2020 Free Agency Thread

[NUMBERICA]

Then why the hell do we want him then? If this is the case and he has more years, I have no idea how many years are left, but if he’s not playable and has multiple years remaining, I’d rather have Conley.

OPJ is expiring and costs about $6 million less. And IF he plays, he provides a lot more of the things we need than does Conley.

And nothing in your second quote addresses my points. Specifically, that Conley downsizes our lineups 1-4 on BOTH sides of the ball (where Donovan takes the biggest hit), has poor chemistry with Gobert and Ingles, will cost the Jazz three 1sts, AND cost the Jazz the ability to trade one in-season until next year at the earliest. Additionally, since he is the highest paid player on the team by a wide margin and isn’t even in our best lineup, his salary has outsize impact in forcing the Jazz to trade FOUR 2nds in a desperate attempt to stay under the tax. It is no stretch whatsoever to say that acquiring him will hurt the Jazz for years to come.

He can still be a good basketball player and person. He is just a terrible fit here.

 

[GVC]

Has Azubuike signed his contract yet? Teams have some leeway about how much money they give rookie contracts - between 80% and 120% of the official rookie scale. They usually give them the full 120% to be on the good side of agents and the player. BUT... is it possible the Jazz agreed to take Azubuike in the 1st(much higher than most projected him) and in return there was understanding with him and the agent that he will get the 80% rookie scale? This might save the team some 400-500K...

The question is whether they can get under the LT by replacing their last 4 players (Oni, Morgan, Niang, NWG) with rookies on minimum contracts. They can under certain, seemingly reasonable assumptions.

Per Capulator (plus assumptions in bold):

Conley: $34,502,130
Gobert: $26,525,281
Bogdanovic: $17,850,000
Clarkson: $11,600,000 (lowest possible salary to get to $52 million with 8% raises)
Ingles: $10,863,637
Favors: $9,924,000 (full MLE)
O'Neale: $8,500,000
Mitchell: $5,195,501
Azubuike $2,119,320 (100% scale for 27th pick)
Hughes: $898,310 (rookie minimum)

Total: $127,978,179
LT: $132,627,000

Rookie minimum: $898,310

Space under LT (10 players): $4,648,821
Rookie minimum x 4 players: $3,593,240
Space remaining under LT: $1,055,581


Edit (not reflected above):
Just seeing that some have Favors' contract at about $9.26 million this year (an amount that makes sense).

That would give the Jazz about $1.7 million in wiggle room, which should be more than sufficient to keep two of Oni/Morgan/Niang/NWG + 2 rookie minimum contracts.

 

[Troat Guru]

Honestly I’m not sure how bad Conley is for this lineup, I know the numbers aren’t good, but how much of that is the bad start he got off to, and learning a new system. It’s not like Quin’s system is simple or anything but he did start to shoot better and play better overall before the league shut down and he was really good in the bubble.

Agreed and with the addition of Favs he should fit better than last year IMO.
Despite all his flaws we have to be aware that, as a player, he's not as trash as we often draw him.
To be clear, I did not mean to say that Mike should be our hero, quite the opposite; I only believe/hope he will play and fit far better this year.

Sent from my M2006C3MG using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Has Azubuike signed his contract yet? Teams have some leeway about how much money they give rookie contracts - between 80% and 120% of the official rookie scale. They usually give them the full 120% to be on the good side of agents and the player. BUT... is it possible the Jazz agreed to take Azubuike in the 1st(much higher than most projected him) and in return there was understanding with him and the agent that he will get the 80% rookie scale? This might save the team some 400-500K...

Maybe? Stranger things have happened.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

The question is whether they can get under the LT by replacing their last 4 players (Oni, Morgan, Niang, NWG) with rookies on minimum contracts. They can under certain, seemingly reasonable assumptions.

Per Capulator (plus assumptions in bold):

Conley: $34,502,130
Gobert: $26,525,281
Bogdanovic: $17,850,000
Clarkson: $11,600,000 (lowest possible salary to get to $52 million with 8% raises)
Ingles: $10,863,637
Favors: $9,924,000 (full MLE)
O'Neale: $8,500,000
Mitchell: $5,195,501
Azubuike $2,119,320 (100% scale for 27th pick)
Hughes: $898,310 (rookie minimum)

Total: $127,978,179
LT: $132,627,000

Rookie minimum: $898,310

Space under LT (10 players): $4,648,821
Rookie minimum x 4 players: $3,593,240
Space remaining under LT: $1,055,581


Edit (not reflected above):
Just seeing that some have Favors' contract at about $9.26 million this year (an amount that makes sense).

That would give the Jazz about $1.7 million in wiggle room, which should be more than sufficient to keep two of Oni/Morgan/Niang/NWG + 2 rookie minimum contracts.

I think the rookie minimums count the same as a vet minimum unless the player was drafted. That’s why Milwaukee traded for the 60 th pick. The rule is in place to make sure teams don’t bypass vets for cap mechanics. So I don’t think we can do that dance unless we trade for guys that were drafted this year.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

The question is whether they can get under the LT by replacing their last 4 players (Oni, Morgan, Niang, NWG) with rookies on minimum contracts. They can under certain, seemingly reasonable assumptions.

Per Capulator (plus assumptions in bold):

Conley: $34,502,130
Gobert: $26,525,281
Bogdanovic: $17,850,000
Clarkson: $11,600,000 (lowest possible salary to get to $52 million with 8% raises)
Ingles: $10,863,637
Favors: $9,924,000 (full MLE)
O'Neale: $8,500,000
Mitchell: $5,195,501
Azubuike $2,119,320 (100% scale for 27th pick)
Hughes: $898,310 (rookie minimum)

Total: $127,978,179
LT: $132,627,000

Rookie minimum: $898,310

Space under LT (10 players): $4,648,821
Rookie minimum x 4 players: $3,593,240
Space remaining under LT: $1,055,581


Edit (not reflected above):
Just seeing that some have Favors' contract at about $9.26 million this year (an amount that makes sense).

That would give the Jazz about $1.7 million in wiggle room, which should be more than sufficient to keep two of Oni/Morgan/Niang/NWG + 2 rookie minimum contracts.

 

[GVC]

I think the rookie minimums count the same as a vet minimum unless the player was drafted. That’s why Milwaukee traded for the 60 th pick. The rule is in place to make sure teams don’t bypass vets for cap mechanics. So I don’t think we can do that dance unless we trade for guys that were drafted this year.

I don't think that's right. I believe it's the other way around: with 3+ year vets counting against the cap the same as a 2-year vet.

Per Larry Coon's FAQ (LINK):

When a player has been in the NBA for three or more seasons, and is playing under a one-year, 10-day or Rest-of-Season contract at the minimum salary, the league reimburses the team for part of his salary -- any amount above the minimum salary for a two-year veteran. For example, the minimum salary for a two-year veteran in 2017-18 is $1,471,382, so for a ten-year veteran, with a minimum salary of $2,328,652, the league would reimburse the team $857,270. Only the two-year minimum salary is included in the team salary, not the player's full salary. They do this so teams won't shy away from signing older veterans simply because they are more expensive than younger veterans.

Not sure why he used 2017-18 as an example, but the rule still applies. Rookies on minimum contracts should count as $898,310 against the cap.

So the Jazz may be able to keep one or two of Oni/Morgan/Niang/NWG, replace the others with rookies on minimum contracts, and stay under the LT.

 

[GVC]

Not aware of this rule; strange. Could this guy (Dan Clayton) just be wrong? Larry Coon is usually pretty good.

If this is the rule, could the Jazz trade a couple of their guys making more than the minimum for other teams' drafted players on the rookie minimum to avoid the tax? Do they have any more 2nd round picks to throw away?

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Not aware of this rule; strange. Could this guy (Dan Clayton) just be wrong? Larry Coon is usually pretty good.

I think there is a difference between actual salary and the cap number. I think it’s right just different parts of the rule book. It might only be for tax purposes.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Not aware of this rule; strange. Could this guy (Dan Clayton) just be wrong? Larry Coon is usually pretty good.

If this is the rule, could the Jazz trade a couple of their guys making more than the minimum for other teams' drafted players on the rookie minimum to avoid the tax? Do they have any more 2nd round picks to throw away?

I’ll bet Niang could get you one.

I had the same thought as you... specifically for NWG... but I don’t think it’s an option. Should have bought like the 57 and 58th picks in the draft and had them around.

 

[GVC]

I think there is a difference between actual salary and the cap number. I think it’s right just different parts of the rule book. It might only be for tax purposes.

I don't see it in Larry Coon's FAQ. Is this Salt City Hoops dude reliable?

Either way, it might be possible to replace two or three of the Jazz's last four with players making the rookie minimum ($900k) and avoid the LT.

 

[Getting Traded]

Agreed and with the addition of Favs he should fit better than last year IMO.
Despite all his flaws we have to be aware that, as a player, he's not as trash as we often draw him.
To be clear, I did not mean to say that Mike should be our hero, quite the opposite; I only believe/hope he will play and fit far better this year.

Sent from my M2006C3MG using JazzFanz mobile app

But he should come off the bench ... period. We could have him, Clarkson, and Favors off the bench. Start Donovan, Royce, Ingles, Bojan, and Rudy. If we play a team with two bigs, substitute Favors for Ingles in the starting lineup. This gives the Jazz a very strong bench.