It pays to be patient. That is the financial lesson of the NBA’s offseason, which saw the biggest pay raises go to players who turned down contract extensions and gambled on themselves. Among the top 11 pay increases this summer, five went to players who felt like they were being lowballed by their teams — and proved it when they cashed in with bigger deals as restricted free agents this summer. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Orlando’s Tobias Harris, Detroit’s Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City’s Enes
Amar’e Stoudemire moved into very exclusive company this summer. By accepting the veteran’s minimum of $1.5 million in signing as a free agent with the Miami Heat, Stoudemire became just the second player in NBA history to take a $20 million pay cut. Last season, Stoudemire was on the books for $23,410,000, the final season of the five-year deal worth about $100 million he signed with the New York Knicks in 2010. That was the summer that the Knicks tried to position
The salary cap rose to $70 million for the 2015-16 season, an increase of 11 percent and nearly $7 million from a year ago, the NBA announced Wednesday night. The cap for next season originally was projected around $67.1 million. Shortly before free agency began, however, CBS Sports reported that the number would be at least $1 million higher and perhaps as much as $2 million higher. In fact, it is $3 million higher, the sort of anecdotal information that will
The NBA trading deadline is slightly more than 24 hours away. And while the feeling is that there will be some deals, many teams made their biggest moves some time ago. The deadline has become about far more than acquiring players. It is just as much about stockpiling assets such as draft picks and expiring contracts or unloading players with long-term deals. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of veteran players who have either partial or no guarantees on
Four players – three of them future Hall of Famers – took pay cuts of a staggering eight figures this offseason. Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Paul Pierce all took salary slashes of more than $10 million to extend their careers with contending teams. They head the list of the top 10 individual pay cuts this summer. Our list uses exact salary figures from last season. In some cases, this season’s figures are averages of multi-year deals received by players. For example,
Is the white American player making a comeback this summer? All of the recent offseason buzz is centered around Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love and which team can put together the most appealing trade package to acquire him. Meanwhile, two of the top three salary bumps also went to white American players – Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward. As restricted free agents, both got max salary offer sheets and cashed in. So while white men can’t jump, they certainly can jump in
Hours before the moratorium period ended and free agency began Wednesday, the NBA released its financial figures for the 2014-15 season. We have taken those figures and – with the help of folks like Larry Coon and Mark Deeks – have laid out the amounts for all of the exceptions and maximum salaries available to players this season. TEAM SALARY The salary cap will be $63.065 million. That is slightly lower than published projections but still represents a 7.5 percent increase over last season’s $58.679
Free agency began at midnight Eastern time today, and the rumors and reports will come in like an avalanche on the Internet and social media. But how much guaranteed money does your team actually have on its books for next season? You can find out in this trusty little chart right here: [Read more…]