Coro: Suns buyout Sasha, save additional $500K

Thanks to Oren for sharing the news on BSotS!

4 months ago ZonaFlash 14 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Some comments moved over from Oren's Fanpost

So… We couldnt wait to use him as trade bait? for his expiring contract of course
Turambar

Sasha’s cap figure was about $5M
So if we trade him for a real player, that player is going to be making ~$5M. Playing said real player $5M + $5M in tax. Comparing that to cutting Sasha for $1.5M + $1.5M tax, that’s an extra $7M for a middling player.
gadogry

This season will be even better as long as I'm drinking while watching!

by ZonaFlash on Sep 14, 2009 8:11 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, sorry about the no-link

I wrote it at 2:30~am (Israeli timezone), and I knew I forgot something.

by Oren on Sep 15, 2009 12:48 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Where in Israel?

I spent 6 months in Haifa at the Dan Carmel working for Tower Semiconductor…

This season will be even better as long as I'm drinking while watching!

by ZonaFlash on Sep 15, 2009 3:26 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I live in Modiin

Somewhere between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem.

DId you like israel? It’s cool to know that you actually spent time in our tiny country :)

by Oren on Sep 15, 2009 6:00 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I loved all the time I spent there, can't wait to get back! =D

This season will be even better as long as I'm drinking while watching!

by ZonaFlash on Sep 15, 2009 6:07 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

It upsets me

to think that the Suns were looking to package Sasha with another Suns player in a trade to better the team, when in fact they were using this extra time to try and negociate an even lower buyout to save even more money! Are you freaking kidding me???

by SunsFTW on Sep 14, 2009 11:33 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Where's your proof of that?

Isn’t it just as likely that they couldn’t find a scenario they liked?

by hcblankscreen on Sep 15, 2009 2:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea, I think there were no buyers for Sasha at 5M when they knew they could be patient and get him at the min

This season will be even better as long as I'm drinking while watching!

by ZonaFlash on Sep 15, 2009 3:27 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually,

teams could trade a fully guaranteed contract for Pavlovic, cut him and save some cap space/money. The Pistons traded Amir Johnson for the partially guaranteed Oberto contract, waived the Argentinian ex-Spur and saved a total 2,041,667$ of cap space.
In order to get dump Pavlovic via trade, the Suns most likely had to take a guaranteed contract – and we all know Sarver didn’t want to. The buyout was the cheapest way to handle the situation, and it also brought the total savings of the Shaq dump to 18.5M$ (counting proper salaries and luxury tax of course).
I might be wrong, but if I calculated it right then the Suns total payroll right now stands at 74,519,007$

by Oren on Sep 15, 2009 6:29 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

This was a savvy move to negotiate the buy out this way and the money they saved on Shaq (as Coro pointed out) went to resign Hill and to get Frye.

It would have been foolish to spend that extra $18.5m to keep Shaq for one more year. Does anyone think that this team would be a legit contender if Shaq had come back? Its money down the drain that can but used for other things in seasons to come. Or just not wasted this year. Sports team owners shouldn’t feel obligated to waste their money. Being cheap is one thing (see the Kings, Sacramento and Grizzlies, Memphis) but pissing away money is just dumb

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Seth Pollack on Sep 15, 2009 7:57 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't entirely agree

Dumping Shaq for nothing was a dumb move and I’m still pissed at Kerr&Sarver for doing so. Shaq, despite being 37+, proved he can still be productive. I believe there could have been much better options of trading Shaq and getting actual talent in return, such as:
1. replacing Pavlovic’s partially guaranteed contract with Delonte West (he’s much more expandable now than before the Anthony Parker/Jamario Moon signings).
2. Apparently Larry Brown went nuts and decided to ship Emeka Okafor away from the Bobcats. Okafor could have been awesome next to Amare, he just hasn’t been on the national radar as he was stuck with the Cats. A 3-way trade that would’ve sent Tyson Chandler to the Bobcats, Shaq to the Hornets (he loves Louisiana and could have fit them nicely) and Okafor+filler (Antonio Daniels? Rasual Butler? the Hornets dumped both lately) to the Suns.
3. As an huge contract who expire just in time for the most hyped free agency period in the league’s history, Shaq could have been traded for pure gold (trade value-wise) near the deadline. Remember how the Lakers turned out Kwame Brown into Pau Gasol? Ths Suns had a similar expiring contract in Kurt Thomas, hadn’t they dump him 7 months earlier.

Even if you think Delonte West or Okafor won’t fit with the Suns, they have enough trade value around the league.

Of course Sarver wants to save money, but he is also supposed to make the team better. We all know that he wouldn’t have to fill out the roster via free agency had the Suns actually use all those 1st rounders he sold. Rudy Fernandez will earn 1,165,320$ in 09/10, Rajon Rondo will earn 2,094,922$ and so on. Sarver passed on so much young and cheap talent over the years, and then he pays the price (literally) on the court.

by Oren on Sep 15, 2009 5:06 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

the main problem was that Shaq and Nash didn't work well together.

their pick and roll defense is now the stuff of tandem-MVP uberfail legend to be permanently enshrined in the Hall of Shame.

If you have to drop Nash or Shaq from the team, who should you drop? Shaq, because other teams want him and Nash can probably make a bunch of misfits work together better than Shaq can.

Item 1 is interesting, but as far as trading Shaq, it seems that the organization felt some respect and obligation to Shaq. Shaq vetoed at least one trade at the all-star break last year to the Blazers.

This season will be even better as long as I'm drinking while watching!

by ZonaFlash on Sep 15, 2009 6:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Horray

Yay for a few saved bucks. Now Sarver can lower ticket prices! (as if he would!)

by eagleheart on Sep 15, 2009 6:34 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I’d settle for a nice Sarver muzzle that would keep his mouth shut so he’d stop complaining about “economic realities” and other nonsense he often speaks of.

by Wil Cantrell on Sep 15, 2009 3:09 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs