Daily Links: Fiscal sanity returns to the NBA

by Seth Pollack on Jul 8, 2009 7:58 AM MST in Phoenix Suns: Daily Links

Salary Cap Set At $57.7 Million - Basketball News & NBA Rumors - HOOPSWORLD
The salary cap for the 2009-10 season has been set at $57.7 million, almost a full million less than 2008-09 and the luxury tax line which impacts even more teams is $69.9 which is also down about $1m.

This is pretty big news and even more so is word from Eric Pinus at Hoopsworld that next year the Lux Tax could drop to between $61m and $65m! That is a huge drop and will have a big impact on what teams do this summer. We've already seen guys like Rasheed Wallace and Shawn Marion go from huge contracts to around the MLE and even some of the top free agents signed for much less then they would have even last year.

With the luxury tax projected to drop another $5m to $8m next year, there are going to be very few teams looking to add long term deals. Guys like Brandon Bass and Paul Milsap will feel this impact.

It is hard to evaluate exactly where the Suns are right now given all the flux in the roster but with Shaq gone the Suns went from a projected salary of over $80m to around $73m (without Grant Hill and assuming Pavlovic is waived and Wallace gets his full $14m).

As has been the case for some time, the big question for the Suns salary situation right now is Ben Wallace. A buyout of $10m would save the Suns quite a bit of money given their current situation.

The rest of the links (there isn't much today)

azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish: The other free agent wing
Update on Matt Barnes
SUNS: Suns.com One-on-One With Jared Dudley
Summer update with JD
ercury's Willingham quietly producing
Yup, Le'Coe is a solid basketball player...
Deadspin - Diagramming Sarah Palin's "Full-Court Press" Metaphor - sarah palin
Last Friday, Sarah Palin shrugged into her respectable Republican cloth coat and announced she was resigning from office. Along the way, she dropped a somewhat baffling basketball analogy, which we've helpfully diagrammed for you below, just as Palin described it.

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Comments

Goodbye Grant, we hardly knew ye ...

JKidd said on the DPatrick show today that he thought GHill (does anybody use their first name anymore) was going to play for the Knickerbockers.

Does anyone else think that Phoenix is simply becoming the fountain of youth for players? The most valuable component of the Phoenix Suns organization has become the training staff. Broken down, beat up players come in through one door and leave throught he next rejuvenated and with bigger contracts. If my theory stays true to form and Grant leaves, he and Shaq will both break down during the season and fans will be lamenting their signings. Nash, the modern Dorian Gray, doesn’t want to leave because he’s seen this picture before. Leaving the training staff and the magic elixer int he water means his skills deteriorate also.

by LA Eric on Jul 8, 2009 8:42 AM MST reply actions

Nash has his own physiotherapist (sp) he brings in when things go really wrong with his back. That is not to say that the Aaron Nelson and Co do not help him, but obviously he has a serious condition and an individual who knows how to help get him back into playing shape when he really needs to.

My point is I don’t think the Suns training staff would keep Nash in a Suns uniform.

by RD74 on Jul 8, 2009 8:46 AM MST up reply actions

RD74: I was being facetious about Steve. But it is still an interesting trend. Players come to Phoenix broken down and leave invigorated. I attribute that to Aaron and his staff. I don’t know of any other staff or organization where that sort of thing happens.

by LA Eric on Jul 8, 2009 12:27 PM MST reply actions