CBA question: What will the sequence of events be?

[Glenn]

I'm kinda wondering how the timeline of Joe's activity will go, and I'm willing to take the chance of looking like a id10t here.

My uninformed opinion is that he will:

First
Either trade or draft #15

Then
Sign his free agents

Then
Make some trades, bringing in additional salary

Does that jive with what you guys think?

Basically, if he's got prime FA targets that he wants to spend on, trading #15 clears more room for them. Once he signs his FA's and gets up to the cap number, he can then make some trades and take on the extra 25% of salaries all the way up to the tax threshold (if he's got permission from Mama Davidson, that is).

I'm wondering if that will be the correct order of things, because if trades come first, it's going to eat into the cap space, and then he can only go up to the cap # to sign any FA's. In other words, doing them in reverse order hurts his flexibility, right?

Thoughts?

Am I a dumbass?

Wait, don't answer that.

[Hermy]

Yeah that sounds right, unless one of his trades involves taking back less money. Then he would pull it off before signing anyone (at the draft or after I'd guess).

[darkobetterthanmelo]

You are correct Glenn, that is the ideal scenario.

[WTFchris]

Key Dates:

June 25th - Draft
June 30th - Deadline to exercise options
July 1st - Free agency begins
July 8th - Teams can sign free agents

[WTFchris]

I think he needs to make trades before signing free agents, especially if they involve RIP or Tay for a big. How do you convince a free agent wing to come here when he'll be a backup?

That week (July 1-8) will be a key time for that when you know who's opting and before anyone can sign a contract. That is when you try for Amare, Bosh, Kamen, etc. At the same time you take visits from everyone you are interested in. A trade for Amare or Bosh could really sell another FA on Detroit too.

[Pharaoh]

100% Disagree Chris.

You convince your wing (Hedo for you, Gordon for me) by:

1) paying him a big fucking salary
2) selling him on the franchise and it's history/commitment to winning
3) Coach (LMAO)
4) Team mates
5) Location (LMAO)

Being "reduced" to a bench player would hurt a player's pride, but $9 million per salves a lot of hurt.

GD - Ideally we would trade our pick (and Amir) on Draft Day for a future first. That gives us a lot more cap space.

Then we go sign who we want.

Then we make the big trade.

Really, from Draft Day through to July 7th (11:59pm) you are organising your moves and the sequence of them. For example if we brokered a Bosh deal during that week we wouldn't do it!

It would be agreed to "in principle" and not finalised because we'd be sending them at least one of our un-signed draft picks.

So, when that clock strikes midnight we fucking pounce, renouncing our free agents and then signing others. Then we sign our picks (going over the cap to do so). Then we finalise the Toronto trade (going over the cap some more)

It's also in Toronto's best interest for everything to be done quickly, so they can renounce their own free agents and use the cap space we helped create for them.

Long story short - you were right, dumbass

[Zekyl]

I think if you're trading Rip or Tay, you would want to trade them before you signed their replacement (assuming you don't replace them in a trade). If you sign Ben Gordon, Rip's trade value is going way down because teams know you have to deal him. If you keep him after signing Gordon then you have to send one of them to the bench. Gordon won't want to sign here if he's stuck in a bench role. He views himself as a starter and that's what's important to him, per the stories last time he was a FA and toward the end of the season.

If you're doing a trade like a 2nd rounder for a player, or an exipring contract for a guy that's making quite a bit more, you'd have to do that trade before you use up your cap space as well. For example, if you wanted to trade a 2nd rounder for Haywood, you'd have to do that while you still have the cap space. Or if you're trading someone like Amir or Afflalo for a contract like Hinrich.

Otherwise, if you know that any trades you're making will fit that 125% rule, then you wait on them until you've used up as much cap space as you can.

[WTFchris]

Great point. Even if you tell Gordon you're going to move RIP, you still are ruining your trade value for RIP. Teams will know you're trying to trade him and RIP might start bitching and demand a trade anyway. You'd completely screw your chances of better value if you signed Gordon first.

I don't think signing a big man before trades is a negative though. Everyone already knows Sheed is gone and Max/Amir are more or less role players. We wouldn't be damaging anyone's value there.

[Pharaoh]

You're not ruining any trade value if the deal is already agreed to "in principle" before you sign Gordon.

Look, you guys are taking each move as a single deal, like teams evalute it on a per-deal basis.

I think many teams look to use that "week off" to get all their shit together and once the clock strikes it's Boom!, Boom! Boom! Done!

If you are trading Rip or Tay AFTER signing their replacement the team that is dealing for them must be satisfied they are getting a good deal, too right? Otherwise the trade wouldn't be happening in the first place.

So, let's use New Orleans and David West as an example:

If we use most of our cap space (signing Gordon in the process) and then do a Rip + Amir for West, Mo Pete and Daniels deal why would they balk at taking Rip?

Has Rip's value to them decreased? They're doing the deal to get $$$ off the tax/payroll while gaining an All-Star calibre SG. They don't give a fuck what we're doing. I seriously doubt they'd back out and say "Rip's trade value has taken a hit, cause you signed Gordon."

And if they do back out who loses? We got Stuckey, Rip and Gordon in the backcourt - handly shit. With Bynum and AA there too.

Up front we'd suffer a bit, but that's hardly new either.

Minutes would be hard to come by for some, but there are always other trades and other teams who aren't fucking stupid and know that Rip is All-Star calibre and is locked in to a reasonable contract.

[mercury]

It's still likely we'll see a draft day deal... #15 + small contract for larger salary... nobody wants to go through a PC, have the kid spew his love for the new team then ship his ass out in a week.

Joe may not want to sign a single F.A. (weak class) and elect to use all the space in trades.

Just realized we can't do any lopsided trades until we renounce our F.A.s