Thinking here, I know the stricter rules doesn't go into effect until like July 1? I believe?
Lakers might be incentivized to try to get a deal done early if they plan on trading multiple guys for a star in order to avoid the 2nd apron hard cap.
OK this is big.
So either the Lakers make the trade before the new rules kick in (Rui/AR/JHS package for Mitchell)
OR
They add #17 and hard cap themselves at the 2nd apron.
Something like Rui + picks (threeway trade maybe) for Lauri could also work in the old world while letting the Lakers bring back their entire roster as they become a 2nd apron team.
If the Lakers are above the 2nd apron, they can still trade so long as they don't bring back more salary? So the Lakers can try to flip DLO for a cheaper contract (e.g. DFS if the Nets want the reunion) mid-season? They just can't aggregate / take back more salary? Also, they can't sign buyout guys right?
We would be able to still sign buy out guys, as long as they weren't making over MLE (~12-13M)
Huh, interesting. So the Lakers really should take a swing before July 1st or whatever. Curious to see what happens. There are a lot of smart trades they can make to upgrade if they're serious about using draft capital.
Imagine if CP3 declines his player option with the Dubs to become an UFA
link
DLo declindes his player option, allowing the Lakers extra monies to sign CP3 and Dinwiddle
Window period of LBJ and CP3 is 1-2 years, maybe/doubtfully 3 years to win a RING given all the NBA's "Young Pups" (Ant Man, Shai, Luka, Wemby, etc.).
Rui (works on his game during the summer), CWood (get back his shooting touch and/or get used to hitting shots with a legitimate title-contending team), Hayes (stays in the weight room and work on his game) and LBJ (maintain his legendary physical regiment during his time at the upcoming Summer Olmpics) should be a good front court that would allow AD to only have to play 30-35 MPGs. Even Bruce Brown can play SF
Jeanie's Ultimate Basketball Pleasure would to get two additional rings while stopping the Hated Celtics from winning a Ring since the Tatum/Brown combo could join the ranks of Patrick Ewing to Sir Charles to The Mailman of very talented players (possible HOFers) to Never Win a Ring!!
It would be a Glorious Time especially/hopefully that will be the opportynity for Mr. Clutch to be (rightfully so) more in the Highlights of Lakers History
Maybe there is a way to transform Prince's contract to get Bruce Brown, since he is expected to be traded
link
The way Ham kept Christie hid, I just don't see him getting a deal over 5M.
On Hoops hype free agency ranking, he's at 81. In between Jae Crowder, Torrey Craig and Bol Bol, 3 guys who have shown more but still only signed for VM this past season.
Thank you for the info vas
I will say I'm having flashbacks of Rui on this.
Lakers overpaid for Rui, who was a RFA, due to potential. PJ Washington, a much better player, only received a 15M a year contract. We gave Rui 17M, when his market/worth was closer to 12-13M (MLE)
I say that to say, they might do the same with Christie. Out bid their self b/c they like the guy.
If FO project Rui to continue his development, via the Aaron Gordon/Michael Porter/Naz Feid projector, they will have a good player.
It is noteworthy that AG/MJP didn't performed well on Game 7.
Can a CWood/Hayes/Rui rotation in the front court work next season
How can one replace Prince (salary/cap-wise) to either pay Dinwiddle or get a player that is more productive???
Hopefully utilizing Christie will eleviate/lessen the loss of Prince
Need a HC and Roster where LBJ's see the value of playing 30-35 MPG at a top effort that is better then 35-38 MPG without the needed energy to close important playoff games
Lakers really had no reason to over pay Rui & it cost them being in the luxury tax this year when they didn’t have to. No team was going to offer him as a RFA the MLE & they went in 3-4M over that. _________________ "He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."
+1
I was off LG for a while, and I was shocked to see people praising the Rui deal as a good one. I also felt like Vanderbilt was an overpay but he has a lot easier path growing into the contract.
Rui needs to improve defense and rebounding if he's going to be worth that $17M
Aaron Gordon vs Rui Hashimura stats are comparable
link
Michael J. Porter vs. Rui Hashimure
link
MJP is better since he is more depended on with the Nuggets where Rui is the 4th or 5th option when AD/LBJ are on the floor
“Like the next person, I too like a good stretch in the morning….but bro, ain’t it!”
- A Mad LGerBrowsingThisPageOnHisPhone
I’m just razzing you @AMC, but could you do me a solid and edit your first post on this page so that the link you provided is either truncated or completely removed…cause it’s a b**** to read and browse thru, especially since I intend to post the updated Q&A soon and wouldn’t want other phone browsing LG members to struggle thru such dense material on a stretched out page…I would really appreciate it fam! Thx!🙏🏼 _________________ Not familiar with the salary cap/CBA rules & how it impacts our Lakers?
#GetFamiliar by CLICKING HERE!
“Like the next person, I too like a good stretch in the morning….but bro, ain’t it!”
- A Mad LGerBrowsingThisPageOnHisPhone
I’m just razzing you @AMC, but could you do me a solid and edit your first post on this page so that the link you provided is either truncated or completely removed…cause it’s a b**** to read and browse thru, especially since I intend to post the updated Q&A soon and wouldn’t want other phone browsing LG members to struggle thru such dense material on a stretched out page…I would really appreciate it fam! Thx!🙏🏼
Noting your very detailed posts, thought that documented resources would be the appropriate reply
Having just checked some of my recent posted links on my iPhone and they were easily read
Being an iPhone user, don’t have much to say regarding android users - LOL!!!
^Yeah I didn't initially mean to put you on blast @AMC. I tried PM'n you earlier on it, but I don't think you checked your inbox.
For me, on a PC/Mac, the page ain't getting reformatted. So it looks clean an not so wonky on that screen.
But on my iPhone, no matter what web browser I use, the page is getting stretched and its an eye sore to browse thru bro. Might be just my phone, but I wouldn't know why (no porno) .
It looks like its that givemesports.com weblink, so if you could edit it out or find a shorter replacement link, I'd appreciate it. Thx!
Memorial weekend might slow me down some, but hopefully I can post that Q&A soon enough. _________________ Not familiar with the salary cap/CBA rules & how it impacts our Lakers?
#GetFamiliar by CLICKING HERE!
Vas+, sign and trading a player would trigger the first arpon or 2nd apron hard cap? _________________ "He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."
@dcarter: Acquiring a S&T’d player from another team hardcaps the acquiring team at the 1st Apron.
The team that writes up a S&T deal to move their pending FA player to another team is hardcapped at the 2nd Apron.
That’s my understanding of it…
So hypothetically, DLo S&T’d would hardcap us at the 2nd Apron while hardcapping the acquiring team dude was traded to at the 1st Apron.
Meanwhile a hypothetical double S&T like DLo for DeRozan would hardcap both us & Chicago at the 1st Apron.
In order to bypass the Apron hardcaps, we can always S&T2BM* (aka Sign & Trade To Be Made post Dec/Jan 15th based on if the player that reups is BYC or not). Granted said player has to be traded without a trade multiplier when it comes to salary matching (aka outbound salary =<100% which bypasses the 1st Apron) and can’t be aggregated with any other outgoing salary (which bypasses the 2nd Apron) 😉
*patent pending _________________ Not familiar with the salary cap/CBA rules & how it impacts our Lakers?
#GetFamiliar by CLICKING HERE!
^Yeah I didn't initially mean to put you on blast @AMC. I tried PM'n you earlier on it, but I don't think you checked your inbox.
For me, on a PC/Mac, the page ain't getting reformatted. So it looks clean an not so wonky on that screen.
But on my iPhone, no matter what web browser I use, the page is getting stretched and its an eye sore to browse thru bro. Might be just my phone, but I wouldn't know why (no porno) .
It looks like its that givemesports.com weblink, so if you could edit it out or find a shorter replacement link, I'd appreciate it. Thx!
Memorial weekend might slow me down some, but hopefully I can post that Q&A soon enough.
Proof that stats are misleading, Gordon brings intensity and hustle to make his team better while Rui is lazy. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Proof that stats are misleading, Gordon brings intensity and hustle to make his team better while Rui is lazy.
Aaron Gordon took a few years to figure out how to be effective plus he is a defensive-oriented player learning offense. Since he is playing with KCS (smart defensive-minded player), MJP (supremely talented player), Joker (Nuff said) and Murray (who is a good two-way player/star on this team) playing on a system based on movement - he's learned how to move without the ball.
On the other hand, Rui is more offensive-minded player whose weaknesses is on the defensive end. He was effective offensively by doing backdoor cuts behind the defense that he took advantage in the 1st to 3rd quarters, but they disappeared during the fourth quarter when LBJ was holding the ball (hey, if AD got very few touches in the 4th quarter with LBJ handling the ball, Rui ain't going to eat).
Rui has a couple of obstacles
* Learning how to play (aka Not "star-watching") with LBJ and to be much more aggressive (something Ham's coaching staff was emploring him to do). In last season's system(s), he is the last options, hence his value on the court becomes how effective he is defensively. When Vanderbilt, CWood and Vincent were injured - a depleted front court and the injured Lakers completely explosed his game.
Hopefully, Rui will develop/learn (like what Aaron Gordon did) during the summer where he has the opportunity to imporve/expand his game. The TWolves explosed AG and MJP at Game 7 AT HOME that confirms that they will work hard in the summper to improve/expland their game.
Question is will Rui (a good basketball player) during the off-season develop/expland his game. With the Lakers switching coaches every 2-3 years (as oppose to the Nuggets' Malone has been the HC for a number of years), hard to know what specific aspects of his game he should focus on to fit into the new coach's scheme/plan.
Huh this is interesting, so the idea of the Lakers doing everything before July 1st to avoid the 2nd apron doesn't really work since they already are hard capped at the 1st apron. But I suppose it means the Lakers can trade for ~$3M additional salary now before July 1st and still avoid the 2nd apron going into next offseason? So if Mitchell is earning $35.4M the Lakers only need to send out $32M which Rui/Reaves/JHS would hit.
“Like the next person, I too like a good stretch in the morning….but bro, ain’t it!”
- A Mad LGerBrowsingThisPageOnHisPhone
I’m just razzing you @AMC, but could you do me a solid and edit your first post on this page so that the link you provided is either truncated or completely removed…cause it’s a b**** to read and browse thru, especially since I intend to post the updated Q&A soon and wouldn’t want other phone browsing LG members to struggle thru such dense material on a stretched out page…I would really appreciate it fam! Thx!🙏🏼
Noting your very detailed posts, thought that documented resources would be the appropriate reply
Having just checked some of my recent posted links on my iPhone and they were easily read
Being an iPhone user, don’t have much to say regarding android users - LOL!!!
Look forward to your updated Q&A!
I fixed the links on a couple of your posts. But you need to use the URL feature, or not post links, or wait until you get home to your regular computer before you post links. You are creating too many problems for other posters and moderators. Thanks.
“Like the next person, I too like a good stretch in the morning….but bro, ain’t it!”
- A Mad LGerBrowsingThisPageOnHisPhone
I’m just razzing you @AMC, but could you do me a solid and edit your first post on this page so that the link you provided is either truncated or completely removed…cause it’s a b**** to read and browse thru, especially since I intend to post the updated Q&A soon and wouldn’t want other phone browsing LG members to struggle thru such dense material on a stretched out page…I would really appreciate it fam! Thx!🙏🏼
Noting your very detailed posts, thought that documented resources would be the appropriate reply
Having just checked some of my recent posted links on my iPhone and they were easily read
Being an iPhone user, don’t have much to say regarding android users - LOL!!!
Look forward to your updated Q&A!
I fixed the links on a couple of your posts. But you need to use the URL feature, or not post links, or wait until you get home to your regular computer before you post links. You are creating too many problems for other posters and moderators. Thanks.
Proof that stats are misleading, Gordon brings intensity and hustle to make his team better while Rui is lazy.
What you’re saying may be true…don’t want to overlook that…but it’s also comparing a 4th option (Gordon) to a 5th option (Rui) along with ~$21m vs ~$15m tho I get that starters below 3rd option could be lumped in together for comparison.
Within that context, Rui…a top 20 NBA 3pt% shooter this season that set the record for highest 3pt% in the history of the NBA playoffs last season…looks like a decent value. FWIW I thought the Lakers overpaid for Rui and underpaid for Dlo such that it balanced out. Perhaps the FO figured by overpaying for Rui they would have a contract that can be moved for a player making more in a trade. Once the new rules set in, a player making $17.5m could be traded for a player making as much as $25m using the new CBA allowance of $7.5m in trades < $30m. Either way I agree, Rui’s contract appears like an overpay. _________________ “When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”
It's hard not to overreact to the Denver series -- but HfR is right that we shouldn't underrate Rui being quite good as a regular season player and, indeed, last year against Memphis/ Denver. He's just rather situational defensively.
Don't think it's fair to put Rui in the same convo as an Aaron Gordon when it comes to IMPACT. Forget numbers. _________________ "He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."
Please present in this thread any questions, inquiries, corrections, requests (like examples to illustrate a point) that are not addressed below and either I or a fellow caphead will get to it.
Also note that current salary cap projections could change heading into the next cap year beginning on June 30th, so I will do my best to edit this Q&A to reflect the current numbers even though I anticipate being out of town during that period of the summer. Please try to be patient with me. Thanks!
So what are the numbers that we are currently looking at for the 2024/25 season?
Note: we don’t know the official numbers yet, but the most current salary cap projections reflect a 3.7% increase from this season; it could go as high as 10%; therefore the current projections are displayed below & current player amounts are also found further below.
Key cap resources w/ current 3.7% annual increase as of June 3, 2024
•Cap: 141m
•Tax: 172m
•1st Apron: 178.7m
•2nd Apron: 189.5m
•Tax-Payer MLE: 5.2m for up to 2yrs
-using it triggers the 2nd Apron, which effectively hardcaps a team at 190m
-this is the only exception resource that is restricted towards just free agents; meanwhile all the other exceptions are for the first time this offseason permitted to be used towards trading for players that are already on salaried deals.
•Non Tax-Payer MLE: 12.9m for up to 4yrs
-using it triggers 1st Apron, which effectively hardcaps a team at 179m
-no longer restricted towards just free agents & can be used to trade for player(s) on existing contracts totaling up to 12.9m next year
•BiAnnual Exception: 4.7m for up to 2yrs
-using it triggers 1st Apron & can’t be used in consecutive seasons (ie Lakers won’t have access to this resource this summer due to using BAE on Prince this past summer; as a result, the next available opportunity to potentially use this resource will be the 2025 offseason)
-no longer restricted towards just free agents & can be used to trade for player(s) on existing contracts totaling up to 4.7m next year
•RoomMLE: 8m for up to 3 years
-no longer restricted towards just free agents & can be used to trade for player(s) on existing contracts totaling up to 8m next year
•2nd Round exception (SRE): 1.9m - 2.1m based respectively on whether it is a 3 or 4 year deal with the final year being a team option
•35% max (10+ seasoned player): 49.4m
•30% max (7-9 seasoned player): 42.3m
•25% max (0-6 seasoned player): 35.3m
•Rookie min / incomplete roster charge: 1.9m
•Vet min: 2.1m (only 2 seasoned player cap hit applies w/ difference paid by the league)
•Trade Purse (5.15% of cap): 7.3m
What's a hardcap? Why are there multiple hardcaps? What triggers the hardcaps?
A hardcap is the allowable max a team's salary can reach before violation for the remainder of that particular season. Any transaction that breaches a specified hard cap triggered by a team's previous actions is a violation and cannot be conducted.
Due to having a 1st & 2nd Apron, there are two hardcap amounts that will be enforced based on which gets triggered by a specific team. A team must adhere to that amount in team salary for the remainder of that particular season.
1st Apron Triggers:
•Acquiring a S&t’d player
•Using ntpMLE
•Using BAE
•Aggregation of player(s) in trade using any trade multiplier towards salary matching (200% + 250k, 100% + 7.5m, 125% + 250k) where incoming salary is greater than what that team sent out
•Signing “buyout” player during the season that had a previous contract salary greater than the given ntpMLE value for that season (ie any would be free agent that was bought out from a >12.9m cap hit for the 2024/25 season)
•Using an existing non-expired TPE to trade for player(s) in a non-simultaneous trade
2nd Apron Triggers:
•Using tpMLE
•Aggregation of players in trade even without the use of a trade multiplier (ie using 100% multiplier where equal or less incoming salary is received compared to what was sent out, but with >1 outbound player involved); if 2 or more players are traded together where their salaries are combined to salary match for another, then that team is now hardcapped at the 2nd Apron for the remainder of the season
•Sending out a S&t’d player and/or trading for a player that was previously used as an outgoing S&t’d player
•Use of cash in a trade
•Use of a FRP 7 years out in a trade
Would trading for a 3rd max player to pair with Bron & AD hardcap us at any of the aprons?
Yes, if a trade multiplier is used (1st Apron trigger) where more incoming salary is received than outgoing salary departs and/or multiple players are aggregated even without a trade multiplier (2nd Apron trigger); it will also cost ownership a pretty penny in taxes due to us potentially being a repeat tax offender due to having 3max players on our books.
When do the new tax laws come into effect?
The new more punitive tax laws will begin to apply towards the 2025/26 season. This means teams will have just the upcoming 2024/25 season to get their cap affairs in order. IMHO this will allow teams that have enough wiggle underneath the 2nd Apron to acquire additional salary dump type contracts from teams looking to shed salary and associated taxes by that 2025/26 season. The new tax bands are displayed below and note that 10m above the tax line (ie the 3rd tax band) reflects far more punitive tax rates than what we saw in the previous CBA.
Quote:
Non-repeater Tax / Repeater Tax rates are as follows (total tax amounts for each band are within parentheses) :
Also note that the minimum team salary (MTS) is 90% of the projected cap (ie 127m) and this number must be met or greater by the first day of the season. Gone are the days of moneyball and teams will now have to make sure their books get loaded up till at least 90% capacity of the salary cap. Failure to do so will result in teams paying the league of all its players (not just the team’s own players) the difference necessary to get back to 90% capacity of the cap. Teams that used to minimize team payroll would then eagerly accept the tax distribution payouts. However in this new CBA, teams that are under MTS will now get no tax distributions. So teams are encouraged to spend on team payroll, which is another reason we could see some salary dump type moves this or year.
What are the details of our draft capital & what can we still trade?
Draft inventory
2024: #17 overall (our own FRP sticks with us after NO decided to claim out 2025 FRP instead; #55 overall (ie cLip 2nd round pick)
2025: our 2nd round pick & clips 2nd round pick
2026: our 1st round pick
2027: our 1st round pick if it falls within top 4; our 2nd round pick if our 1st conveys to Utah by falling within #5-30
2028: our 1st round pick
2029: our 1st round pick
2030: our 1st round pick; our 2nd round pick
2031: our 1st round pick; our 2nd round pick
Tradable draft capital
•#17 pick can be traded after the draft concludes and will count as $0 in salary aggregation if traded within a 30 day window of when player first signs his contract; if traded outside that 30 day window, player will count as 3.8m towards salary aggregation
•cLips' 2024 2nd rounder (#55 overall)
•our & cLips' 2025 2nd rounders
•our 2027 1st rounder only if it lands in the top 4, in which case our 2027 2nd rounder can no longer be offered in trade since it wound then be going to Utah
•our 2029 or 2030 1st rounder; but not both
•our 2031 1st rounder; only if our 2030 FRP is not involved in a previous trade
•1st round pick swaps on FRPs not involved in previous trades or hypothetically not involving the up to 3.5 picks we can offer this offseason involving #17 after the 2024 Draft, ‘27 (top 4 only), ‘29, ‘31 (aka 3 swaps can be offered on ‘26, ‘28, & ‘30)
What dates do we have to pay attention to as we head past the NBA Finals?
Key Dates
•June 26th 5pm PT: NBA Draft - 1st Round; #17 is officially ours now…till its not…
•June 27th 1pm PT: NBA Draft - 2nd Round; #55 can be given the SRE for either a 3 or 4 year deal and like our 1st rounder, would be trade eligible 30 days after putting pen to paper
•June 29th: Bron, DLo, Cam & Hayes player option deadline to either opt in or opt out and become unrestricted free agents (UFA); MaxC must be given a qualifying offer (QO) by this date to make him our restricted free agent (RFA), which would give us the ability to retain him by matching another team's offer sheet by 9am PT on July 7th if he signs another team's offer sheet during the FA moratorium or within 24 hours of receiving an offer sheet after the FA moratorium period; ; likewise QOs must be given to our two-way players Castleton & Mayes by this date to make them RFAs
•June 30th 3:00pm PT: the 2023/24 season is officially over, where all unused, unexpired TPEs generated during the year can no longer be used for the 2024/25 season; also any unused cash from our trade purse will also expire and not carry over into the 2024/25 season (where we will get a reloaded trade purse for use as long as we are not over the 2nd Apron)
•June 30th 3:01pm PT: first moment of new season (2024/25) officially begins with FA moratorium
-our 2031 FRP/SRP gets unlocked for trades
-cash trade purse gets renewed to 7.3m
-previous unused TPEs expire
•July 6th 9:00am PT: Free agency (FA) moratorium ends and FA contracts officially hit teams’ cap sheets; signed offersheets for RFAs go live and home team has 24hrs to match by 9am PT on July 7th (see MaxC here)
•July 13th: last day for teams with outstanding QOs towards their RFAs to withdraw this contract making the RFAs UFAs, free to sign with any team with available cap space and/or exceptions (see MaxC here)
•Aug 18th: first day possible to offer max extension to Bron if he decides to opt into his current deal by June 29th; in doing so, he bypasses the ability to include a no-trade clause (NTC) into a potential extension; however there could be a 6 month NTC clock that kicks in and since it would expire on Feb 18, 2025, which would be past the 2024/25 trade deadline, Bron essentially could hold a NTC for the entire 2024/25 season
•Dec 15th: FAs signed during the 2024 offseason free agency period are now eligible to be traded and aggregated with other salaried players
•Jan 10th 2025 (league cutdown date) for partial or fully nonguaranteed deals to be waived without any dead cap implication on capsheet
•Jan 15th 2025: all bird right FA players that were signed using the bird exception during the 2024 offseason free agency period is now eligible to be traded (ie BYC players)
•Feb 6th 2025 12pm PT: 2024/25 season trade deadline
What are the differences between the current & new trade rules & when does it come into effect?
Any team not in breach of the 1st Apron and that has been eliminated from the playoffs from now to June 30th, can make a trade using the trade multipliers found below, as long as immediately after the trade, they remain below or just at the 1st Apron hardcap. Teams that have breached or anticipate to breach this 1st Apron hardcap, could instead use a 110% trade multiplier
After June 30th however, trades for teams projected to be below the 1st Apron can be made using:
•200% multiplier towards outgoing salary up to 7.5m + 250k for salary matching
•outgoing salary between 7.5m and 29m + 7.5m for salary matching
•125% multiplier towards outgoing salary greater than 29m + 250k for salary matching
For teams projected to be above the 1st Apron, a 100% multiplier is used towards all outgoing salary instead
Which exceptions (MLE, BAE, etc) can we use?
If we use the ntpMLE, we cannot use the tpMLE or the roomMLE. Since we used the BAE last summer, we cannot use it again this summer. As the name suggests, the availability of this particular exception is Bi-Annually.
If you use cap space, you can use the roomMLE only.
If you are a non tax-payer or only breached the tax line by up to ~7m (ie before hitting the 1st Apron), then you can use the ntpMLE & BAE as long as the use of them does not directly lead to breaching the 1st Apron immediately afterwards.
If team salary is already above the 1st Apron & within the ~10m threshold of the 2nd Apron, then a team can use the tpMLE, as long as after using it, a team is not in breach of the 2nd Apron.
If team salary is already higher than the 2nd Apron, no exceptions can be used by that team. As of now, only the cLips (if they decide to run it back and extend PG & Harden), Dubs (if they decide to run it back and extend Klay & Cp3), Suns, Cbags & Denver are without the use of any exceptions since they all project team salaries higher than the 2nd Apron with use of the 5.2m tpMLE.
What do our books look like heading into the offseason?
Quote:
1. Bron 51.4m (player option; must decide by 6/29)
2. AD 43.2m
3. DLo 18.7m (player option; must decide by 6/29)
4. Rui 17m
5. Reaves 13m
6. Gabe 11m
7. Vando 10.7m
8. JHS 3.9m
9. Wood 3m (player option; already decided to opt-in on 5/7)
10. Cam 2.5m (player option; must decide by 6/29)
11. Hayes 2.5m (player option; must decide by 6/29)
12. MaxL 1.9m
13. MaxC RFA QO caphold 2.3m (LA must extend QO by 6/29)
14. #17 overall 3.8m
15. #55 overall 1.9m (via SRE)
= 184.9m in potential team salary heading into 2024 free agency
Who are our FAs and what can we offer them outside of potential cap space or salary cap exceptions like the MLEs?
-Our outright pending UFAs are:
•Prince (non-bird rights) - can be offered a starting annual of up to 5.4m (120% raise of previous contract of 4.52m) for up to 4yrs in length
•Dinwiddie (non-bird rights) - can be offered vet minimum exception for up to 2yrs in length that has a cap hit of 2.1m on our books, but the league will give an additional 1.2m (can make a total of 3.3m next season on a vet min exception deal as a 10+yr seasoned player); note if we use his non-bird rights, he would only be able to sign for up to 1.9m (120% of last season salary of 1.55m)
•Giles (two-way player) - can be offered vet minimum exception for up to 2 yrs in length that has a cap hit of 2.1m on our books, but the league will give an addition 200k (can make a total of 2.3m next season on a vet min exception deal as a 6yr seasoned player)
-Our UFAs that come via player option opt out are:
•Bron (full bird rights) - can be offered a starting annual of up to 50m (105% of last season salary of 47.61m) for up to 3yrs in length (due to over-38 rule); note that if Bron elects to opt out of his current contract and workup a new deal, he has the ability to include a NTC that he can wield for the life of the contract as opposed to holding a NTC for essentially his first year on an extension in August
•DLo (full bird rights) - can be offered a starting annual of up to 42.3m (30% max as a 9yr seasoned player) for up to 5yrs in length; note that unlike Bron, DLo cannot be offered an extension due to his current contract being 2 years (1+1) in length (only players on existing 3+yr contracts can be offered an extension); like Bron though, DLo can include a NTC during the entirety of his new deal since he is a 8yr+ seasoned vet and has been a Laker for a minimum of 4yrs during his NBA career
•Cam & Hayes (non-bird rights) - can be offered a starting annual of up to 2.6m (120% raise of previous contract of 2.17m) for up to 4yrs in length
-our RFAs are:
•MaxC (early bird rights) - can either be offered a starting annual of up to ~11m (105% of previous season’s league avg contract) for up to 4yrs in length by us if he decides to bypass free agency completely,
can also be offered a starting annual of up to the 25% max as a 3rd year player (ie 35.25m) for up to 4yrs in length by another team that has enough cap space during free agency - where if we match their offer sheet within 24hrs of MaxC signing it, he would not be allowed to get traded for the remainder of the 2024/25 season to the team whose offer sheet he signed and his starting annual would then be 11m (ie his bird exception and not the ntpMLE amount via the Gilbert Arenas provision) but in year 3 of the deal, it would blimp to a poison pill deal on our books (more on that later),
or can be offered a starting annual of up to 2.3m if he decides to sign his QO to become an UFA the following summer (and as a result, he would have a built in NTC into his deal for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, but if he concedes on a trade, the acquiring team would just get his nonbird rights)
•Castleton & Mayes (two-way players): can be given QOs valued at 1.9m and 2.2m respectively to make them RFAs
What is a poison pill contract and how does it impact us in regards to MaxC?
The max contract we can outright offer to Max without him looking elsewhere for an offer sheet is:
Yr1: 11m
Yr2: 11.9m
Yr3: 12.8m
Yr4: 13.9m
=50m (w/annual raises of 8% via early bird rights)
Meanwhile the max contract reflected on our books as a poison pill (PP) contract, where another team can offer what would be the 25% max via their available cap space with us matching it using our early bird exception:
Yr1: 11m
Yr2: 11.6m (5% raise)
Yr3: 38.9m (what a 25% max contract in yr3 would be valued as)
Yr4: 40.6m (4.5% raise)
=102m (where the team that offers that 25% max PP needs at least 25.5m in cap space for the 2024/25 season to offer it)
Note: once matched, that PP backloaded contract structure not only hits our books, but also any other team looking to trade for him thereafter; however if we do not match, the team that gave Austin that offer sheet will see a more traditional (ie non PP) contract structure reflective of the 25m AAV w/5% annual raises; also keep in mind that we will be unable to match a potential PP contract for MaxC with the ntpMLE, since the use of that exception will hardcap us at the 1st Apron and we project to be over that limit as of now; please also see page 1 for details about RFAs, such as the timing in matching & how the Arenas provision works.
Who can be traded right away?
Bron - via opt in from time of picking up option to Aug 18 and beyond (if no extension)
DLo, Hayes & Cam - via opt in
AD, Rui, Reaves, Gabe, Vando, Wood (who already opted in), JHS, MaxL
How do the Lakers choose which exceptions & trade rules they can use? Do they even have a choice in how they can operate this offseason?
As you can see from our projected cap sheet for the upcoming 2024/25 season quoted above, we are already over the 1st Apron and only have ~5m in wiggle before hitting the 2nd Apron. We must be mindful of breaching the 2nd Apron if we use or anticipate in using certain triggers (ie tpMLE, trade cash, S&T player, aggregate in trade, etc) which would hardcap us at that 2nd Apron amount (currently projected @ 190m).
Also keep in mind that we were hardcapped at the 1st Apron for the 2023/24 season (triggered by Gabe given the ntpMLE and Prince given the BAE), so as a result, whatever transactions we make from now till the start of the new season on June 30th, must comply with us remaining below the 1st Apron for the current season (currently @ 172m). As of June 6th, our team salary is currently at 169m, which gives us ~3m to add in salary during this transitionary period before June 30th and the start of a new salary cap year.
Quote:
Administration of Transaction Rules
A. The transaction rules will work in the same manner as the Tax Apron rules set forth in the current CBA – i.e., a team with a Team Salary that exceeds the applicable Apron level will be unable to engage in the applicable transactions, and a team that engages in one or more of such transactions will be unable to subsequently have a Team Salary that exceeds the applicable Apron level in such Salary Cap Year.
B. A team that engages in any of the trade transactions described under the First and Second Apron Level rules above after the last day of the Regular Season of a Salary Cap Year will be unable to subsequently have a Team Salary that exceeds the applicable Apron level for the remainder of the then-current Salary Cap Year as well as for the immediately following Salary Cap Year. (Notwithstanding this general rule, there will be certain transition rules applicable to trade transactions occurring during the period from the day after the last day of the 2023-24 Regular Season through June 30, 2024.)
So even if we are permitted to use a favorable trade multiplier (>100%), the fact that the 1st Apron hardcap still applies to us even during this transitionary period, means at most, we will only be able add ~3m in additional salary before hitting the current 172m hardcap that still applies to us till the new salary cap year on June 30th.
Also pending FAs cannot be used in a trade, so that would mean Bron & DLo per their player options are also effectively out as high salary aggregate to bring in a big salary player during this transitionary window till June 30th.
So hypothetically, as an example, if we find a way to make a trade with Cleveland for Spyda and his current 33.2m deal, then we would need at least 30mish in aggregated salary to bring in Spyda onto our books and still remain under the 1st Apron hardcap. That would mean some combination of Rui + JHS/Wood/Vando + Reaves/Gabe would need to be outbound for a trade to be legal salary-wise. Lastly, if we do make a trade where we end up with more inbound salary than outbound, we would remain hardcapped at the 1st Apron for the 2024/25 season.
TL;dr imho its highly unlikely we pull off a big time salary trade from now till June 30th during this transitionary trade rule window.
So if not now, then when….when are we going to make a trade and how would it look like…or are we just going to stick with the same core roster and run it back hoping for better results?
Run It Back option
Quote:
1. Bron 51.4m (player opt in)
2. AD 43.2m
3. DLo 18.7m (player opt in)
4. Rui 17m
5. Reaves 13m
6. Gabe 11m
7. Vando 10.7m
8. JHS 3.9m
9. Wood 3m
10. Cam 2.5m (player opt in)
11. Hayes 2.5m (player opt in)
12. MaxL 1.9m
13. MaxC 11m (early bird max)
14. Prince 5.4m (nonbird max)
15. Bronny 1.9m (SRE)
= 197.1m in potential team salary
Say we run it back with basically the same squad but with some slight tweaks (ie Spence is out via free agency, Bronny is in to take that 15th roster spot, via trade up using #17 & #55 to get up higher into day 2 of the draft + getting an upcoming protected FRP instead.
We then can offer MaxC up to his early bird max (ie ~11m) and Prince up to his nonbird max (ie 5.4m) without any hardcap restrictions getting triggered. Recall, that the new CBA is all about player retention and teams that want to spend big, are allowed to go above and beyond the 2nd Apron, as long as their salary promotions/retentions remain in-house. So the GOOD is that if we’re willing spend and if we truly believe replacing Ham with Redick or Hurley is the only thing getting in the way of this team competing for a title, then we have the ability to keep this group together without the new CBA outright banning us from doing so. The BAD is that since we would be about 7m over the 2nd Apron, you can forget about any notable buyout candidates or midseason trades happening, cause in all likelihood, the group we kept together for this offseason is the one that we will have to ride with into June of next year…god willing. Now the UGLY: 88.75m in repeater taxes. And to think it could be a whole lot uglier had it been the 2025/26 season cause that will be the year of the tax man, when those more savage third band tax rates kick in. As a result, this coming 2024/25 season will be the last official year to get your affairs in order, cause the tax man will be out to get you in full force in a year’s time. Which brings us to the….
Cap Space option
We purge our books and try as best we can to start clean before the punitive tax kicks in for the 2025/26 season.
Quote:
1. AD 43.2m
2. Rui 17m
3. Reaves 13m
4. Gabe 11m
5. Vando 10.7m
6. JHS 3.9m
7. Wood 3m
8. MaxL 1.9m
9 - 12. Four incomplete roster (IR) spots 7.6m
= 111.3m in potential team salary
= 29.7m in potential cap space + 8m rMLE
Now this would have to mean that not only do Bron, DLo, Cam & Hayes have to opt out of their respective player options, but once they do, we have to renounce their bird rights altogether along with our other FAs in Prince, Dinwiddie and MaxC to gain that 29.7m in potential cap space along with the room MLE. We would NOT be able to use that cap space first and then resign those guys via bird rights once we’re capped out. Hence renouncing their rights. Now if they’re willing to all sign for vet mins, I’m sure we ain’t stopping them, but other than that unrealistic scenario, going the cap space route most likely means roughly half the squad from last season ain’t returning.
Which brings us to how trading into that potential cap space might work. Recall, that teams who use cap space in a trade, must be no more than 250k above the projected salary cap at that time. So if current projections remain as is where the salary cap is 141m, we would only be able to trade for a 29.95m player to where immediately after the trade our team salary is no more than 141.25m. So which needle-mover makes just under 30m next season that can potentially replace all of Bron, DLo, Prince and MaxC’s production? Which now brings us to the….
Trade for 25-35mish player VS 40mish supermax level player option
Assuming we have the assets/salaries that can get some of these guys and for the sake of this exercise, we group DLo & Rui together (17-19m), Reaves, Gabe & Vando together (11-13m) as similar salaried guys that we can toggle between to construct an aggregated package that helps make it legal. I am also assuming that both Bron and AD remain in LA and aren’t outbound. So guys like DeJounte Murray, Spyda, Garland, BI, OG, Myles Turner, Mikal Bridges, etc will all allow our books to look something along the lines of this:
Quote:
1. Bron 50m (opt out re-up max with included NTC)
2. AD 43.2m
3. Spyda 35.4m (traded w/o use of multiplier using DLo+Rui’s 35.7m aggregated)
4. Reaves 13m
5. Gabe 11m
6. MaxC 11m (early bird max re-up)
7. Vando 10.7m
8. tpMLE player 5.2m (can bypass 1st Apron, but triggers 2nd Apron hardcap)
9. Bronny 1.9m (SRE)
10. - 14. 5 vet min exception cap holds 10.4m
= 191.8m in potential team salary
Assuming that JHS, MaxL and all our tradable FRPs are outbound for Spyda, we would still be ~2m in breach of the 190m projected 2nd Apron hardcap, which was triggered by trade aggregation (even though no trade multiplier use allowed us to bypass the 1st Apron trigger) and the use of the tpMLE. Since we are going to have to aggregate to get a 35mish type player without using Bron and AD as trade bait, why not use the tpMLE if the 2nd Apron will get triggered anyway…amirite? But seeing how we are in breach of that hardcap, we would need Bron and/or MaxC to re-up at slightly less. Its either that, or do not use the entire tpMLE amount on a player. Also notice that MaxC is making roughly the ntpMLE amount (12.9m) in this scenario. So for those looking to trade for a Spyda type salary, yet wanting to still use the ntpMLE, I just can’t see that happening unless further salary is dropped (ie RFA MaxC does not get matched, or Gabe/Vando get salary dumped, etc).
And as a team that is likely hardcapped at the 2nd Apron (imho trade aggregation is almost an inevitability), our team salary can be no more than 190m, meaning that at the very most, even as repeat tax offenders, we will not pay a penny more than 56.5m due to the fact that we cannot go more than 18m above the luxury tax threshold of 172m before hitting the 190m 2nd Apron hardcap.
Now lets compare the aforementioned 25-35mish player trade scenario to a scenario where we trade for a 40mish type player like Trae, Ky or KAT or even a salary dump type trade involving Zach’s 40mish salary.
Quote:
1. Bron 50m (opt out re-up max with included NTC)
2. AD 43.2m
3. Zach 43m
4. Vuc 20m
5. Reaves 13m
6. tpMLE player 5.2m
7. Bronny 1.9m (SRE)
8. MaxL 1.9m
9. - 14. Seven vet min exception capholds 14.5m (which could include MaxL still)
= 190.8m in potential team salary
So in this option, we absolutely got dumped on (ie 63m in aggregate for Zach, who still has 3 years remaining on his deal + Vuc, who has 2 years remaining on his), but in a way, we also got to dump Rui & Gabe’s slightly lengthy deals by aggregating them (28m) to an opted-in DLo + Vando (29.4m) and a S&T’d MaxC at his full early bird max (~11m), but making him BYC which turns him into a ~5.6m outbound salary for trading purposes. And just for safe measure where the trade does not have the optics of the use of a trade multiplier of any sort, you can throw in Woods 3m to make sure we have enough outbound salary to take in Zach/Vuc’s salary dump.
Of course there is player aggregation out the wazoo in this scenario, but since outbound salary matches inbound salary, we would not have triggered the 1st Apron…only the 2nd Apron due to trade aggregation, S&T’ing MaxC and then as a result using the tpMLE. Meanwhile Chicago would be acquiring a S&T’d player and would be hardcapped at the 1st Apron where they can limit their tax bill and begin a rebuild of sorts.
The final numbers above reflect a 800k breach of the 2nd Apron hardcap, but this can easily be rectified by trimming Bron’s max re-up deal or giving a slight haircut to whatever tpMLE player we can lure into it.
Also since MaxC is being S&T’d, by default, he has to have at least a 3 year deal (only year 1 has to be fully guaranteed) and if they choose to want the same type of deal construct for DLo, they can do so in concert with him and his CAA representation. That way, DLo isn’t a pending FA that is only viewed as a 1yr rental. But either way, Chicago hardcaps themselves at the 1st Apron, and as a result limits their team spending while dropping their tax bill. They also have more manageable deals for the foreseeable future rather than Zach’s blimped max deal.
Anywho, there are a plethora of configurations that may work if certain tangibles in trade assets are ignored and we only had to rely on salary aggregation to get a trade over the hump. But that simply isn’t the case and with all the hard cap triggers in place now, we’re going to need a lot of player and team cooperation as well as some finesse dancing around our cap sheet to really create a productive offseason. A lot simply has to go our way for us to claim our summer a true winner and I just have my doubts we can get much done.
But here’s to hoping we can! Please post any questions or ideas pertaining to sample cap sheets here and I’ll try my best to answer them.
Lastly, seeing how our FO has championed us now having 3 FRPs (2025, 2029 & 2031) all in play this summer if an opportunity presents itself, there is one other rule that we need to pay more attention to, especially pertaining to that 2031 pick.
What’s with this new frozen pick rule and how does it impact us trading our 2031 FRP when it gets unlocked in trade eligibility on June 30th?
Quote:
Beginning with the 2024-25 Salary Cap Year, if a team’s Team Salary exceeds the Second Apron Level in a Salary Cap Year, then its first round draft pick in the seventh Draft following the last day of the Salary Cap Year (the “Frozen Pick”) will be frozen, meaning the pick may not be traded.
1. If the team’s Team Salary exceeds the Second Apron Level in at least two of the immediately following four Salary Cap Years, the Frozen Pick will be moved to the end of the first round of the applicable Draft and the team will continue to be unable to trade it. If more than one team has a Frozen Pick moved to the end of the first round of a particular Draft, those teams will select at the end of the first round in inverse order of their consolidated standings at the end of the preceding season.
2. If, instead, the team’s Team Salary is less than or equal to the Second Apron Level in at least three of the immediately following four Salary Cap Years, then the Frozen Pick will be unfrozen (meaning it could again be traded) as of the first day of the Salary Cap Year immediately following the third such Salary Cap Year for which the team’s Team Salary is less than or equal to the Second Apron Level and will not be subject to any restriction on pick position.
Simply put, we will NOT be able to trade our 2031 FRP if we are in breach of the 2nd Apron. This is yet another reason imho that we will treat that 2nd Apron as our hardcap even if we decide not to trigger it. Recall our “Run It Back” option….in that scenario, we will be able to breach the 2nd Apron since we would not have triggered any of the hardcap mechanisms. However, if we did run it back and decided to trade our 2031 FRP along with one other player for a single player in return making that same amount or less, then we would have to make sure that post trade, we once again were below or just at the 2nd Apron….cause if not, then the trade cannot go through and we would be banned from including that 2031 FRP in any trade scenario for the remainder of this season.
For example, Gabe (11m) + 2031 FRP for AC (9m) is a legal trade, only as long as immediately after the trade, our team salary is not in breach of that 190m 2nd Apron (cause trading a pick 7 years out triggers the 2nd Apron hardcap).
Oh, I got one more question…I just heard about the new TV deal that is about to go through; will it impact the current 3.7% salary cap projections for this coming year?
Imho, if it does, it still will not go to the full 10% annual increase that is permitted in this new CBA. If it does go up for this upcoming season, it will be marginal (ie going up to ~5%). However I do believe the new TV deal will impact its inaugural season of 2025/26. I do expect that season to experience a full 10% max increase, where it will continue to climb at the full 10% max for the foreseeable future. So by the 2032/33 season, we could be looking at >100m annual salaries for players. Gawdddamn…I wonder what the kids will be calling the bag by then?
Quote:
The NBA is nearing completion of a combined 11-year, $76 billion set of deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon. The deals average out to $6.9 billion per season for the NBA, which is more than 2.5 times higher than its existing deals. The NFL recently doubled its feeds under its last deal to around $10 billion per year. An official announcement could still be weeks away as it will need approval from the Board of Governors. ESPN’s deal is considered the “A” package and they will pay an average of $2.6 billion per year, which is up from $1.5 billion under the current deal. While ESPN will broadcast fewer overall games, they retain both The Finals and a Conference Finals annually. ESPN will be allowed to air games on its direct-to-consumer streaming service expected to launch in 2025.
Beginning in 2025, NBC plans on streaming approximately 50 NBA games per season exclusively on Peacock. NBC will broadcast games on its network on Tuesdays and Sundays when there isn’t a conflict with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” NBC is close to finalizing a $2.5 billion per year deal with the NBA that has been viewed with contrasting opinions within the company. Some believe NBC is overpaying to air the NBA, while others expect it to help with its fledgling Peacock streaming service. Peacock lost $639 million in the most recent quarter. – via RealGM
Anyways, I appreciate those that actually took the time to read this all the way thru. Kudos to yall in #GettingFamiliar. I am sure there will the errors, corrections & edits along the way, so please stay patient with me as we get this all the way correct by the time the new 2024/25 season really kicks off. As I stated earlier, I anticipate there will be some questions/inquiries/concerns as we head into the new season & the new CBA, but unfortunately I will be heading out on summer vacay in mid-June and will return by the time the FA moratorium comes to a conclusion (ie 2nd week of July). So I’ll try my best to answer any questions and check in during that time, but I do not know if I will have reliable internet during that time. I hope all my fellow cap heads can hold it down for me/us till I get back. Thanks fam!
Super useful to break it down like this. I think some of the numbers look pretty worst case scenario insofar that I doubt Christie is getting $11M annually (I assume). But it does reinforce my intuition that these $40M+ guys just don't make any sense. Spyda, DeJounte Murray, Lauri etc. are better targets.
If run it back is $7.1M over, we could shave off $1M from LeBron re-signing rather than extending. DLO's market seems worse than $18.7M so if he opts out and resigns a longer deal for less (say, 3 yr/ $45M -- god it's (bleep) CRAZY how much Rob overpaid Rui) that'd shave off another $4M or so (assuming year 1 starts at like $14M). And if Christie gets closer to $4-7M that also opens up a lot more flexibility. If DLO opts in I assume the Lakers choose between Christie and Prince though (although Woj said the Lakers don't want to be capped at the 2nd apron implying they'd breach it).
So a lot hinges on Christie's market & Russell's contract. (If I'm another team, btw, I'm looking to poach Christie.)
^Thx tox! Yeah I hope it helps and doesn’t further confuse the fam here.
To be clear, I really don’t know what market value is for our FAs this summer, but I would believe that seeing how the recent TV deals are projecting and eventually will be kicking in for the 2025/26 season, imho a 10-15m deal will be right about the standard NBA contract if the cap projects to climb a max 10% by next season (ie the current 12.9m ntpMLE could be as much as 14.2m, if not a bit more, by next summer). In that regard, locking up young wing like MaxC on a 4yr 50mish deal will be absolutely worth it as the cap climbs. That is why I do believe his market could be as high as his early bird max…cause that deal has the potential to look amazing on any team’s cap sheet. Imho we were lucky that Reaves didn’t place us in anything poisonous last summer…so here’s to hoping MaxC can do the same and if we can get him at half his max, then then even better. But I’m skeptical…
Also it is good practice to try and duck that 2nd Apron cause it is so prohibitive if it’s triggered. That being said, the hard cap will not get triggered if we run it back and leak into 2nd Apron territory. As a result we would be locked in to our “run it back” squad tho, cause only salary shedding 1 for 1 type trades can occur from that point on and obviously our 2031 FRP would be frozen and ineligible to be traded till we shed enough salary to once again field a cap sheet that is far enough below the 2nd Apron.
TL;dr: in trying to construct any hypothetical roster, it’s good practice to construct personnel that has team salary at <= 190m. _________________ Not familiar with the salary cap/CBA rules & how it impacts our Lakers?
#GetFamiliar by CLICKING HERE!
Alright fam, I’m off for a vacay. Depending on how the Lakers do during the offsZzzn I might extend my trip haha. Hopefully they don’t sleep till every stone is left unturned. Please give me a reason to get extra turnt.
Meanwhile I hope my fellow capos can take care of the LG fam for any questions, concerns or errors/edits that need addressing. I’ll try my best to keep Q&A updated in case the current projections change, but if I got spotty internet access, please accept my apologies in advance.
I hope most of y’all either #GetFamiliar or already GotFamiliar and continue to submit your trade proposals / roster acquisitions for discussion here at LG. I have it on good sauce that the Lakers FO be scouring the forums, so . It’s either that or I’m already on that good sauce…cheers fam & try to enjoy your summer! 🍻
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