I personally don't think Banton is a big part of the Blazers if/when they become a winner again. That said, he's done enough to make me think it's worth keeping him around a while longer to explore it. He's a better fit than Knox for what I think the powers that be want this team to become and just in general the way basketball is played now. You can play him at multiple positions and he's not out of his depth bringing the ball up the floor and initiating the offense.
They will be in the tax going into next season so they have to lose some salary for sure. Jodi ain't paying the tax for a lottery team.
the tax line went from 150M to 165M from last season to this season. If you assume a similar rise from this season to next the tax line would be around 180M. Now, the latest projection is around 172M. But this year's tax threshold is around 4-5M higher than last year's projection for this year maybe call it as next year's tax line at 175M. If you set Brown and Banton aside, temporarily, the Blazers will be at 161M in payroll. A 5th pick would be a bit over 8M in the 1st year. The 5th pick + Banton would put Portland somewhere in the 171-172M range with 15 players. So, probably a shade under the tax line going into the season and approaching next year's trade deadline obviously, a higher pick than 5th or a combination of added rookies might bust over the tax line. So, trading a higher salary like Brogdon or Williams or Thybulle for less salary is a logical move. I'm just not sure how logical the ownership/management group is
I don't know for how long but with the versatility on both ends that he's shown we should at the very least take his option next season at just under 2.2M.
The #5 pick replaces Moses Brown roster spot. The second round picks will be on 2-way contracts (replacing Minaya and Badji) The roster crunch comes with the GSW pick. Who do you move or get rid of there? The other big issue is assuming Portland keeps the #5 (but trades #13 for a future pick), they'll be in the tax by ~$4M. If they keep both picks, they'll be in the tax by ~$10M. I don't see the Blazers being willing to enter the season with that much salary... so by default one of Thybulle, Grant, Ant, Brogdon, or Ayton will have to be traded
Not sure your numbers here are correct. Adding the #5 pick to the current roster will put the team into the tax by ~$4M https://www.spotrac.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/cap/2024/
The difference between Banton and a lot of 6'8 young Swiss army knife ball handlers is his Hoops IQ....listen to any of his interviews and he really has a grasp on the game...it's like listening to Brogdan break down a game. I like the high IQ guys to stick. Banton has the skills to be a 2 way rotation player. I think he's got some of that Batum or Rodney Hood in his game. He's not afraid of clutch time, that's for sure.
you appear to be applying the draft pick(s) to this year's tax line (165M), and that's with the salary for this year's 3rd and 23rd picks. The current projection is a 172M tax line, and those next-season projections made at this time in a season almost always land a bit low. so what I did was set Banton and Brown off to the side, dropping Portland's guarantees to 161M. The 5th pick this season is around 8M. Assume 8.5-9M for next season. That pick and Banton added back in would bump Portland up around the projection for the tax line and yes, there are a lot of variables at work here
Im not doing any calculations. The best source I have found was Spotrac which I linked to. Portland payroll will be $167m (including Banton's $2M contract). Not sure how you are coming up with next season's payroll, but your numbers are off. Adding in the #5 pick, that will increase payroll by ~$8M... putting total payroll near $175M (or ~$4M into the tax)
I was using BBREF: I'm not sure where the 2M differential between bbref and spotrac is generated, but that's only about 1% of the total so I'd say it's not significant the NBA has projected a 172M tax line. I'm pretty skeptical because projections this early tend to land lower than actual. That's only a 7M increase from this season to next. The 2021-22 tax line was 136.6M; the 2022-23 line was 150.3M, which was about a 14M bump and a 10% increase. That line increased from 150.3M to this year's 165.3M, which was again, a 10% higher tax line than previous. If it only goes up to 172M, that's only a 4% increase. That might be a sound projection, but again, I'm skeptical I think it would be tight if they kept Banton and the highest pick. But like I said, I imagine the Blazers will trade one or more of Brogdon/Williams/Thybulle and trade for less salary. Grant, Ant, and Ayton might enter in the trade equation as well
You're missing Reath... Thats the $2M discrepancy So $167M + #5 pick salary (~$8.5M) puts Portland around $176M.... or solidly into the tax. That's my point. It's not that they will be close and could "maybe" duck the tax without additional moves. They are solidly into the tax, which will necessitate a move
I’m not sure why folks are stressing about the cap situation. This is a rebuild: there will likely be trade maneuvering no matter what. And it’s very likely the team will return to trade discussions that began in previous trade windows (ex; the jerami grant trade, and the matisse thybulle deadline trade that was picked up from draft night the year prior).
ok...assuming the line is 172M. Kind of hard to believe the increase over the last 3 years will be 10%-->10%-->4%, but maybe the projection is accurate. It wasn't last year by the way and I said in the first post about this I expected a move that reduces salary. It might be something like Williams or Thybulle into cap-space or a TPE
