TEN PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT...AND UNDER THE CAP The Nets will have 10 players under contract come July 1, assuming no draft day trades (a big assumption). In order of their 2008-09 salaries: Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Devin Harris, Stromile Swift --assuming he doesn't exercise his player option, Trenton Hassell, Nenad Krstic -- assuming he accepts qualifying offer, Sean Williams, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Maurice Ager. The last five are still on rookie contracts. Their total payroll with that group will be $51.79 million, which will put them under the salary cap till they start making moves. NOT COMING BACK: Darrell Armstrong has said he will retire. Keith Van Horn actually has a three year deal with only the first year guaranteed, but he will be waived in the next few weeks. TWO FREE AGENTS - DIOP AND NACHBAR: There is a belief that the Nets got expiring contracts for Kidd. Not so. Of the five players who came East, KVH and Diop were the only ones with expiring contracts and I doubt the Nets saw Diop as only an expiring contract. Nets have Diop's Bird Rights and it looks like they got him to keep him or at least audition him, not as an expiring contract. He has too many positives to just let him go. He is only 26 and an athletic 7-footer. Problem is that he will likely want a lot of money. Nets can afford him, but does he fit in the mix? Do they keep him and trade one of the two young bigs? Nachbar has been a disappointment shooting, inconsistent, way off last year's numbers, but he wants to stay and will probably accept a small increase over his $2.5 million salary this year. Question is will the Nets want him? Not so sure of that. IF THEY TRADE CARTER: Assume the Nets decide to trade Carter and one of the rookie contracts for Jermaine O'Neal. That would add approximately $7 million to the payroll and reduce the number of roster spots. Still would not put them anywhere near the luxury tax threshold. DRAFT PICKS: Assuming the picks aren't traded, and assming Dallas makes the playoffs, the two first rounders would add around $2.5 million to the payroll...still under the cap. Unless that second rounder is special, I doubt he gets a guaranteed deal. BIG QUESTION: How much does Ratner let Thorn and Vandeweghe spend.
If VC continues the rest of the season like he's played since the cortisone shot, and especially since the Kidd trade went through, there is no way they trade him for O'Neal. They would be trading for a markedly less durable player who is both a lesser player and a lesser person and who just happens to be making $7 M/year more than Vince next two years. The real test as to whether they keep VC longer will be how he performs in the playoffs this year -- assuming the Nets get there. My guess is that Indiana would have to add other consideration for Thorn to make that deal though. The Clippers situation will be interesting this summer. Both Maggette and Brand have player options, and Maggette may well feel he can get more on the open market than the $7 M he's slated to make. Brand would make 16.44 if he doesn't opt out. If the Clips don't want to extend him now for another contract with similar numbers, hard to say what might happen since he's coming off that serious Achilles injury and has yet to even play this year. If Maggette does go elsewhere this summer, though, there could be an opening to get Brand in a trade (or resign and trade). Jefferson is very similar to Maggette and a couple of years younger and has close to the salary necessary to bring back Brand. The Clips also need a point guard badly, and Marcus thrown in with Jefferson could do the trick. Kaman's youth and development make keeping Brand less a given than otherwise. Of course I don't see any of this happening if Brand doesn't show signs before the end of the season that he can be the same player he was pre-injury. He's supposedly nearing a return.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NetIncome @ Feb 24 2008, 02:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>TEN PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT...AND UNDER THE CAP The Nets will have 10 players under contract come July 1, assuming no draft day trades (a big assumption). In order of their 2008-09 salaries: Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Devin Harris, Stromile Swift --assuming he doesn't exercise his player option, Trenton Hassell, Nenad Krstic -- assuming he accepts qualifying offer, Sean Williams, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Maurice Ager. The last five are still on rookie contracts. Their total payroll with that group will be $51.79 million, which will put them under the salary cap till they start making moves. NOT COMING BACK: Darrell Armstrong has said he will retire. Keith Van Horn actually has a three year deal with only the first year guaranteed, but he will be waived in the next few weeks. TWO FREE AGENTS - DIOP AND NACHBAR: There is a belief that the Nets got expiring contracts for Kidd. Not so. Of the five players who came East, KVH and Diop were the only ones with expiring contracts and I doubt the Nets saw Diop as only an expiring contract. Nets have Diop's Bird Rights and it looks like they got him to keep him or at least audition him, not as an expiring contract. He has too many positives to just let him go. He is only 26 and an athletic 7-footer. Problem is that he will likely want a lot of money. Nets can afford him, but does he fit in the mix? Do they keep him and trade one of the two young bigs? Nachbar has been a disappointment shooting, inconsistent, way off last year's numbers, but he wants to stay and will probably accept a small increase over his $2.5 million salary this year. Question is will the Nets want him? Not so sure of that. IF THEY TRADE CARTER: Assume the Nets decide to trade Carter and one of the rookie contracts for Jermaine O'Neal. That would add approximately $7 million to the payroll and reduce the number of roster spots. Still would not put them anywhere near the luxury tax threshold. DRAFT PICKS: Assuming the picks aren't traded, and assming Dallas makes the playoffs, the two first rounders would add around $2.5 million to the payroll...still under the cap. Unless that second rounder is special, I doubt he gets a guaranteed deal. BIG QUESTION: How much does Ratner let Thorn and Vandeweghe spend.</div> By holding Diop's bird rights not only do we have the ability to sign him, we also have a sign and trade scenario open. That's a huge plus considering he will have value to some teams unable to sign him on the open market...considering the dearth of teams in the West looking for a Duncan killer, Diop will look attractive. Also Stromile Swift is a 6.2 million dollar expiring contract next season, adding to the fact that he is a reasonably talented big man and low risk due to his contract scenario it is likely that he will be coveted by teams looking for a Low post prescence. Nenad Krstic's situation is also interesting this offseason...his play has slowly been improving and depending on his play over the last few months it will be interesting to see what his situation is like during the offseason. Like Diop we have his Bird Rights, and he may want more than a qualifying offer, being that he is a young skilled big man there could be considerable interest on the open market...or be an option in a sign and trade scenario. This is going to be an interesting scenario, we could go into next season with all 5 of our frontcourt players that we currently have, we could also end up with Boone and Sean Williams staying on the roster with the trio of Nenad, Diop, and Swift possibly leaving via free agency or trade. The impact these scenarios will have on the draft are obvious as in our current position we have a strong need at wing positions...if we however were to lose all three then we would obviously explore players such as Devon Hardin, Hasheem Thabet and Tyler Hansbrough. Regardless which way it goes this is certain: It's a fun and exciting time to be a Nets fan.
I don't see Boki coming back next year. Frank has been playing him as a 3 and Hassell looks like he is going to fill that role next season.
Yeah I'm starting to see Boki fade away. Our draft pick most likely will be a 2 or a 3 and Nachbar will just take up his time. I'd like the combo of a rookie scorer and Hassell to back up Carter and Jefferson if either one of them is still there. As for Diop, I wouldn't mind signing him but much rather sign and trade. Boone and Williams are in our plans for the future and no matter how good Diop is, he's just a bit too expensive and also 27.
