<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS ? Fans who were hoping for major additions to the Trail Blazers for next season via sign-and-trade deals for free agents Damon Stoudamire and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, or by using the nonguaranteed contract of Nick Van Exel, are not going to want to hear this. The Portland roster, with a few minor tweaks, is probably pretty much set. What you see is what you get. Stoudamire and Abdur-Rahim would have reaped some value in return, but Blazer management seems intent on dumping salary to avoid paying a luxury tax in 2005-06. That?s why it?s likely Portland will let Stoudamire and Abdur-Rahim walk, probably will not use Van Exel for trade purposes (there was never intent of having him back) ? the three combined for $39 million in salary last season ? and might even use the NBA?s new one-time amnesty rule to release Derek Anderson. ?We would consider trading any one of the three (Stoudamire, Abdur-Rahim and Van Exel) for a productive player in return, but we?re not going to trade them for just another body,? Portland General Manager John Nash says. ?There have been no trades proposed to us of any interest. If a team with (salary) cap room wanted to send us a draft pick back, that would make sense for us but not for them. ?What we?re doing is consistent with the parameters we set out to achieve in terms of financial responsibility when we came to Portland (in 2003). When it became apparent we weren?t going to be able to compete with the group we had last season, it made sense to get our financial house in order. We won?t pay a luxury tax next season and will enjoy a portion of the rebate (that goes to teams below the threshold).? Anderson is to make $18.8 million over the next two seasons. If Portland waives the much-maligned shooting guard ? who turns 31 on Sunday ? it still will have to pay him his salary, which will count against the salary cap. But it won?t count against Portland?s luxury tax figures. The salary cap is expected to be about $51 million this season. The luxury tax threshold will be in the vicinity of $60 million. A team that spends beyond the threshold must pay a dollar-for-dollar tax as rebate to the teams below it. Portland?s payroll has been dropping since the free-spending days of Bob Whitsitt, who doled out a then-NBA record $105 million in 2002-03. In 2003-04, Nash?s first season as GM, the figure fell to $83 million; it was $81 million in 2004-05. The Blazers have about $58 million in salary committed for next season ? including more than $45 million for veterans Theo Ratliff ($11.67 million), Zach Randolph ($10.67 million), Anderson ($9.1 million), Darius Miles ($7.25 million) and Ruben Patterson ($6.35 million). The other players with guaranteed contracts are rookie Martell Webster ($2.1 million), Joel Przybilla ($1.76 million), Sebastian Telfair ($1.34 million), Travis Outlaw ($1.1 million), Viktor Khryapa ($1.1 million), rookie Jarrett Jack ($850,000), rookie Sergei Monia ($784,000) and Ha Seung-Jin ($400,000). In addition, they soon will sign free-agent shooting guard Charles Smith ? he played three games for Portland in 2002-03 and was in Italy last season ? at the veteran?s minimum (about $1 million). That makes 14 guaranteed contracts, the maximum allowed under the new collective-bargaining agreement, and pushes the Blazers close to the luxury-tax threshold. Waiving Anderson would assure that the Blazers won?t pay the tax and would allow them to add either a free-agent point guard or a shooting guard to compete with Webster and Smith for playing time. ?We haven?t even begun to think about that,? Nash claimed last weekend. ?The first order of business is to get (coach) Nate McMillan acclimated. We?ll put our heads together soon and begin to discuss options.? Portland has available a mid-level exception of about $5 million, ?but we won?t use it if it causes us to be a (luxury) tax team,? Nash says. The Blazers will need it next year to try to sign Przybilla, who becomes a free agent next summer. If he plays as he did the second half of last season, the exception might not be enough. ?Taking the hard line has turned the financial future of our franchise around,? Nash says. ?With our emphasis on youth, it makes no sense to be a (luxury) tax team.?</div> Source
