Julian Mozo's article: Scola wants to play in the NBA this year

[Kori Ellis]

If they did indeed offer scola a 7 million contract, isnt that more than what we gave to Oberto?

Oberto got 3years/$7.5M.

[FoxMulder]

If they did indeed offer scola a 7 million contract, isnt that more than what we gave to Oberto?

Remember scola must pay his own buyout that remains 2 mil for 3 years

[smeagol]

Hey smeagol, suck a already.

Sparky, chupame un huevo, already

[Horry For 3!]

Scola admitted that what I've been saying probably happened is pretty much the case. The Spurs never really offered him a contract, as their main target was Oberto. The Spurs looked at it and saw what Scola saw ... Oberto is bigger and a better rebounder and defender.

Scola simply didn't fit on this team. I've always been skeptical on how an undersized power forward would work on the Spurs in the post-David Robinson era. The last undersized power forward the Spurs had was lynched every time he took a shot. Imagine an undersized power forward who would look to score a lot more. Pop and Spurs fans would have lost it.

Oh and Whottt was right. Scola is a whiner. It's been long enough after the event that he should be cooled off now. If a player is going to pretty much demand a trade, he's not Spurs material anyways. Manu had to wait ... so Scola shouldn't think he's above waiting.

Now if I'm the Spurs, I wait for a good offer and then trade him. I don't want Scola on this team. But the Spurs can't rush and trade him for nothing. They have time on their side and could always just force Scola to play another year in Europe.

Nesterovic/Mohammed + Scola should get you a good player in return.

That is what I was thinking. He is saying he wants to be traded, well then he doesn't deserve to be on the Spurs team and we should trade him or trade him and rasho/nazr for a good player.

[ALVAREZ6]

That is what I was thinking. He is saying he wants to be traded, well then he doesn't deserve to be on the Spurs team and we should trade him or trade him and rasho/nazr for a good player.

I would wanna be traded too if I was drafted like 3 or 4 years ago and I still haven't been signed on the team.

He just wants to play in the league.

[50 cent]

I know everyone here would just suck it up and play for the spurs for 7 dollars an hour (not to mention if they owned the team pay cuban sized luxury tax) but not everyone in the world thinks the world revolves around SA (more specificially pop's nuts).

[nkdlunch]

That is what I was thinking. He is saying he wants to be traded, well then he doesn't deserve to be on the Spurs team and we should trade him or trade him and rasho/nazr for a good player.

???

why? It's true that Spurs now should consider trading him, but why doesn't he deserve to play for Spurs??

[smeagol]

I still think its unfair to call Scola a whiner.

Regarding him being upset to be drafted in the second round, well, we now know why (buy-out related).

Regarding the current situation, its clear from the article that he is not bitter with the Spurs. He just wants to play int he NBA and does not see an opportunity with the Spurs in the forseable future.

[Rick Von Braun]

Even is he took the supposed 3year/$7M offer and paid the $3M over three years .. he's still get around $1M a year. That's getting paid. Scola is the one that signed that contract with the buyouts. It's not the Spurs fault that he has to pay them. They can't give him like 3year/$15M just so he can pay the buyout and still cash in. That's not how it works. The Spurs don't have money to throw around this summer.

I think you are all getting all the numbers wrong. Please do not use the value of the contract, use the after-tax money (the actual money he could use). I did a similar analysis not so long ago, and people just ignored it.

Assuming the following:

• 40% taxes (low ball estimate, a 45% would be more accurate),
• a 3 year/7M contract (i.e. 2.5M first year with 10% no compound increases), and
• a 3 M buyout after Spurs contribution
• a 3 years ~10% APR loan to pay out the buyout using the Spurs contract as collateral (i.e. ~1.2M/year)

we get:

Scola average salary = [total contract value - taxes - 3 years loan payment]/ 3 years
Scola average salary = [(7M * .6) - 1.2M * 3 ] / 3 = 200K/year

If I were Scola, for that money I would stay in Europe or try to convince the Spurs to trade my rights. I would be willing to jump to the NBA for slightly less money if playing in the NBA were my dream, but I would not do it if it implies a cut of more than 50% (or even much more) of my current salary. Who would?

Athletes have to maximize their income in the 15 years span they are able to work. There are many uncertainties, including injuries.

The following is Scola's actual salary based on the size of the contract:

Total contract -- actual average salary per year
6M/3 years -- $0
7M/3 years -- $200K
8M/3 years -- $400K
9M/3 years -- $600K
10M/3 years -- $800K
11M/3 years -- $1M

I think a 9-10M contract for 3 years would have done the the trick (600K-800K per year). The Spurs considered that was too much, and offered 7M/3 years.

[boutons]

Could Luis, wherever he pays taxes, write-off his buyout cost off the top of his subsequent revenue, before taxes, as a "business expense"?

Seems extremely unfair that Luis' buyout costs come out of his after-tax revenue.

[Extra Stout]

Reading that article in Spanish, it sounds like the Spurs have already written Scola off permanently, and are looking to trade his rights for whatever they can get.

That, or Scola is being melodramatic.

Oh, and he said he had an arrangement with the Spurs once he got his buyout done, but he never had a concrete offer in hand.

He does appear to say that the door is closed on his ever being a Spur.

Oh, he also says that signing him isn't really as complicated as the Spurs are making it sound.

[WalterBenitez]

6M/3 years -- $0
7M/3 years -- $200K 8M/3 years -- $400K
9M/3 years -- $600K
10M/3 years -- $800K
11M/3 years -- $1M

Am I right if I say ... with Spurs' offert Scola would only get 200k/3 years = 16k/month???

If so ... Stay in Europe ... but if it is Scola's Dream ... just do it he could get a good contract after that.

[timvp]

I think you are all getting all the numbers wrong. Please do not use the value of the contract, use the after-tax money (the actual money he could use). I did a similar analysis not so long ago, and people just ignored it.

Assuming the following:

• 40% taxes (low ball estimate, a 45% would be more accurate),
• a 3 year/7M contract (i.e. 2.5M first year with 10% no compound increases), and
• a 3 M buyout after Spurs contribution
• a 3 years ~10% APR loan to pay out the buyout using the Spurs contract as collateral (i.e. ~1.2M/year)

we get:

Scola average salary = [total contract value - taxes - 3 years loan payment]/ 3 years
Scola average salary = [(7M * .6) - 1.2M * 3 ] / 3 = 200K/year

If I were Scola, for that money I would stay in Europe or try to convince the Spurs to trade my rights. I would be willing to jump to the NBA for slightly less money if playing in the NBA were my dream, but I would not do it if it implies a cut of more than 50% (or even much more) of my current salary. Who would?

Athletes have to maximize their income in the 15 years span they are able to work. There are many uncertainties, including injuries.

The following is Scola's actual salary based on the size of the contract:

Total contract -- actual average salary per year
6M/3 years -- $0
7M/3 years -- $200K
8M/3 years -- $400K
9M/3 years -- $600K
10M/3 years -- $800K
11M/3 years -- $1M

I think a 9-10M contract for 3 years would have done the the trick (600K-800K per year). The Spurs considered that was too much, and offered 7M/3 years.

But consider how much Scola will make if he plays the next three years at a high level. Being 28 years old and on one of the better teams in the league, he'd make tons of money ... to the point that he would forget ever having to "suffer" for three years as he proved himself.

[Extra Stout]

Reading that article again, I think the door is closed on Scola for good.

[50 cent]

This thread has been humorous to say the least.

Look, Scola signed that contract in Europe that is now hampering his ability to get into the NBA. And for all you Argentianians that love Scola and think NBA players are underpaid, you are out of your damn mind. All of us that sit in front of our computers that make $40-100K a year working 40-60 hours a week in an office that obsess over these NBA players are the ones that are underpaid. NBA players make plenty for the job they do and their contribution to society. We could all only wish to be compensated so well for having such a fun job.

[nkdlunch]

All of us that sit in front of our computers that make $40-100K a year working 40-60 hours a week in an office that obsess over these NBA players are the ones that are underpaid.

not if we spend half of those 60 hours on Spurstalk

[SpursChampsIII]

This thread has been humorous to say the least.

Look, Scola signed that contract in Europe that is now hampering his ability to get into the NBA. And for all you Argentianians that love Scola and think NBA players are underpaid, you are out of your damn mind. All of us that sit in front of our computers that make $40-100K a year working 40-60 hours a week in an office that obsess over these NBA players are the ones that are underpaid. NBA players make plenty for the job they do and their contribution to society. We could all only wish to be compensated so well for having such a fun job.

RACK HIM!!!

[AlamoSpursFan]

NBA players make plenty for the job they do and their contribution to society. We could all only wish to be compensated so well for having such a fun job.

Yeah, but we SPEND a lot...

Sincerely,
Patrick "If only" Ewing

[Rick Von Braun]

But consider how much Scola will make if he plays the next three years at a high level. Being 28 years old and on one of the better teams in the league, he'd make tons of money ... to the point that he would forget ever having to "suffer" for three years as he proved himself.

Agree, which is why I would personally even take a paycut from what I currently earn, but not that much. Three years is a long time, a lot of things can happen (i.e. injuries) and I would look for my financial future as well. Look, this is not Spree 14M/year "I cannot feed my family" case. With that contract, the guy would receive 3 times less money than a mimimum salary player in the NBA. I think Manu may have taken a small paycut on his potential salary in Europe to come to the Spurs, but something in the order of 10 to 20% for 2 years, NOT 60 to 70% for 3 years. That is a lot of money to pursue a dream and potential future earnings.

A contractual difference of 7M/3 years to 9M/3years would not have broken the bank for the Spurs. I think the Spurs were a little cheapo based on this recent information, but we will never know for sure.

[Rick Von Braun]

Could Luis, wherever he pays taxes, write-off his buyout cost off the top of his subsequent revenue, before taxes, as a "business expense"?

Seems extremely unfair that Luis' buyout costs come out of his after-tax revenue.

Nope before the first two years as a foreigner. I covered this in the thread "Time line for Scola" or something like that.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

I'm asking an honest question here, not trying to take sides, but can't Scola pay his buyout with his savings+a loan+the 350k the Spurs are allowed to offer?

If he is going to play in the NBA, he can easily pay that loan back (as long as it is €3.5m, not €14m)

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Here's the translation. If another bi lingual poster can check, I would greatly appreciate it.

Luis Scola:

“I’m not mad for what happened with the Spurs. These are the rules of the game and I accept them. It’s the truth; I have no reason to be mad neither with the Spurs nor with Tau.”

“My dream is still to be able to play in the NBA. Fortunately, I fulfilled my dreams with regards to the NT and with Tau. But I’m still missing one.”

Luis and the NBA: How does the story continue?

It seemed that everything was ready. SA had his rights after picking him in the 2002 draft and the franchise was convinced he was the player the Spurs needed. RC Buford and Pop has agreed: Scola was the chosen one. But there was not only the analysis related to his b-ball skills, but the economic analysis too.

The Spurs checked their numbers after they renewed Horry’s contract (he was more expensive than expected). The Spurs gave Scola an offer for a little less than $7MM for 3 years. For Luis and his manager, it did not seem to be enough, given that out of that money they would have to pay Tau ($3.2MM) and subtract taxes (roughly 40%).

Nevertheless, Scola was still confident. But the contract with Tau is far too complex (the contract does not specify what happens if Scola was picked in the second round of the draft – it does, if he were to have been picked in the first round). Moreover, Tau appears to be inflexible (they consider Luis as a key player). SA did not want to wait to see how the plot unraveled and went for their second best option (Oberto) before he (Oberto) was picked by somebody else.

Now Luis’ situation is a more complex one. He needs the Spurs to trade him to another franchise. His agents have already requested this. But this is not an easy thing. The Champs might not want to trade his rights if they expect him to be a Spur in the future. If the Spurs decide to trade him, it is still a complex scenario because who ever picks him will have to negotiate with Tau. Scola cannot pay his buyout and then negotiate with an NBA team. It’s the other way around. First, Luis has to go to Tau with and offer from and NBA team in order for Tau to make effective the NBA clause ($3.2MM) and not the European clause ($14.5MM).

His agents are confident, they even talk about four other NBA teams which are interest in Luis, but everything depends on the Spurs, Tau and also that another NBA team be ready to make a big bet. In other words, the third NBA team has to be willing to trade one of his players for Scola’s rights and give the Argentine at least, a $7.5MM contract. It’s not easy. We will have to wait and pray.

Good translation smeagol

[nkdlunch]

I'm asking an honest question here, not trying to take sides, but can't Scola pay his buyout with his savings+a loan+the 350k the Spurs are allowed to offer?

If he is going to play in the NBA, he can easily pay that loan back (as long as it is €3.5m, not €14m)

He could never do that, what if he gets injured or something.

[Brutalis]

Scola is full of it.

[ducks]

He could never do that, what if he gets injured or something.

he has a guaranteed contract this is not the nfl