Sources told ESPN.com that all 30 teams were informed this week via league memorandum that an increase in the cap from this season's $58.6 million to $63.2 million in 2014-15 -- thanks to increased revenues -- is now expected. A corresponding rise in the luxury-tax threshold from $71.7 million to $77 million is also projected, sources said.
It must be noted that these are non-binding forecasts that have been circulated roughly three months before the official cap ceiling and luxury-tax threshold for next season are announced in early July following a league-wide audit.
But the latest projections will undoubtedly be welcomed by numerous teams that are planning to be active in free agency this summer. If the projections hold, several clubs will find themselves with more spending money and financial flexibility than they initially planned.
It's significant for us, and for a lot of other teams. I haven't really got into it analyzing other teams cap situation yet (I usually do it in the off season), but I'm worried this might put a dent in a number of our plans. I.e. more suitors for Bledsoe, more suitors for other "star" FAs, etc. I need time to think about potential ramifications here other than "hey we have more money to sign guys."
carey wrote:It's significant for us, and for a lot of other teams. I haven't really got into it analyzing other teams cap situation yet (I usually do it in the off season), but I'm worried this might put a dent in a number of our plans. I.e. more suitors for Bledsoe, more suitors for other "star" FAs, etc. I need time to think about potential ramifications here other than "hey we have more money to sign guys."
It gives us more wiggle room to retain Bledsoe & Tucker, as well as the Morris twins - not to mention more room under the tax threshold.
And, in the situation with Kevin Love, money's the last thing on his mind these days.
The roster overhaul came last summer with four trades. This time, the Suns have control for most of the roster, including plans to retain restricted free-agents Bledsoe and P.J. Tucker by negotiating with them before they sign an offer sheet elsewhere.
"We feel like we do have a special chemistry," Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough said. "We still do need to get more talented. We know that. But there are some good things in place here. We don't want to rock the boat too much and screw that up."
McDonough & Co. have to be careful not to take improvement for granted. They have a very solid team, but I don't it would be hard for this team to win fewer games next season than it did this season.
"We do need to find a way that, when we can't get going up and down, when we can't run and teams slow us down, how do we counter that?" McDonough said. "I felt like sometimes this year we didn't have the answers. Part of that is my fault and Lon's (Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby) fault. We didn't give (coach) Jeff (Hornacek) that option. It's something we'll continue to address through free agency and the draft and hopefully, most importantly through the improvement of our young guys."
Greg Monroe?
McDonough said the Suns likely will not bring in three rookies next season. Instead, they could package the picks for a veteran, trade to move up in the draft, trade to move into a different draft or draft a foreign player who continues development overseas.
"I feel like our backcourt is among the NBA's best with Goran and Eric. I feel like we have good depth, but there's some roster upgrades we can make," he said. "We can obviously get better. We're not going to sit here as a team that didn't make the playoffs and tell you we're all set. But I don't' think there are any glaring holes or holes that aren't filled if you factor in some internal improvement."
"That's what I think makes us lean towards bringing a majority—I don't think we'll bring all of the guys back, but a majority of them back next year and trying to add to that group because we feel like we do have a special chemistry," McDonough said. "We still need to get more talented. We know that. But there are some good things in place here and we don't want to rock the boat too much and screw that up."
"I think it's unlikely we bring in three rookies to the Suns next year," McDonough said at Friday's season-ending press conference. "We obviously have Alex and Archie, who we are high on. With the success that we had this year, it's a good problem to have. But, it's tough to develop rookies and also try to win a lot of games.
The problem I have wit this is if you take Alex Len and Archie Goodwin out of the 2013 draft and put them into the 2014 draft, Len wouldn't go in the lottery and Goodwin wouldn't go in the first round. So you're punting on a superior draft for inferior prospects. All of that is exacerbated by the realities of Len having glass ankles and Goodwin is a shooting guard without a jumpshot.
I guess I should be grateful that McDonough is giving me a heads-up so far in advance of draft night to expect another disappointing draft. It seems like the only hope left is that the Suns land a top 3 pick in the lottery in May. If that doesn't happen at least I know to flip off the care-switch.
What if our medical staff declares that his recent injuries are not something recurrent, and will be good to go next season? Horford + Plumlee + Len + either Frye or Kieff sounds very good to me.
The Hawks enjoyed some success without him using Millsap at the 4, but Horford has stated that he doesn't like to play full time at center, so what if we facilitate a real center for Atlanta (Asik, Varejao, Chandler?)
Only Houston would demand a draft pick, the other two would likely be content with cap relief plus a second. Another first to Atlanta and we are set.
Of course a more expensive deal could be asked for either side, but in such case we just thank them for their time and proceed to the next scenario. Less sexy that going for Kevin Love, older than Monroe, but Horford could be a more rounded answer to our problems in the paint.
