League Source: $53 Million cap ” Very Realistic”

by Tommy Dee on October 31st, 2009 at 9:59 am

Via Daily Dime:

“…You’ve heard tons about the infamous memo dispatched by the league office in July warning teams that the salary cap for the 2010-11 season could drop from the current $57.7 million all the way down to somewhere between $50.4 million and $53.6 million.

What hasn’t been widely publicized is that more teams than not, at this early stage, expect next season’s cap to wind up closer to the higher figure.

The NBA’s public position on the matter has not changed. Commissioner David Stern re-iterated again last week in briefings with reporters leading into opening night that his number-crunchers continue to forecast overall league revenue in 2009-10 to decline from 2.5 to 5 percent.

Yet as one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN.com this week: “We are projecting a number somewhere in the 52-to-53 million range. We had been working off the doomsday 50.4 [million] number, but now … we think 53.6 [million] could be very realistic…”

A lot of what’s happening is depending on if the owners agree to let Victor
Prokhorov and his 9.5 million dollar net worth into the league. There has been talk of some shady things surrounding Prokhorov, and with discussions about tainted referees still lingering, it’s going to be interesting to see if the league can knowingly expose itself to the threat of more bad publicity. If the deal goes through then the Nets have to obviously be considered major players in the Lebron sweepstakes.

The Knicks are second, behind the Nets, in cap space.

“…2. NEW YORK

$53.6 million salary cap: $23.4 million in cap space
$50 million salary cap: $19.8 million in cap space
What it means: It’s worldwide common knowledge, as D-Wade noted, that the Knicks’ original free-agent fantasy was signing LeBron along with another max player (such as Wade or Chris Bosh) in the summer of 2010 to start over under coach Mike D’Antoni, who is beloved by James, Wade and several other members of Team USA from their time with the national team. But with first-year salaries for the big names expected to be in the $16 million range, New York can only afford one max player … unless it can (gulp) move Eddy Curry for an expiring contract during the season. This, furthermore, is a best-case scenario for the Knicks that assumes unrestricted free agents-to-be David Lee and Nate Robinson are no longer on the payroll…”

Obviously, Stein forgot to mention the possibility of moving Jared Jeffries off the books for an expiring, as well as Curry…
  • jaknicksfan

    First we have to Get through this season before we can think about 2010. Maybe the cap will be higher than 53 million but right now we need D’antoni to Wake Up!

  • jho

    At this pace Utah will get the #1 overall pick and we will help them be a dynasty for the next decade.

  • BobbyFromBK

    Where is the article from Isola on Duhon saying the Knicks lost the game before it started, Bro? It is curiously missing from your blog. If anyone saw the CD interview after the game, you’ll know what the real problem is with this “NBDL” team–The Coach.

  • BiggieSmalls

    Looks like Donnie was wrong that we have the MOST cap space coming into next year.

    How come I can figure that out and DW is clueless?

  • BiggieSmalls

    Not to mention this number assumes Nate and Lee’s rights are rescinded.

  • HaS

    LOL! Sad.

    If they don’t get someone (LeBron, Wade, Bosh or Amar’e) next year they might be out of here. I wouldn’t even care either. The Knicks will still have the cap space and even more of it the following year, as long as Walsh and _’antoni don’t waste it on another forward on the way out the door.

  • HaS

    They meaning Walsh and _’antoni.

  • bockersORbriefs

    2010 … a (cap) space odyssey … Once DW dosen’t get one of the 3 BIG names he hopes for, we’ll really be Lost in Space. Then what? Guys that wouldn’t have affected the cap (Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, etc.) were passed over by Donnie Basketball but he (or his successor) will be going after them in 2013 !!! In the here & now, our PG is calling people out for not being ready at the beginning of the game … but Du-NON didn’t seem too ready at the end of the 1st OT when he dribbled off his leg & out of bounds with seconds left. Should someone “call him out” for that?

    PS, in the here & now for the Bucks, Jennings (10th pick) stats in his NBA debut, 17 pts, 9 assists, 9 boards … Jordan Hill’s (8th pick) line? DNP- coach’s decision …

  • Mal

    I keep hearing how all the Olympic boys love Mike D, Im not buying it and I think they liked Nate’s defense more. I guess we’ll see summer 2010. they know DEFENSE win championships and that is not what we are doing very well right now, Mike needs to remember he is not in Phoenix and quality of players are not the same DEFENSE is needed in the East to advance to Finals