ESPN: Cap Projections Between $52-$54 Million

by Tommy Dee on December 24th, 2009 at 11:38 am

As we’ve talked about for some time, you didn’t have to be Ron Insana to project that “worst-case” scenario seemed an aggressive projection. But, uncertainty does cause panic so teams had to be careful. Hence, Ramon Sessions is in Minnesota struggling to adjust to the triangle offense. Nice job by Sheridan here.

“...Everyone still expects the cap to go down heading into the summer of 2010 when the league will have one of its strongest free agent classes in years, but by how much?

ESPN.com has been digging around for preliminary cap projections, and here is what we have uncovered:

The Miami Heat are the most conservative in their estimates, basing their planning for next summer’s cap at $52 million.

The New York Knicks are using $53 million as their operating number, and the New Jersey Nets are being the most optimistic, expecting the cap to come in between $54 and $55 million.

The league office told teams at the Board of Governors meeting on the eve of the season opener to expect the cap to come in somewhere around the $52 million range, but agents who have been briefed on updated financial receipt figures now are using $54 million as their operating number.

The salary cap dropped from $58.68 million in 2008-09 to $57.7 million for the current season, and the league issued a memo in early July projecting that Basketball Related Income — the formula through which the cap is calculated — was expected to drop 2.5 to 5 percent this season, hence the doomsday scenario of a cap drop all the way down south of $51 million…more.“
  • BiggieSmalls

    a five percent drop (the high end of the prediction) on a 57.7 million dollar cap gets you to 54.815 mil.. OVER the 52-54 mil number..

    I suspect we will get a cap around 55 or 56 mil when all is said and done.

  • http://theKnicksBlog.com Tommy Dee

    The league office told teams at the Board of Governors meeting on the eve of the season opener to expect the cap to come in somewhere around the $52 million range, but agents who have been briefed on UPDATED financial receipt figures now are using $54 million as their operating number.

  • BiggieSmalls

    the math on this paragraph is off

    the league issued a memo in early July projecting that Basketball Related Income — the formula through which the cap is calculated — was expected to drop 2.5 to 5 percent this season, hence the doomsday scenario of a cap drop all the way down south of $51 millio

  • ds2488

    One thing DW deserves to be commended for: Not signing Ramon Sessions. I really wanted the Knicks to sign him, but it is looking like a great decision right now, one of the few DW has made this year.

  • Jeff Cykiert

    I don’t get why any of this stuff ever mattered.

    The max allowable contract is a function of the salary cap, is it not?

  • Jeff Cykiert

    On the topic of Minnesota PG’s….

    What on earth was Kahn thinking? He knows that Rambis uses the triangle right? If you know how the triangle works, you know that they have no use for ball dominating PGs. Rubio, i guy with amazing handle and moves, incredible passing and playmaking, has absolutely no use in the triangle.

    Flynn, a super-athletic undersized penetrating PG, has pretty much no use in that system. Neither does sessions.

    In order for flynn to show his stuff he has to abandon the offense and just take it to the hole. It really is rediculous that they took those 2 players; both have no fit whatsoever on that team. He literally took them as a business move, and nothing else. He thought people really wanted rubio so he took him as an asset. oh but he’s ‘going to start the day he comes’, right?

    Pathetic.

    Tyreke evans is the best rookie i have seen since LeBron.

  • ds2488

    Yeah jeff, I have already commented on this numerous times. This guy Kahn is doing the worse job I have ever seen so far. He drafted 2 pgs consecutively, managed to miss the best of the bunch in Jennings, should have traded Rubio earlier when his value was higher, and Flynn is solid but not a great fit in that system. Now he has payed Sessions 16 mill for 4 years, just to be a really underwhelming backup to Flynn, playing 12 minutes a game and killing Sessions’s trade value. Just atrocious. I really hope they get the first pick and end up with John Wall, that leaves them with way too many pgs, all with lowered trade values. That would just be hilarious.

  • BiggieSmalls

    remember.. like Jeff said below.. The triangle offense is an awful fit for the Point guards they have ont eh roster.

    I really would take whatever Sessions does in Minny with a pound of salt. he is getting his value killed playing 11 minutes behind Flynn..

    But what is Minny to do? typically players drafted int he top ten get to play right away.. except of course here where Hill cant get off the bench..

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    the cap will be a little worse than projected
    an in 2011-12 it will be even more bad.

  • Knicks4life

    I disagree 1000%

  • bob go knicks

    i would have liked to see sessions run this team.i still think in the longrun they woulda been better off signing him.

  • bob go knicks

    to everyone on the blog*********MERRY CHRISTMAS***********..I Hope i can stall long enough,to watch the entire KNICKS game tommorrow before heading out to the in-laws,.GO KNICKS!!!…I want a PG for Christmas

  • ozzy

    Most likely flynn is playing ahead of sessions because he beat him out for the spot. Sessions is a what he is, a $4 million point guard in the nba. Nothing special

  • ozzy

    The article obviously has an error in th story. The math is wrong. I believe the teams were told that the REVENUES were projected to drop 2.5 to 5% NOT the cap number. Whoever published that article needs to check their work.

  • Mucha

    Nobody’s asking for Cuttino Mobley’s contract, the recession might not have a huge impact on the NBA world… I think its impact is overrated.

    The interesting story is “Knicks are using $53 million as their operating number”.

    Danilo Gallinari : $3.30
    Jordan Hill : $2.67
    Toney Douglas : $1
    Wilson Chandler : $2.13
    Jared Jeffries : $6.88
    Eddy Curry : $11.27

    + LeBron James : $17.XX

    = $45 million

    Remaining capspace : $8 million

    Conclusion : The Knicks can’t keep David Lee.

    By the way, ESPN really hate the Knicks – have you seen the Heat-Knicks game preview?

  • Mucha

    Oh yeah, merry Christmas everybody.

  • 420

    I guess we’ll have to see what they are able to do with that extra $4 million this summer to judge donnie’s call not to sign sessions last summer. I still don’t like the fact that he can’t beat out a rookie pg for minutes.