Contract Considerations Heading Into the Season
by wyn on Oct 2, 2009 9:26 AM CDT
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PrintWith Jerry Zgoda's post last night about Corey Brewer and all the talk about Ryan Gomes' contract, there's a good deal of cap consideration for the Wolves before reaching free agency next year (or even this year's trade deadline, for that matter). As always, you can find Wolves cap information at Hoopus, and I recommend ShamSports for league-wide salary info (especially over HoopsHype).
Ryan Gomes. Contrary to the most common description, Gomes does not have team options on his contract for 10/11 and 11/12. In fact, contracts can only have one "option" on them (the one exception is rookie contracts for 1st round picks). What Gomes does have is a partial guarantee on each of those years, and an Early Termination Option on 12/13 (an ETO is very similar to a player option).
Gomes' contract becomes fully guaranteed if the team does not cut him by 6/30/10. If they do cut him, Gomes will be owed $1 million in each of 10/11 and 11/12 and $750,000 in 12/13. Were he cut, those amounts would count against the Wolves cap figure in their respective years.
Kevin Love, Corey Brewer & Oleksiy Pecherov. While Zgoda described the process pretty accurately, the vocabulary was slightly off. All three players have team options (not qualifying offers) for next year that must be exercised by 10/31/09. If they are not exercised the players, as Zgoda said, become unrestricted free agents next summer and the Wolves are limited to each player's team option amount for the first year of a new contract.
Qualifying offers must be made to eligible players before they become restricted free agents. This will happen at the end of each of these players' rookie contracts, should the team options be exercised).
Mark Blount & Antonio Daniels. If the Wolves are unable to trade the two vets they relieved of camp duties, they essentially have two options:
1. They can waive the players outright. If another team picks them up off the waiver wire that team would assume the full contract of the player they picked up, and the Wolves would be completely relieved of them. This is, of course, highly unlikely since the contracts are so large. If no other team picks them up, they "clear waivers" and become free agents with the Wolves having to pay the salary and hold the salary on their cap figure.
2.They can reach a buyout agreement with the players. In this case, the player and team mutually agree upon a portion of the contract to be paid to the player (the buyout amount). This buyout amount is what will count against the Wolves' salary cap figure. While the buyout can be paid in any agreed upon fashion, the salary cap hit corresponds to the remaining years and amounts of the bought out contract (eg Juwan Howard was bought out and paid over 4 years, despite the cap hit being over 2 years).
Ricky Rubio. As a 1st round pick, Rubio is bound by the Rookie Salary Scale, determined by the pick he was taken at (#5) with negotiating room of 80% to 120% of the scale. Until he signs a contract with the Wolves, though, Rubio has a cap hold of $2.7 million (the 1st year scale amount) on the Wolves' salary cap figure.
During the regular season (between Opening Day and July 1, 2010) the cap hold removed. That means that on the first day of the season, the Wolves will get $2.7 million in cap space. If Rubio eventually signs under the salary scale, the scale amount for the year he signs is used as the starting point.
Nikola Pekovic & Loukas Mavrokefalidis. Since these guys were 2nd round picks, there is no salary scale and the Wolves must use cap space or salary cap exceptions (Mid-Level, Bi-Annual, Minimum Salary) to sign them.
This is your brain on the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any questions?
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I think the wolves may
use some of their cap space next year to sign Pekovic…not sure when his euro contract is up, but it would make sense for them to save that kind of room.
by TheEvilProfessor on Oct 2, 2009 11:13 AM CDT reply actions
Here's what I'd do
Kevin Love – pick up his option. Duh
Corey Brewer – pick up his option as well, for two reasons. First, I really think he’ll be worth it by the end of the season. Second, if we let him hit the free agent market and try to resign him for less than his rookie deal is worth, we’ll likely end up in a battle with a contending team that can live with his offense and covets his defense (San Antonio? Boston? Orlando?), and that would not only cost us just as much, if not more than his rookie deal to keep him, but we might just lose him outright.
Ryan Gomes – I’d prefer not to pick up his option. By letting him walk, we can basically balance out the difference of picking up Corey’s option, thus saving us most of the cap space we have for next summer. Also, while he’s a solid player, I’m not sure where he fits on the team in the long run. Ideally we’d want Corey starting at the 2 or 3, with one of those “premier wing players” Kahn is looking for at the other spot. If we do pick up Gomes’ option, it should be with the intention of see what kind of trade we can make with him…he’s got plenty to offer a contending team.
Mark Blount – he’ll need to be bought out. No team is going to trade for him at that price.
Antonio Daniels – very likely the same as Blount. Unlike Mark, Antonio has plenty to offer on the court to the right team, but again, his current contract is a steep price.
Oleksiy Pecherov – I don’t see the need to pick his option up, especially if Love’s shooting is as good as being described. Pecherov’s only tangible skill is his shooting, but if Love is going to give us that anyway, we really can’t afford to waste roster spaces on big men who don’t help with our defense and athletic deficiencies in the post.
Loukas Mavrokefalidis – a non-factor. He’s basically the same player as Pecherov, and as a 2006 draftee, one would think that if he were to ever play here, he would be already. We haven’t heard his name at all since draft night 2006, which would seem to say he isn’t and probably wasn’t ever in the Wolves’ plans
Nikolai Pekovic – he’s trade bait. That’s the only reason to sign him to a deal. In talking to Kahn and reading his comments since, it doesn’t seem he feels Pekovic is a viable rotation player with Al and Love (all “earthbound” was his description), and I agree.
Considering Pekovic has pretty emphatically stated he doesn’t want to play in the NBA, I’m quite frankly puzzled at everyone’s enthusiasm over him. Maybe they think he’s another Marc Gasol….? At any rate don’t expect him to ever suit up for us, and if he is signed to a contract, you can bet it’s because another team is willing to trade for him.
by Oceanary on Oct 2, 2009 6:56 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Disagree on Brewer. A mult year deal starting $3.7 million is the max I’d pay Brewer assuming he really improves. If someone else pays more, they’ll be overpaying, let them. If Brewer wasn’t a top 10 pick, this wouldn’t even be a debate. Brewer’s shown little to nothing to suggest he’s more than a bench player. He could be great on D, but his offense is so weak that he can’t be trusted with enough minutes to fulfill his defensive potential. The chances that he earns a deal worth more than Sessions got this year are minimal.
Pekovic has been the best player in Europe the past 2 years per Hollinger’s PER model. If he comes, he’s going to be effcient and good. I’d like to watch more of him, by description he seems to be a taller version of Al. If Love is as good as we’re hoping, maybe Al gets moved for a stud wing and we pay Pekovic a sweet producion per dollar deal.
But again, remember the most important thing regarding Pekovic: he doesn’t want to play in the NBA. Ever. For any team.
We should have taken Joey Dorsey with that pick, but it was McHale, so….
Pekovic quote in January this year
"I don’t think now about NBA. It’s something I tell to everybody. I really don’t like to speak about it. There is no pressure from their side. They tell me "come in two years". I don’t know what will happen in two years. I am such a kind of player. Even when I signed for Panathinaikos they were asking me about it and I was giving the same answer. "I don’t know. Let’s get there first". I am very happy in Panathinaikos right now and I don’t think about the NBA".
I have heard this idea of yours before, and have yet to see anyone show me the quote in which Pekovic says anything “emphatically” about it. He’s kept his options open, and basically the actual quotes in news sources are all noncommittal in that way.
True
If Brewer wasn’t a top 10 pick, this wouldn’t even be a debate. Brewer’s shown little to nothing to suggest he’s more than a bench player.
He also wouldn’t have a $3.7 million option if he weren’t such a high pick. If his option were for less, would it be a debate? What’s his salary threshold?
www.canishoopus.com
by wyn on Oct 3, 2009 1:09 AM CDT up reply actions
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/2008/draft/players/454277.html
Although he could stand to put on an additional 10-15 pounds, Pekovic is already able to work his body well in the paint, making up for average athleticism and some poor ball-handling skills (2.1 turnovers per game). Pekovic has said several times he does not like the NBA and his new European deal means he won’t be available for a few years, which may scare teams from picking him in the first round, if at all.
I’m sure he’s keeping his options open because it doesn’t do any good to burn bridges before even crossing them, but he was pretty clear leading up to that draft. He doesn’t want to play in the NBA. He’s not going to say that now that he’s been drafted, but I doubt his sentiments have changed much.
But either way, I still don’t understand the enthusiasm over him. Statistically speaking, he’s average (below average on the glass actually), and he’s far from the kind of athlete you’d ideally want to pair with Al and Love. That three man rotation would make us, by far, the slowest frontcourt in the league, and cause serious dynamics problems with the speedy backcourt we have.
Fans constantly question what kind of player Rubio can turn into…a guy who has already proven himself several times on the international stage and has NBA teams raving. But then say that Pekovic…a guy we know hardly anything about, have never seen on the court, and never gets talked about anywhere but in these closed Wolves circles….could be better than Al Jefferson??? I don’t get that at all.
That's disproportionate
Maybe 30-40% question Rubio and at most 20% say Pekovic could be better than Al Jefferson.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Oct 2, 2009 11:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply I was putting numbers on anything. I don’t see how ANYONE could suggest Pekovic would be better than Jefferson.
I guess I just don’t understand why Pekovic is considered anything more than an afterthought in the big picture of things. Even in this blog post, it mentions Loukas Mavrokefalidis, who we still own the rights to and who is statistically and physically superior to Pekovic, but who no Wolves fans ever talk about. So what is it about Nikola that has some people so excited?
Offensive efficiency
Granted, he’s not a great all-around player in terms of rebounding, blocks, passing, etc., but he does one thing better than almost any other European basketball player in existence: Score the basketball at a highly efficient rate. It’s almost ridiculous. He’s like a rich man’s Craig Smith in this regard. Check out his pace adjusted per 40 scoring numbers, which was #1 in the Euroleague:
Some highlights:
- A ridiculous 12.6 FTA’s
- 69% True shooting percentage
- 29 points per 40
Now I can think of a lot of teams that could use a low post scorer come playoff time. Chicago is the first team that comes to mind. Atlanta could probably use a guy like this too. There has been and will be interest in Nikola Pekovic because of this. And although he may not be a defensive stopper, he has a big strong body that can help clog the lane and lean on some of the bigger Centers in the game.
by Rascal Flatts on Oct 3, 2009 9:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Whom are you debating with, here?
Fans constantly question what kind of player Rubio can turn into…a guy who has already proven himself several times on the international stage and has NBA teams raving. But then say that Pekovic…a guy we know hardly anything about, have never seen on the court, and never gets talked about anywhere but in these closed Wolves circles….could be better than Al Jefferson??? I don’t get that at all.
Uh, whuh? I spend altogether too much time on these boards, and have no idea what subset of fans you think you’re talking about. Wolves fans were high on Rubio early, early on. “Blond Ricky” just implied that Pekovic might be pretty productive for the money the Wolves would spend on him, allowing the team to spend Al’s more significant cap space on a wing instead. That’s not the same thing at all.
You’re reading the minds not only of this particular prospect in Pekovic (despite an obvious language gap and the remoteness of whatever quote it is you’ve latched onto), but also of imaginary fans who disdain Rubio and think Pekovic is Moses Malone….. That’s a little odd.
Just to be Clear
Oceanry- You have some excellent takes- I just want to raise a few points.
SNP has expressed skepticism over Rubio’s game based on valid points (Lack of Shooting, Lack of Explosive Quickness). I think the first one is a more legit concern than the Second One. I would guess this factored in somewhat to his slippage in the draft- more than contract.
I don’t remember anybody expressing the belief that “Pekovic” was better than Al. I know thisn’t is anywhere near a majority view. Personally- I see Pekovic as a Marc Gasol Type-Player. A very good backup center from an Offensive Efficiency Stand Point- whose D probably keeps him from being a Front-Line Starter. So what I might say is that they’re games have similar attributes.
I do tend to agree with you that Pekovic isn’t a great fit and a wild card as far as coming over. He probably is overvalued here as a trade asset for these reasons.
I think Sacramento got scared by Rubio's buyout situation
Reports I read said they had Jonny Flynn ahead of Rubio as well. Since they only had one top 10 pick, they had to take someone they were sure would play this year, and Evans was apparently Geoff Petrie’s favorite. So I think that pick was like last year, when they took Jason Thompson over Anthony Randolph and Marresse Speights.
I do think the Kings are going to regret passing on Rubio and Flynn. Evans is going to be a very good player, but probably not a very good point guard. With Kevin Martin already at the 2 and Andres Nocioni at the 3, it raises a question of how does that team fit together?
I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a phone call from the Kings about Sessions next summer.
I also agree that Rubio isn’t much of a shooter, and although he’ll get better, I doubt he’ll ever be mistaken for Steve Nash. I do think, though, that he’s one of those rare players that can dominate games without scoring much, the way Jason Kidd used to.
"Gomes' contract becomes fully guaranteed if the team does not cut him by 6/30/10."
It becomes fully guaranteed in its entirety? Or it becomes guaranteed for the next season, after which we’d again have another 6/30 deadline to decide whether or not to keep him?
I was under the impression it was the latter.
The former
According to ShamSports and an independent confirmation.
www.canishoopus.com
by wyn on Oct 3, 2009 2:21 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I remember this when he signed the deal
And thought it was weird that he had a two-year deal that basically became a four-year deal if the team wanted him for that third year.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Oct 3, 2009 9:11 AM CDT up reply actions
And a five year deal
If Gomes wants that last one. It’s definitely an interesting contract structure, but guys like Greg Buckner and James Jones have also recently had similar contract structures
www.canishoopus.com
Gotta say I love the whole league's spreadsheet Wyn
And I find it useful although I don’t always look at it. But, Hoopshype is complete and utter shit. Quote me on that if you wish.
On the other hand, I’m thankful there is Sham, and people like Wyn who do track this salary stuff with such great diligence. Thank You Wyn.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Happy to put my obsession to public use
You’re most welcome.
Guys like Larry Coon and Sham really make the business side accessible for us NBA fans.
www.canishoopus.com
by wyn on Oct 6, 2009 10:16 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Excellent Post
I just wanted to say “well done” for a very clear and concise description of the Wolves individual salaries. I understand that this is an area that may cause even the most hardcore fans to drift off, but I think your post provided the information they need to know in managable nuggets.
I also wanted to thank you for the hard work you’ve put into your salary spreadsheet. I regularly use Sham and storyteller, but lately I find myself using your site more than even those two. I especially appreciate your constant updating. A few weeks ago, you updated the spreadsheet within minutes of a move, which is unbelievable.
Keep up the great work!
shrink
Shrink, your kudos are most welcome
Particularly because I know how much you pay attention to the subject matter.
www.canishoopus.com
by wyn on Oct 6, 2009 10:27 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
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