http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10808291/nba-salary-cap-projected-rise-nearly-5-million Again, it's projected, but it's a MASSIVE increase in the cap. It brings it up to $63.2MM, which doesn't help us much. According to my favorite (and soon to be retired) salary website, storytellerscontracts.com, assuming we pick up Barton's contract and Mo opts out of his deal, it leaves us at a cap figure $61.15MM.
Does this affect the blazers ability to use their mid level exception next offseason? I thought a team had to be over the cap in order to use the MLE. Could the increase cause the blazers to lose their MLE and actually lower their Blazers available cap space?
^^No. It's my understanding that teams under the cap get the full MLE and teams over the cap get a "mini" MLE. But the mini MLE might be tied to the luxury tax threshold rather than the cap? Of course I could be entirely wrong about all of this, as I don't follow the CBA all that closely. But I'm nearly positive it will have no impact on our MLE.
Lopez is under contract for next season at ~ $6m. He'll be paid by someone the following summer, though. Money will be needed for Mo Williams, though, or whoever replaces him.
I meant for next year. Lopez is already under contract, so unless he's traded, he's under contract to Portland. Mo Williams is not under any contract, if he opts out of his player option, which he will and should.
Same here. Heck, if the players and fans had their way, we'd still have Channing Frye... who we really could have used this season. TRUST THE FANS, PAUL! GETTRDUN!
Here's something to consider though. What will our cap look like if we sign LA to an extension this summer? That should eat up some space, right?
The extension wouldn't take effect until the 2015-16 season. LMA is already under contract for 2014-15.
With even more cap space around the league, there will be teams that have nothing to spend it on. Biggest obstacle would be getting someone to play here.
Teams over the cap, below LT get the full, roughly 5 million MLE. Teams under the cap line get the cap room exception, which I believe is what we signed Mo with, roughly 2.2, 2.5 or so,somewhere around there. If we are only 2 million under the cap, however, we'd still have use of the "normal" full MLE because in order to have cap space, we'd be renouncing the exception. Which, obviously, we wouldn't do without a very good reason to, like we for some reason needed that 2 million in space to complete a slightly offbalance trade or something.
I wonder if Mo will get a better contract than he did last offseason? We might need to use the full MLE to keep him.
His numbers are about the same the last few years and he is a year older than last off season. A longer deal at similar money might work.