Next Summer: What will the MLE get us?

[Atticus771]

Looking forward to next summer, with the projected drop in the salary cap, what kind of player do you think we could land with the MLE?

[Glenn]

Hard to say without knowing which/how many teams will have more cap room than the MLE amount. I think it will also depend on how well the team does this year, how well Kuester does this year (Will players want to play for him? Will he be on shaky ground?), and what other moves (trades) are made.

I don't have a lot of faith that the MLE is going to bring back anything more than a starter, at best, and a sixth/seventh man, at worst. If we have a lot of holes, Joe may even have to split it, which makes it even less promising.

Unlike this summer, when Joe was , we'll potentially be competing with 29 other teams with equal or more $ to work with. This year was the big opportunity, not next, IMO.

[Zekyl]

Lots of 'if's, even just looking at our roster.

If Stuckey takes the next step.....
If BG proves he can play some PG....
If Rip is still with the team....
If the rookies develop.....
If Villanueva proves to be a 30mpg PF.....
If Wilcox is solid depth.....
If Max gets back on track in his development.....

If even half of those things pan out, our only hole is at C and we can focus our entire MLE there. What are the chances of that happening, though?

[Glenn]

Jake (Bowling Green, Ohio): I was wondering what our salary cap is looking like for next summer as it stands now. I know we have the mid-level exception back in play, but is there any other significant money for us to spend on free agents?

Langlois: By the very nature of the collective bargaining agreement, no. If you have a mid-level exception to use, it means you’re over the salary cap. And if you’re over the salary cap, then the MLE is by far the most significant chunk of money at your discretion. Just by doing a quick estimate, the Pistons are probably looking at having about $56 million committed for 2010-11 to 12 players – Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, Chris Wilcox (assuming he picks up his reported player option), Will Bynum (assuming the Pistons make him a qualifying offer), Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and the 2010 No. 1 pick (whose cap hold counts against their cap for that season). The danger for the Pistons is that the cap will come down to $50 million or so, which is at the low end of expectations for next summer, and drag the luxury-tax threshold along with it. And that could mean that an MLE contract would put the Pistons over the luxury tax and make for some tough decisions.

Not too hard to read between the lines there.

[Zekyl]

$56million committed and not a center in the bunch (I suppose Wilcox is a PF/C, but we'll see how this season plays out first)

[Glenn]

Phil (Waterford, Mich.): I know you said we were probably not going to get one of those major players in free agency in 2010 because of cap space. But do you think the Pistons can get at least one decent player in free agency and who might that be?

Langlois: The Pistons will be able to use their full mid-level and biannual exceptions next summer. It’s just way too early to project which veterans that hope to cash in big-time next summer might instead have to settle for the MLE. I think it’s safe to assume that players with early termination options won’t exercise them unless they’re relatively certain they have a deal better than an MLE slot awaiting them, so that eliminates a number of good players. It will be interesting to see if some of the restricted free agents sign MLE offers next summer – and whether their original teams, who could be facing severe luxury-tax consequences if the cap comes down at the far end of pessimistic projections, pass on matching those offers. Of the third set of free agents – the ones who are certain to become unrestricted – players like Ray Allen, Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, Al Harrington and Brendan Haywood could be had for the MLE or less.

[Daviticus 2.39]

Brendan Haywood would be VERY nice for a 3 year MLE deal. Somebody who could really help do the dirty work down low next to Charlie V.

[Joe Asberry]

there will be a lot of teams with capspace next year, and even if the cap goes down, do you really think we can get a starting 5 for the MLE next year? Haywood could the best option

[Hermy]

Lots of teams are going to want to resign all/some the players they are losing to put them under the cap. If you can spend your MLE next year and stay under the tax it's a good situation.