Rumor Trade Deadline: March 25, 12:00 p.m. Pacific

[e_blazer]

Question to all: if you’re the Blazer owner, are you willing to pay taxes just to bring someone to help Dame win a ring?

It's not just a matter of paying tax or not. There are other ramifications to being over the Luxury Tax threshold. Olshey is being smart in avoiding paying LT this season since once Dame's and CJ's higher salaries kick in next season the Blazers will almost certainly be in the LT for the period of their contracts. Teams that are over the LT for 3 out of 4 seasons get hit with financial penalties. From Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ #18, this table shows the financial impacts:



If teams get above the "apron", which is $6M more than the LT, they get hit with other restrictions:

• Teams above the Apron cannot use the Bi-Annual exception (see question number 25).
• Teams above the Apron have a smaller Mid-Level exception (see question number 25). It can be used to offer a mid-level contract no longer than three years, while other teams can offer four. The starting salary is also lower.
• Teams cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade transaction (see question number 92). Note that they calculate whether the team is over or under the Apron after the full sign-and-trade transaction, and not just the signing.
• Teams above the Apron do not have the same protections under the Gilbert Arenas provision (see question number 43). Under the Arenas provision other teams can offer restricted free agents salaries starting up to the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level exception. If a team with the right of first refusal does not have Early Bird rights to the player and is over the Apron, it will have only the smaller Taxpayer Mid-Level exception at its disposal, and cannot match an offer for the full Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level exception.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q18