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Posted

It's amazing how poorly run like a third of the teams in the NBA are. It's so easy to not trade for BI and hand him $120 million. 

Someone made the point when the trade went down that if you were going to do this - overpay a wing next to Scottie Barnes and RJ Barret - why wouldn't you just keep Siakam?

Nothing about their team makes sense. They should be sending a full rebuild but the FO seems to be trying to win 34 games every season for the foreseeable future. 

Posted
28 minutes ago, ztejas said:

It's amazing how poorly run like a third of the teams in the NBA are. It's so easy to not trade for BI and hand him $120 million. 

Someone made the point when the trade went down that if you were going to do this - overpay a wing next to Scottie Barnes and RJ Barret - why wouldn't you just keep Siakam?

Nothing about their team makes sense. They should be sending a full rebuild but the FO seems to be trying to win 34 games every season for the foreseeable future. 

Yeah, why not keep Pascal?  They play the same position, have about the same states and both miss about 1/3 of the games with injuries.  

But yes, a third of these teams are stunningly bad and these deals aren't hindsight, either.  Ingram got totally worked by Dort in last years playoffs, hasn't played since December or something and Toronto trades for him and gives him a big new contract.

Posted

Siakam wanted out of Toronto regardless I believe, and he ended up with a bigger contract than Ingram. 4 years/ $190 million vs. 3 years / $120 million. Ingram was eligible for 4 years / $208 million. Good for NOLA to not pay him that.

I don't think it's a horrible signing by Toronto in a vacuum, but it behooves most franchises in the NBA to pick a lane -- contend or you tank. They are going to be a treadmill team for the foreseeable future. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Siakam wanted out of Toronto regardless I believe, and he ended up with a bigger contract than Ingram. 4 years/ $190 million vs. 3 years / $120 million. Ingram was eligible for 4 years / $208 million. Good for NOLA to not pay him that.

I don't think it's a horrible signing by Toronto in a vacuum, but it behooves most franchises in the NBA to pick a lane -- contend or you tank. They are going to be a treadmill team for the foreseeable future. 

It just seems pointless to me. RJ, Scottie and BI with that supporting cast is worth maybe a 7-10 seed in the East. If they are stacking salary for a bigger trade, who is gonna want BI at 40m a year? Just doesn't make sense to me, treadmill team is exactly what this is with no expectations to get better. Siakam would have been a valuable asset on an extension, BI is nowhere near as attractive of an asset. 

It's truly unbelievable that the Raptors won a ring. I mean, they needed several catastrophic injuries to the other team to do it, but still, they have been middling team every year since, and pretty much their entire existence before that. 

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Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

Quickley
RJ
BI
Scottie
Poeltl
Dick

Is not a bad top 6

I mean it is though. The Suns can't stay above .500 with Durant and Booker - that Raptors team doesn't have a chance in hell at making the top 6 in the East. I don't even know who their coach is. 

Quickley, RJ, Poeltl and Dick are all bench players for the actual contenders this season and BI is kind of a malcontent that can't stay healthy. (Barnes is also a weird dude that doesn't provide much culture value)

The league is too deep and too talented right now. 

2 hours ago, Message Board User said:

Alex Len to the Lakers.

 

Free agent 7-footer Alex Len will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, agent Mike Lelchitski tells ESPN.
 
Len intended to sign with the Pacers but has decided to land in LA after the Lakers rescinded the Mark Williams trade and created new opportunity.

Jesus LA is desperate. Didn't even know that dude was in the league still. 

Edited by ztejas
Posted
1 hour ago, ztejas said:

I mean it is though. The Suns can't stay above .500 with Durant and Booker - that Raptors team doesn't have a chance in hell at making the top 6 in the East. I don't even know who their coach is. 

Quickley, RJ, Poeltl and Dick are all bench players for the actual contenders this season and BI is kind of a malcontent that can't stay healthy. (Barnes is also a weird dude that doesn't provide much culture value)

The league is too deep and too talented right now. 

Jesus LA is desperate. Didn't even know that dude was in the league still. 

He wasnt LOL

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Posted
3 minutes ago, d2o said:

He wasnt LOL

Yeah I just think Luka and Bron are gonna run out of gas this season. 

Lakers can still go fuck themselves. They'll be able to rebuild around Luka. 

Posted

Budenholzer is like a Doc Rivers clone. Dude rarely seems to know what he's doing but got carried to a Finals win despite almost blowing a series. Has racked up a lot of wins on the back of great players/rosters.

It's hysterical that Milwaukee replaced him with Doc. 

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Posted

Watching inside recapping Knicks/Pacers... Please tell me KAT isn't doing the Bron shoulder flex. You have not earned that Karl and I don't think you have that kind of respect around the league. 

Posted
1 minute ago, Baboontyme said:

Watching inside recapping Knicks/Pacers... Please tell me KAT isn't doing the Bron shoulder flex. You have not earned that Karl and I don't think you have that kind of respect around the league. 

Uhhh he's putting up 2nd team all-NBA numbers on a top 5-6 team in the league. He can do whatever he wants. Especially after Minny gave up on him after he finally changed his habits enough to help them make a playoff run. 

Team KAT over here. He deserves to talk his shit. 

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Posted

He's a very good player so that's fair. I just kind of think you don't do the thing Bron made up during the Olympics unless you're a made man. I could be way off in my origin of it, and I'm far from a Lebron guy, but he has my utmost respect. 

Posted (edited)
23 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

He's a very good player so that's fair. I just kind of think you don't do the thing Bron made up during the Olympics unless you're a made man. I could be way off in my origin of it, and I'm far from a Lebron guy, but he has my utmost respect. 

Bron is a fucking cornball, first of all. Good for him he made up a celebration at the Olympics - maybe Durant can show him what four gold medals look like.

Second - I bagged on KAT for a long time before that Minny run where they beat Denver. That season and playoff run really made me reevaluate how I saw him as a player.

He has carried that edge and chip on his shoulder into this season with the Knicks and I really respect him for it and I like seeing him succeed. 

I'm not saying he's prime KG or anything like that but I will give him some leeway with his celebrations and let him talk his talk this season. 

Excited for the playoffs. 

Edited by ztejas
  • Like 1
Posted

Also - Shaq fucking sucks on this TNT desk. It's like he gets his feelings hurt by everything and thinks he can act like an ass-clown with no recourse. 

It just doesn't work without Chuck keeping him in check. 

Candace Parker is fucking phenomenal and I've been saying that for a couple years now. VC is fine and the host is fine too. Build around those three - maybe throw Dryamond in at the 4?

(God dammit I can't believe I'm getting back into the NBA. How did this happen. I need a wife and kids)

Posted
Y'all got any good NBA (or CBB) podcasts I should listen to? I lean towards the more analytics side of sports. I miss Zach Lowe and I need something to listen to now that football season is over.

Bill Simmons
Hoop Colkective
The Mismatch
Ringer NBA
Yahoo Sports KOC
Numbers on the Board
Game Theory
Hoops Tonight
AFunkyDiabetic
Locked on Mavs
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Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, ztejas said:

Uhhh he's putting up 2nd team all-NBA numbers on a top 5-6 team in the league. He can do whatever he wants. Especially after Minny gave up on him after he finally changed his habits enough to help them make a playoff run. 

Team KAT over here. He deserves to talk his shit. 

we didnt give up on him...you just cant have 2 supermax deals on a team and expect to fill the rest out without being second apron'd

 

product of drafting first overall  and *gasp*the players ends up being pretty good at bball and makes all nba.  IDK, maybe its me but the whole second apron should have some leniency against teams that draft their players and have a little relief vs the second apron vs outright fucking them 

Edited by MNLonghornFUKM
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  • Like 1
Posted

I don't see why the salary cap can't max at 50% of the salary for players they have drafted and have played 4+ years on the team. This encourage teams to keep players and makes drafting players much more important.

Posted
25 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

we didnt give up on him...you just cant have 2 supermax deals on a team and expect to fill the rest out without being second apron'd

 

product of drafting first overall  and *gasp*the players ends up being pretty good at bball and makes all nba.  IDK, maybe its me but the whole second apron should have some leniency against teams that draft their players and have a little relief vs the second apron vs outright fucking them 

They would still have KAT if they never made the Gobert trade. That’s the contract that killed them. 

Posted
1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:


And the gobert trade was before the CBA came out

That's fair but if Gobert had a good contract in the first place, they would have been able to offload him instead of KAT. It's a no brainer to keep KAT over Rudy, but they would have had to send assets out to get rid of Gobert, which is ironic because the reason they don't have any assets is because they traded all of them for Gobert in the first place. 

Posted
9 hours ago, ztejas said:

Also - Shaq fucking sucks on this TNT desk. It's like he gets his feelings hurt by everything and thinks he can act like an ass-clown with no recourse. 

It just doesn't work without Chuck keeping him in check. 

Candace Parker is fucking phenomenal and I've been saying that for a couple years now. VC is fine and the host is fine too. Build around those three - maybe throw Dryamond in at the 4?

(God dammit I can't believe I'm getting back into the NBA. How did this happen. I need a wife and kids)

Shaq is the most sensitive fucker I've seen.  I have no idea why they felt he needed to be on this Tuesday show.   VC is pretty reserved but he's coming out of his shell a little bit.   I liked when they had DWade on there as well.   Lefkoe is decent and nice straight guy.   He's no EJ but who the hell is?  

The Thursday show jumped the shark yrs ago for me.   Chuck and Shaq are basically Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet show and offer little to no actual basketball insight.    They still have some funny moments but the constant hating is too much for me deal with.    Kenny moved past annoying long ago ESPECIALLY during all-star weekend.  The dunk contest has its issues but none larger than him as far as I am concerned.

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Posted
4 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

we didnt give up on him...you just cant have 2 supermax deals on a team and expect to fill the rest out without being second apron'd

 

product of drafting first overall  and *gasp*the players ends up being pretty good at bball and makes all nba.  IDK, maybe its me but the whole second apron should have some leniency against teams that draft their players and have a little relief vs the second apron vs outright fucking them 

Yeah, I've always thought there should be some provision where the Supermax contracts only count at max contract rate as long as they are on the team that drafted them.   The way its structured now is penalizing teams for drafting well.

  • Like 2
Posted

No, just do a set hard cap and stop with all this apron and exceptions nonsense. Every team has up to 200m to spend, and every dollar under it is cap space. If you need more space, send a bad contract to some other team to make room. 

The trade deadline would be even more amazing if it weren't for all these stupid matching rules. 

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Posted
54 minutes ago, d2o said:

Shaq is the most sensitive fucker I've seen.  I have no idea why they felt he needed to be on this Tuesday show.   VC is pretty reserved but he's coming out of his shell a little bit.   I liked when they had DWade on there as well.   Lefkoe is decent and nice straight guy.   He's no EJ but who the hell is?  

The Thursday show jumped the shark yrs ago for me.   Chuck and Shaq are basically Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet show and offer little to no actual basketball insight.    They still have some funny moments but the constant hating is too much for me deal with.    Kenny moved past annoying long ago ESPECIALLY during all-star weekend.  The dunk contest has its issues but none larger than him as far as I am concerned.

Shaq is insufferable. He has some bizarre hard-on for Bol Bol, probably because he knows the guy has zero chance to ever be a great center and therefore isn't a threat to be called "greater" than he was. Then there's the whole throwing shit on teammates thing. Just not likeable at all. I've stopped caring for Inside, tbh.

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Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Shaq is insufferable. He has some bizarre hard-on for Bol Bol, probably because he knows the guy has zero chance to ever be a great center and therefore isn't a threat to be called "greater" than he was. Then there's the whole throwing shit on teammates thing. Just not likeable at all. I've stopped caring for Inside, tbh.

Its a consistent shot at Wemby.    His latest big man hate project.

Edited by d2o
  • Like 1
Posted
we didnt give up on him...you just cant have 2 supermax deals on a team and expect to fill the rest out without being second apron'd
 
product of drafting first overall  and *gasp*the players ends up being pretty good at bball and makes all nba.  IDK, maybe its me but the whole second apron should have some leniency against teams that draft their players and have a little relief vs the second apron vs outright fucking them 
New CBA is coming for all the top teams. Celtics are gonna lose some players this offseason. They sure as hell aren't paying 200 million in luxury tax next year. OKC will probably be next.
Posted
3 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

No, just do a set hard cap and stop with all this apron and exceptions nonsense. Every team has up to 200m to spend, and every dollar under it is cap space. If you need more space, send a bad contract to some other team to make room. 

The trade deadline would be even more amazing if it weren't for all these stupid matching rules. 

This.  It's impossible to follow. 

Posted
2 hours ago, d2o said:

Its a consistent shot at Wemby.    His latest big man hate project.

Shaq is the most insecure motherfucker I've ever seen.  Bro, you are obscenely wealthy and you're in the basketball HOF.  I think you can chill with hating on all the big men in the league.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Shaq is the most insecure motherfucker I've ever seen.  Bro, you are obscenely wealthy and you're in the basketball HOF.  I think you can chill with hating on all the big men in the league.

Just proof that all the money and fame in the world is never enough for some

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Posted
New CBA is coming for all the top teams. Celtics are gonna lose some players this offseason. They sure as hell aren't paying 200 million in luxury tax next year. OKC will probably be next.

I have no idea what OKC is gonna do. Everyone important is signed through next year. Chet and JDub will get their first pay bump on top of SGA getting as much as he can get….so probably at 140-150 between those 3. Potentially 8 first round picks the next 2 drafts with some protections. Carusos kinda got an annoying contract for 4 more years, he’ll be 35 when that’s over.
Posted
That's fair but if Gobert had a good contract in the first place, they would have been able to offload him instead of KAT. It's a no brainer to keep KAT over Rudy, but they would have had to send assets out to get rid of Gobert, which is ironic because the reason they don't have any assets is because they traded all of them for Gobert in the first place. 

Idk I think we’ll agree to disagree. I think you underestimate Rudy’s impact. Skill wise Kat blows Rudy out offensively. I think Rudy’s better intangibles, defense, health etc. Rudy’s in impeccable shape for his age. He also is making 10M less the next 3 years after this year while Kats gonna be making 20M+ than Rudy will more a year with his super max

Still a lot but he’s still a dependable anchor, especially on defense
Posted
1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:


Idk I think we’ll agree to disagree. I think you underestimate Rudy’s impact. Skill wise Kat blows Rudy out offensively. I think Rudy’s better intangibles, defense, health etc. Rudy’s in impeccable shape for his age. He also is making 10M less the next 3 years after this year while Kats gonna be making 20M+ than Rudy will more a year with his super max

Still a lot but he’s still a dependable anchor, ONLY on defense

FIFY

Posted

I can't believe I'm defending Gobert here*, but they beat Denver and got to the WCF because they were the best defensive team in the league all year. A Minnesota team with KAT and no Gobert peaks as an easy 2nd round bounce. But a Minnesota team with Gobert and no KAT also seems to have obvious shortcomings.

*though certainly not his contract or trade package

Posted

Really good article by Jason Lloyd of the Athletic explaining how the Cavs window of opportunity is 3 years...and then things get complicated.

"For anyone not interested in the numbers and the cap jargon required to understand the NBA today, here is the most important thing to understand about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ contention window: They have three years.

The next three Junes represent their best chances at throwing a parade. After that, it gets really complicated.

Now, three years is an eternity in the NBA. It’s how long Kevin Durant spent with the Golden State Warriors. Three years ago, Donovan Mitchell was still in Utah and Evan Mobley was a quiet rookie trying to find his way.

By trading for De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs have officially announced they are ready to throw open their window of contention and start hunting championships. It’s been a long winter. The fresh air feels great.

Whether this group can duplicate the championship from the last era remains to be seen, but what seems clear is the clock is ticking.

With the core of this team under contract through the 2026-27 season, how Mobley finishes this season could have long-lasting financial ramifications for the next several years. If Mobley makes an All-NBA team this spring, his max contract for next season begins at a higher starting point. As the Cavs enter the luxury tax and dreaded second-apron territory next year, that will eventually matter.

As of now, Mobley is projected to earn more than $38 million next season on his new deal. Should he make the All-NBA third team this year, that figure increases to more than $41 million. A second-team selection bumps him past $43 million. The extra millions matter for next season, but the subsequent bumps in future years will matter even more.

Hunter’s $22 million salary the Cavs just added for next season, coupled with Mobley’s extension (regardless of whether he makes an All-NBA team), solidifies the Cavs as a second-apron team starting next year. They know it. The rest of the league knows it. The Cavs have done well to avoid it to this point, but there’s really no way out of it now.

The second apron for next season is projected to be around $208 million. The Cavs have $209 million committed to 10 players, and that doesn’t include locker room mainstays such as Ty Jerome, Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill, who are all free agents after the season.

By being a second-apron team, the Cavs won’t be able to use their midlevel exception to sign free agents this summer. They might not even be able to retain some of their bottom-of-the-roster guys. Any veteran they might sign on the buyout market in the coming days most likely will not return. It might take some salesmanship just to retain Jerome, who probably will become their top offseason priority.

One year in the second apron isn’t a big deal. Even two years is doable. But teams that stay in the second apron for three years within a five-year span start to feel pain.

For the Cavs, that means the 2027-28 season — the same year another extension for Mitchell would start around $65 million. If the Cavs are a second-apron team for the next three seasons (starting next year), their first-round pick in 2033 drops to 30th regardless of the team’s record.

This is where Mobley’s All-NBA status this season begins to really matter. If he does not make an All-NBA team this year, there might be a small window during the 2026-27 season when the Cavs can duck under the second apron, according to The Athletic’s cap expert, Danny Leroux. However, it’s likely the Cavs will remain an apron team that season and it’s almost inevitable they will if Mobley makes an All-NBA team this year and earns the extra percentages.

In this twisted world of cap gymnastics, whether Mobley makes All-NBA this year could determine how long the Cavs can retain Jarrett Allen or whether they’ll have to move him to avoid the harsh apron penalties. A couple of NBA team officials I spoke with after the Hunter acquisition believe Allen might eventually have to go just to make the numbers align, but that’s a concern for down the road.

The Cavs have $190 million committed to five players — the core four of Mitchell, Mobley, Allen and Darius Garland, plus Jaylon Tyson — in 2027-28 on a projected second apron of $251.4 million. By then, all complementary players such as Hunter, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro will no longer be under contract. Should the Cavs fight to retain their four biggest players, they will effectively need to rebuild the entire roster around them. That’s where scouting and development become so crucial.

The handful of second-round picks they still possess over the next few years, the low first-round picks they still have in 2026 and 2028 and the continued development of someone such as Tyson will determine the sustainability of this run beyond the next three years. The Cavs have proved capable of finding talent on the margins — Jerome, Wade, Merrill, etc. — and that will become paramount.


As for Jerome, who is a free agent this summer, a two-year, $23 million offer probably makes the most sense from the Cavs’ perspective. It’s likely going to be the most they can give him per year, and the two seasons align with the contention window of their other complementary players. If Jerome, who turns 28 this summer and is in the midst of a career year, wants to capitalize and take more years or squeeze more money out of a team with its full midlevel exception, the Cavs might ultimately lose him.

Confused yet? We haven’t even gotten to the repeat offender taxes that are lurking. They wisely and strategically ducked the luxury tax this year, which pushes off that headache for another season. But there’s still the matter of their apron status starting next year.

This is why I dislike the current collective bargaining agreement so much with these new aprons. Small-market clubs that build through the draft, develop players on the margins and supplement their rosters with a well-timed trade (i.e., the Cavs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies) should be rewarded with the freedom to keep their rosters intact. The current version of the Houston Rockets fits this category, too, although no one would confuse cities like Houston and Memphis. Those franchises, regardless of market size, should not be punished for excelling at scouting and development.

The Cavs’ previous championship era, believe it or not, more closely resembles the model the league was trying to extinguish of hastily assembling stars in one market. LeBron James returned, the Cavs got lucky in the lottery, swung a big trade for Kevin Love and poof! A four-hour parade on a 100-degree day. As a reference point, the Cavs would’ve been considered a second-apron team under these current rules during James’ final three years in Cleveland.

These Cavs have grown together much more organically. They will reach repeat offender status on the luxury tax scale, regardless of the aprons, for the first time after the 2028-29 season. Once they are considered repeat offenders, the tax bills soar to the astronomical levels teams like the Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks have battled in recent years and the Boston Celtics are about to start feeling. The league has successfully made long, sustainable contention windows for teams nearly untenable.

What does it all mean?

Enjoy the next three Junes. The window is open. The sun is shining. They represent the Cavs’ best shot at a championship before winds of change start blowing."

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Posted

I have no idea what OKC is gonna do. Everyone important is signed through next year. Chet and JDub will get their first pay bump on top of SGA getting as much as he can get….so probably at 140-150 between those 3. Potentially 8 first round picks the next 2 drafts with some protections. Carusos kinda got an annoying contract for 4 more years, he’ll be 35 when that’s over.
Right, OKC is probably 1.5 seasons out, but they won't be able to keep the band together, either. Nobody can under this CBA.
Posted
10 hours ago, Chewbacca said:
18 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

I have no idea what OKC is gonna do. Everyone important is signed through next year. Chet and JDub will get their first pay bump on top of SGA getting as much as he can get….so probably at 140-150 between those 3. Potentially 8 first round picks the next 2 drafts with some protections. Carusos kinda got an annoying contract for 4 more years, he’ll be 35 when that’s over.

Right, OKC is probably 1.5 seasons out, but they won't be able to keep the band together, either. Nobody can under this CBA.

 

18 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:


I have no idea what OKC is gonna do. Everyone important is signed through next year. Chet and JDub will get their first pay bump on top of SGA getting as much as he can get….so probably at 140-150 between those 3. Potentially 8 first round picks the next 2 drafts with some protections. Carusos kinda got an annoying contract for 4 more years, he’ll be 35 when that’s over.

 

16 hours ago, Message Board User said:

Really good article by Jason Lloyd of the Athletic explaining how the Cavs window of opportunity is 3 years...and then things get complicated.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

"For anyone not interested in the numbers and the cap jargon required to understand the NBA today, here is the most important thing to understand about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ contention window: They have three years.

The next three Junes represent their best chances at throwing a parade. After that, it gets really complicated.

Now, three years is an eternity in the NBA. It’s how long Kevin Durant spent with the Golden State Warriors. Three years ago, Donovan Mitchell was still in Utah and Evan Mobley was a quiet rookie trying to find his way.

By trading for De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs have officially announced they are ready to throw open their window of contention and start hunting championships. It’s been a long winter. The fresh air feels great.

Whether this group can duplicate the championship from the last era remains to be seen, but what seems clear is the clock is ticking.

With the core of this team under contract through the 2026-27 season, how Mobley finishes this season could have long-lasting financial ramifications for the next several years. If Mobley makes an All-NBA team this spring, his max contract for next season begins at a higher starting point. As the Cavs enter the luxury tax and dreaded second-apron territory next year, that will eventually matter.

As of now, Mobley is projected to earn more than $38 million next season on his new deal. Should he make the All-NBA third team this year, that figure increases to more than $41 million. A second-team selection bumps him past $43 million. The extra millions matter for next season, but the subsequent bumps in future years will matter even more.

Hunter’s $22 million salary the Cavs just added for next season, coupled with Mobley’s extension (regardless of whether he makes an All-NBA team), solidifies the Cavs as a second-apron team starting next year. They know it. The rest of the league knows it. The Cavs have done well to avoid it to this point, but there’s really no way out of it now.

The second apron for next season is projected to be around $208 million. The Cavs have $209 million committed to 10 players, and that doesn’t include locker room mainstays such as Ty Jerome, Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill, who are all free agents after the season.

By being a second-apron team, the Cavs won’t be able to use their midlevel exception to sign free agents this summer. They might not even be able to retain some of their bottom-of-the-roster guys. Any veteran they might sign on the buyout market in the coming days most likely will not return. It might take some salesmanship just to retain Jerome, who probably will become their top offseason priority.

One year in the second apron isn’t a big deal. Even two years is doable. But teams that stay in the second apron for three years within a five-year span start to feel pain.

For the Cavs, that means the 2027-28 season — the same year another extension for Mitchell would start around $65 million. If the Cavs are a second-apron team for the next three seasons (starting next year), their first-round pick in 2033 drops to 30th regardless of the team’s record.

This is where Mobley’s All-NBA status this season begins to really matter. If he does not make an All-NBA team this year, there might be a small window during the 2026-27 season when the Cavs can duck under the second apron, according to The Athletic’s cap expert, Danny Leroux. However, it’s likely the Cavs will remain an apron team that season and it’s almost inevitable they will if Mobley makes an All-NBA team this year and earns the extra percentages.

In this twisted world of cap gymnastics, whether Mobley makes All-NBA this year could determine how long the Cavs can retain Jarrett Allen or whether they’ll have to move him to avoid the harsh apron penalties. A couple of NBA team officials I spoke with after the Hunter acquisition believe Allen might eventually have to go just to make the numbers align, but that’s a concern for down the road.

The Cavs have $190 million committed to five players — the core four of Mitchell, Mobley, Allen and Darius Garland, plus Jaylon Tyson — in 2027-28 on a projected second apron of $251.4 million. By then, all complementary players such as Hunter, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro will no longer be under contract. Should the Cavs fight to retain their four biggest players, they will effectively need to rebuild the entire roster around them. That’s where scouting and development become so crucial.

The handful of second-round picks they still possess over the next few years, the low first-round picks they still have in 2026 and 2028 and the continued development of someone such as Tyson will determine the sustainability of this run beyond the next three years. The Cavs have proved capable of finding talent on the margins — Jerome, Wade, Merrill, etc. — and that will become paramount.


As for Jerome, who is a free agent this summer, a two-year, $23 million offer probably makes the most sense from the Cavs’ perspective. It’s likely going to be the most they can give him per year, and the two seasons align with the contention window of their other complementary players. If Jerome, who turns 28 this summer and is in the midst of a career year, wants to capitalize and take more years or squeeze more money out of a team with its full midlevel exception, the Cavs might ultimately lose him.

Confused yet? We haven’t even gotten to the repeat offender taxes that are lurking. They wisely and strategically ducked the luxury tax this year, which pushes off that headache for another season. But there’s still the matter of their apron status starting next year.

This is why I dislike the current collective bargaining agreement so much with these new aprons. Small-market clubs that build through the draft, develop players on the margins and supplement their rosters with a well-timed trade (i.e., the Cavs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies) should be rewarded with the freedom to keep their rosters intact. The current version of the Houston Rockets fits this category, too, although no one would confuse cities like Houston and Memphis. Those franchises, regardless of market size, should not be punished for excelling at scouting and development.

The Cavs’ previous championship era, believe it or not, more closely resembles the model the league was trying to extinguish of hastily assembling stars in one market. LeBron James returned, the Cavs got lucky in the lottery, swung a big trade for Kevin Love and poof! A four-hour parade on a 100-degree day. As a reference point, the Cavs would’ve been considered a second-apron team under these current rules during James’ final three years in Cleveland.

These Cavs have grown together much more organically. They will reach repeat offender status on the luxury tax scale, regardless of the aprons, for the first time after the 2028-29 season. Once they are considered repeat offenders, the tax bills soar to the astronomical levels teams like the Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks have battled in recent years and the Boston Celtics are about to start feeling. The league has successfully made long, sustainable contention windows for teams nearly untenable.

What does it all mean?

Enjoy the next three Junes. The window is open. The sun is shining. They represent the Cavs’ best shot at a championship before winds of change start blowing."
 

 

I think that's the case with every good team.  I'm not an expert on the CBA aprons but I do know the days of 3 max guys are over.  Stars can still get as much as they were getting before but the max is higher.  Long term winning likely means 2 or 3 guys taking below max (still in the $40-$50M range, mind you) and then supplementing them with other players.  Will guys forego a max money deal to do that?  We'll see.  My guess is some will and some won't.  You'll still have guys like Dame that take a max deal and then complain they can't win.

As for OKC, they'll keep their core 3-4.  (Hartenstein might be included in that.  He's a perfect mix for them.)  SGA will get the most and Jalen and Chet will get a little less.  I can definitely see SGA taking less to keep better players.  All that dude cares about is basketball and winning to the point he's boring.  I could never see him schlepping away on some 40 win team just for more money.  Past those 4, they have a really good and young roster on some very team favorable contracts.  They'll likely keep a few of them but they're all great trade assets combined with the 95 draft picks they have in the next few years.  My guess is they trade most of those guys at some point and eventually replace everyone with high draft picks.  They young player they have with the biggest upside is probably Cason Wallace.  Dude is a legit elite wing defender, defends 3 positions, good but still improving shooter.  He'll never get the points on this OKC team but he could easily be a borderline All Star on a lesser team.  It'll be interesting to see what they do with him.   

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
27 minutes ago, Mittens said:

Every team played last night, which is fairly rare - I think I heard Doris say it will only happen 4x this year.  Even more rare:

 

WTF, Miami.  Great 4th quarter there...

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