille O'Neal-to-Miami deal really hit a snag?
Lamar Odom
Forward
Miami Heat
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
80
17.1
9.7
4.1
.430
.742
According to sources, concerns about Lamar Odom's trade kicker are trivial. He's due $7.5 million in a lump sum once he's traded. Every NBA team has access to every NBA player's contract details, and given how common trade kickers are these days, it's just not a show-stopper. The Heat can kick in $3 million to cover some of the cost. They'll sell that in season tickets in the first five minutes the minute Shaq comes aboard, if they haven't already.
Both teams were progressing toward making an announcement on the trade as early as today. However, there is an interesting conspiracy theory floating around the league.
Did the Lakers leak information about the Odom trade kicker in an effort to stall the deal long enough to see what Bryant plans to do? Obviously the O'Neal trade makes much less sense if Bryant leaves the Lakers.
It's been speculated that it was Bryant, wearing his GM hat, who lobbied for, and approved, the O'Neal trade to Miami. But with owner Jerry Buss claiming he didn't consult Bryant on the trade, was the speculation off target? Buss would have to be crazy not to talk to Bryant first.
Boozer signs with Utah
Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor slept like a baby Tuesday night.
League sources said that Boozer was in Utah Tuesday night and officially signed the Jazz's six-year, $68 million offer sheet.
With all the rhetoric flying around the Boozer situation, there had been some concern he could change his mind and head back to Cleveland. Now that he has signed the offer, the Cavaliers have until July 29 to match it. Will they?
Sources in Cleveland say it's very unlikely. Owner Gordon Gund and GM Jim Paxson made a late push to convince Boozer to stay but seem resigned to the fact he's gone. A statement claiming the team has moved on could come as early as Wednesday.
Kenyon's $15 million bonus
Kenyon Martin
Power Forward
New Jersey Nets
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
65
16.7
9.5
2.5
.488
.684
Sign-and-trade talks between the Nuggets and Nets broke down Tuesday afternoon, and Denver essentially was forced to take it's "last resort" position -- sign Kenyon Martin to an offer sheet.
It came as no surprise their offer was front-loaded with a $15 million signing bonus. The Nuggets offered a similar bonus to Andre Miller last year in an effort to discourage the Clippers from matching. GM Kiki Vandeweghe has been stressing for days that if the Nuggets made an offer, they'd try to make it as difficult as possible for the Nets to match.
With that said, Nuggets sources believe New Jersey is going to match the offer -- $15 million signing bonus or not. Martin's cap number is unaffected by the bonus. Signing bonuses are pretty rare in the NBA, and they're fairly complicated to figure. Essentially NBA teams are allowed to give a player a one-time signing bonus of up to 25 percent of the total value of the contract.
How did the Nuggets figure that into their offer to Martin? The maximum Martin can make on a six-year contract is $82.3 million. If there was no bonus, he could have a starting salary of up to $10.97 million next year. For simplicity's sake, round up to $11 million. Factoring in the pro-rated portion of the the $15 million bonus ($2.5 million per year) however, reduces the actual salary figure to $8.5 million.
Here's how the numbers would break down for cap purposes:
Year 1: $8.5 million + $2.5 million = $11 million cap number
Year 2: $9.35 million + $2.5 million = $11.85 million
Year 3: $10.15 million + $2.5 million = $12.55 million
Year 4: $10.9 million + $2.5 million = $13.4 million
Year 5: $11.75 million + $2.5 million = $14.25 million
Year 6: $12.6 million + $2.5 million = $15.1 million
The downside of bonuses is that the total contract actually comes out a little lower than the max contract Martin could get without a signing bonus. In this example, Martin's deal is actually six years for $78.1 million. Why? Because the 10 percent annual increases are based only on the first-year salary. If that number is $8.5 million, he gets an $850,000 raise each year. Had Martin chosen to forego the bonus, his first-year salary would've been roughly $11 million, making the annual raises $1.1 million and bringing the total value to $82.3 million over six years.
The trade-off for Martin in taking a $78.1 million deal over an $82.3 million deal? While the bonus is pro-rated for cap purposes over six years, Martin gets the entire $15 million up front. That makes his total first-year compensation $23.5 million -- $8.5 million starting salary plus the $15 million bonus. In year two, however, Nets owner Bruce Ratner will owe Martin only $9.35 million.
If a team can absorb the huge, up-front bonus payment, it actually saves money in year two and beyond.
Nets GM Rod Thorn took a hard line in trade negotiations, indicating to the Nuggets he wasn't giving up Martin for nothing or very little in return.
So why did the Nuggets sign Martin? Because he had an offer on the table from Atlanta, and the Nuggets chose to honor their commitment. Unfortunately for Denver, if the Nets do match K-Mart's offer, they likely won't do so before July 29. By then, all of the other top free agents will be off the market and the Nuggets will be forced to either stand pat for a year or try to add players via trades.
Pistons, Sheed still talking
Reports Tuesday claiming Rasheed Wallace already had agreed to a contract with the Pistons were inaccurate. The two sides are still negotiating, but they haven't come to a deal yet.
What's the hold-up? With salaries rising exponentially over the past two weeks, the Pistons had to revise their offer to Wallace to make it more in line with what the open market has been dictating. Pistons sources claim they're "close" to a deal and are confident something will be done shortly.
