lurker23
02-08-2010, 07:36 PM
As we all wait impatiently to see if the Spurs will make a move before the trade deadline, there is the ever lingering duality of sports to consider: what makes sense on the court, and what makes sense for the pocketbook. While we all know the Spurs have chosen to go "all-in" this year and likely next year, paying a significant amount of luxury tax for the first time, this doesn't mean that they're willing to pay huge amounts for 2012, 2013, or 2014.
While the Spurs always have the option to trade away one of their current/future core players (at this point likely considered TD, TP, Manu, RJ, McDyess, Hill, and Blair, with the fans focusing on possibly trading RJ), most of the trade talk involves the Spurs trading the other 7 players on the team (Mason, Finley, Bogans, Ratliff, Bonner, Mahinmi, and Hairston). These players all have varying value basketball-wise, but the thing they have in common is that they are expiring contracts. Expiring contracts are valuable to teams looking to save money, and usually they are traded for players with higher basketball value, but longer contracts.
However, will the Spurs management really be willing to take on players with longer contracts? Here's how the Spurs team is set up as it stands now:
2009-2010
Current team
$79,599,278
2010-2011
Duncan
Jefferson
Parker
McDyess
Blair
Hill
(Hairston)
Total: $56,088,011
2011-2012
Duncan
McDyess (only partially guaranteed)
Hill
Blair
Total: $28,911,082
2012-2013
Blair
Total: $1,054,000
As you can see, the Spurs have very little salary committed after 2010-11. And what else happens after 2010-11? The current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. No one knows what the new CBA will look like, but one thing is almost certain: player salaries will go down. With talk of a more stringent salary cap being in place, and no one knowing how existing contracts will be considered under this new deal, it's very possible that big money contracts from 2011 to 2015 will be significant albatrosses in compiling any team, much less a rebuilding team.
With the fact that the Spurs are currently set up perfectly to enter a time of increased uncertainty and lower player salaries, fans definitely have to wonder a couple things: will the Spurs give up that prized position to take on bigger contracts this trade deadline? And if they do, will it be worth it for the long-term health of the franchise?
While the Spurs always have the option to trade away one of their current/future core players (at this point likely considered TD, TP, Manu, RJ, McDyess, Hill, and Blair, with the fans focusing on possibly trading RJ), most of the trade talk involves the Spurs trading the other 7 players on the team (Mason, Finley, Bogans, Ratliff, Bonner, Mahinmi, and Hairston). These players all have varying value basketball-wise, but the thing they have in common is that they are expiring contracts. Expiring contracts are valuable to teams looking to save money, and usually they are traded for players with higher basketball value, but longer contracts.
However, will the Spurs management really be willing to take on players with longer contracts? Here's how the Spurs team is set up as it stands now:
2009-2010
Current team
$79,599,278
2010-2011
Duncan
Jefferson
Parker
McDyess
Blair
Hill
(Hairston)
Total: $56,088,011
2011-2012
Duncan
McDyess (only partially guaranteed)
Hill
Blair
Total: $28,911,082
2012-2013
Blair
Total: $1,054,000
As you can see, the Spurs have very little salary committed after 2010-11. And what else happens after 2010-11? The current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. No one knows what the new CBA will look like, but one thing is almost certain: player salaries will go down. With talk of a more stringent salary cap being in place, and no one knowing how existing contracts will be considered under this new deal, it's very possible that big money contracts from 2011 to 2015 will be significant albatrosses in compiling any team, much less a rebuilding team.
With the fact that the Spurs are currently set up perfectly to enter a time of increased uncertainty and lower player salaries, fans definitely have to wonder a couple things: will the Spurs give up that prized position to take on bigger contracts this trade deadline? And if they do, will it be worth it for the long-term health of the franchise?