- The biggest NBA free agent, former Lakers Center Dwight Howard, made his decision on where to play next season this past weekend. Howard decided to spurn the Lakers and head to the Lone Star state to play for the Houston Rockets. In choosing the Rockets, Howard left almost $30M on the table because the Lakers could offer a longer deal for a little more money. Howard (who is already making friends) believes he made the best choice for him both in terms of fit, and the best chance to win a championship and he will team up with James Harden, who was traded to Houston last off season, giving the Rockets (arguably) two of the 15 or 20 best players in the league.
- Former Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith decided to move to Detroit. This move will make Detroit's frontline of Smith along with young players Andre Drummond (whose stat line of 13 pts, 8 reb are already good for a guy who did not start all year but his 1.6 steals are amazing for someone of his size) and Greg Monroe (17 pts, 10 reb) at the forward and center positions potentially dominant. Smith is a very good player who should be able to help Drummond and Monroe continue to grow.
- Andre Iguodala signed with the Golden State Warriors giving the young offensively potent team much needed defensive help. Al Jefferson, the former Utah Jazz center, signed with the Charlotte Bobcats, immediately becoming the best player in the lowly Bobcats’ history (team owner Michael Jordan not included). Paul Millsap, Jefferson’s teammate in Utah, went to Atlanta and should take over Josh Smith’s spot.
NBA announces luxury tax payers
- The NBA announced on Wednesday the six teams who will have to pay a luxury tax for their payrolls during the past season. The NBA has a "soft" salary cap meaning that teams can exceed it but will have to pay extra money as a penalty for doing so. In the past, teams have had to match the amount over the cap that they pay but starting next season, the penalties will be much harsher.
- When a team is over the salary cap, they don't automatically get taxed but if they move significantly over then they have to pay a penalty to the rest of the league. Half of the total luxury tax payments go to the league and the other half go to the non-tax paying teams. The 24 non-paying teams profited almost $1.5 million each off their less thrifty competitors.
- This past season the Lakers led the NBA by far, paying a whopping $29.2 million luxury tax bill despite barely being good enough to make the playoffs. The following teams also paid a tax: Miami Heat ($13.35 million), Brooklyn Nets ($12.88 million), New York Knicks ($9.96 million), Chicago Bulls ($3.93 million) and Boston Celtics ($1.18 million) join the Lakers ($29.26 million) in facing tax bills for their 2012-13 payrolls. All five of those teams were playoff teams in the East, including four of the top five seeds.
No comments:
Post a Comment