» July 22, 2009 7:19 PM | By Brandon Hoffman
- Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “The Jazz have $82.056 million committed to 13 players this season: Carlos Boozer ($12.657 million), Ronnie Brewer ($2.717 million), Kyrylo Fesenko ($870,000), Matt Harpring ($6.5 million), Andrei Kirilenko ($16.452 million), Kyle Korver ($5.163 million), Kosta Koufos ($1.214 million), Eric Maynor ($1.318 million), C.J. Miles ($3.7 million), Paul Millsap ($7.693 million), Mehmet Okur ($9 million), Ronnie Price ($1.25 million) and Deron Williams ($13.5205 million). With the NBA’s luxury-tax threshold set at $69.92 million, the Jazz are facing $12.14 million in dollar-for-dollar penalties at the end of the season. Obviously, a team can look to dump salaries during the season but the Jazz would be forced to take back matching salaries within 25 percent from any team over the salary cap in a deal. Between the $82.056 million in payroll and the $12.14 million luxury tax bill, you’re looking at $94.193 million for the upcoming season. Let that number sink in for a second. If the Jazz sold out all 41 regular-season games at EnergySolutions Arena (capacity 19,911) this season, they would have to charge an average of $115.38 a ticket just to make payroll. Of course, the Jazz have other sources of revenue, including the NBA’s national television contract, but I’m trying to put a $94 million payroll into perspective for a small-market team.”
- Zach Lowe of CelticsHub: “We all miss James Posey. I’d guess that a majority of Celtics fans view Danny Ainge’s decision to bow out of the Posey bidding as a bad one, possibly the worst choice Ainge has made since taking over the C’s basketball operations earlier this decade. Ainge committed to offering Posey only a three-year deal worth the mid-level exception; when New Orleans tacked on a fourth season, Ainge wouldn’t match, and we all wondered whether it was really worth losing a key cog in a championship team over one year and 6 million measly dollars. A year later, it’s time to ask: Does the signing of Rasheed Wallace (and, to a lesser extent, Marquis Daniels) change your perception of Ainge’s decision on Posey? I think it should. Because right now, for this team, I’d rather have Rasheed Wallace than James Posey, and the C’s would not have had the mid-level free to use on Wallace had they reserved it for Posey.”
- Scott Howard-Cooper of SI.com: “Fifty-four wins, tied for the second-most victories in the Western Conference, the first team in league history to win 50 while playing four rookies at least 50 games … and still with many reasons to see improvement. The rookies will be experienced. Roy will be all of 25, Aldridge 24. Maybe — maybe! — Oden will stay healthy after sitting out all of 2007-08 and missing 21 games last season. This is a franchise that is supposed to be weeping over the last few weeks?”
- Ian Thomson writes in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated: “Ron Artest pulled the door shut and speed-dialed his new best friend. ‘Kobe, this is Ron,’ said Artest from the backseat of the town car that would take him to a beachside lunch in Santa Monica. ‘Just got out of the press conference. Holler at me when you get a chance.’ Artest had just been introduced as the newest and most incendiary member of the world champion Lakers, smiling and cracking jokes even as reporters showered him with questions about his past as a brawler, a rapper and a rival to Bryant. As the car prepared to leave the practice facility, a crowd of fans pressed in. ‘They want me to sign something,’ Artest said to the driver. ‘I’ll only sign …’—he gave this some thought—’… four things.’ The driver lowered his window and took in a silver Sharpie and four mint-condition basketballs, one after another. ‘That’s four things, guys,’ said the driver, but one fan persisted. He thrust forward a pair of vintage Artest trading cards, saying, ‘You can keep one.’ Artest signed one of the cards and handed it back. ‘There you go, guys,’ he called out. ‘I’ll see you next time.’ Throughout the smooth half-hour ride to the beach Artest held the card between his fingers, glancing at it from time to time. Staring back at him blankly was a rookie for the Bulls, the No. 16 pick in the 1999 draft out of St. John’s, broad-shouldered but 20 pounds lighter and with no idea of the troubles that lay ahead. ‘He played hard,’ said Artest of his rookie self. ‘When I look back, when I was younger, I didn’t really know how to play. Couldn’t shoot really consistent, no off-the-dribble jumper. Just a baller, and some really good defense. Great defense.’ ‘How much smarter are you than this guy on the card?’ I asked. ‘This guy?’ Artest said, raising the card with a chuckle. ‘This guy was dumb.’” (Via Brian Kamenetzky)
Category: Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Issues, NBA Teams, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Points in the Paint, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Tags: Brendan Haywood, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, Hedo Turkoglu, James Posey, Kevin Pritchard, Paul Millsap, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Stephon Marbury
Discuss in Forum
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
So basically Haywood’s advice is:
1. don’t spend your money
2. don’t let anyone near your money
That’s good advice if you don’t want to end up broke.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
KneeJerkNBA:
Don’t forget the prenup.
;)