# Eight trade ideas involving Terrell Brandon, & why T.B. is a valuable commodity...



## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

*Nine trade ideas involving Terrell Brandon, & why T.B. is a valuable commodity...*

Many Timberwolves fans look at their team's payroll, their lack of cap space, their lack of a decent first round pick, and they wonder, "How in the WORLD can we EVER get out of the first round with our current roster?" What these fans do not realize is that the KEY to getting out of the first round is right there in front of their faces: TERRELL BRANDON. Minnesota can get more than you think for Brandon in a trade. That's right, you heard me right. Minnesota can get a good player or two for Terrell Brandon, a guy who will never play another game in the NBA. Minnesota can use T.B. to trade for that missing piece to the second round puzzle.

First of all, why is Terrell Brandon worth ANYTHING? Why would a team want to trade anything remotely valuable for a guy who will never play another minute in the NBA? Here's why, take a look at this link from the great Larry ****'s website:

http://www.members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#50

If you're too lazy to click on this link and read through Mr. ****'s Q&A #50, here's how it works. The last time that T.B. touched the floor in the NBA was in February 2002. Exactly TWO FULL YEARS after an injured player last touched the floor in the NBA, whoever has him on their roster can ask a league-appointed doctor to look him over and determine whether or not he is physically able to play. If, in February 2004 (NEXT SEASON), that doctor determines that T.B. is NOT physically able to play--and, trust me, that is exactly what the doctor will find, because T.B. is essentially retired because of injuries--THEN what HAPPENS is that the league does not include T.B.'s contract when they calculate the luxury tax.

IN OTHER WORDS, T.B.'s $11.1 mil 2003-04 contract does NOT count for luxury tax purposes.

The "luxury tax threshold" is right at $51-$52 mil. If a team goes ABOVE this threshold, then they have to pay the luxury tax. If they stay BELOW this threshold, they do NOT have to pay the luxury tax. The difference between a $51 mil payroll and a $53 mil payroll is NOT $2 mil. It is closer to $15 mil. If a team stays UNDER the luxury tax threshold, then that team gets a percentage of the luxury tax reimbursement money, which should be in the neighborhood of $12 mil (this is a guess on my part; NCBullsFan can give us more exact figures if he feels like it, he understands this stuff better than anybody); if a team goes OVER the luxury tax threshold, then they do NOT get this reimbursement money.

FURTHERMORE, once their payroll moves a few million OVER this threshold, they have to start paying a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax penalty for their payroll. This is why teams are so adamant about keeping their payroll under $51-$52 mil. This is why Toronto did not even ATTEMPT to re-sign Keon Clark last summer. This is why Milwaukee traded Ray Allen and a low lottery pick for Desmond Mason (they will let Gary Payton walk this summer, you watch). This is why Orlando traded Don Reid and a future high lottery pick (a 2005 or 2006 Clippers first round pick) for a second round pick. Teams want to avoid the luxury tax DESPERATELY. Teams that are right around the threshold will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get below that threshold. And shrewd teams will take advantage of these desperate teams.

Any team that has a payroll that is anywhere near the luxury tax threshold (again, $51-$52 mil) will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep that payroll UNDER the threshold. Trading some pretty worthwhile players with undesirable longterm contracts for Terrell Brandon is SUDDENLY a REALLY GOOD IDEA. Why? I'll give you an example. Let's say a team has a $60 mil payroll. That team is DEFINITELY looking at paying the luxury tax. Not only does that team miss out on that luxury tax reimbursement money (i.e., the total luxury tax money spent on teams with bloated payrolls that is re-distributed to teams that are UNDER that luxury tax threshold) but that team also has to PAY the luxury tax. We're talking about a TON OF MONEY here, over $20-$25 mil IN ONE SEASON. [NOTE: If you want to get a better idea about the exact numbers, ask NCBullsFan, or go to the "Salaries" section on this website and take a look at his article about the luxury tax.]

HOWEVER, if that team were to trade $10-$11 mil in salaries for Terrell Brandon, SUDDENLY, that team goes from being WELL ABOVE THE LUXURY TAX THRESHOLD to WELL BELOW the luxury tax threshold. That team's taxable payroll drops from $60 mil to $49 mil. That team saves itself around $20-$25 mil IN ONE SEASON. $20-$25 mil is obviously a ton of money, so every single team in this situation (i.e., just below, at, or just above the threshold) will be interested in trading for Terrell Brandon.

Keep in mind that an injured player like Brandon has been insured. Insurance is going to pay for a large chunk of his remaining contract. So NOT ONLY does a team that trades for T.B. get to maybe avoid the luxury tax, but that team ALSO could very well get around 80% of T.B.'s remaining contract paid for by insurance.

In other words, the team that trades superfluous payroll for Terrell Brandon could save themselves TENS OF MILLIONS of dollars. This is why T.B. is worth more than you think.

I have looked at all the teams in the league whose payroll is right around the luxury tax threshold. I have looked at teams that could REALLY BENEFIT by trading unwanted salaries for T.B. I have come up with NINE TRADES involving T.B. The FIRST trade is, as you will see, OBVIOUSLY the BEST trade for Minnesota, but there is a chance that it will fall through.

Why would Minnesota want to trade T.B.? In other words, if T.B. is so damn valuable, why doesn't Minnesota just hold onto the guy? Because their star player, Kevin Garnett, will be DEMANDING management to make a MAJOR MOVE this summer. He is SICK of losing in the first round EVERY SINGLE SEASON because his supporting cast sucks. The best asset that Minnesota can offer (besides KG himself, and Wally World, who the team would like to hold onto, and Radoslav Nesterovic, who the team would also like to hold onto, and Troy Hudson, who the team would ALSO like to hold onto) is TERRELL BRANDON because of what he means from a luxury tax perspective. If Minnesota gets better this summer, it will not be because of a low first round draft pick. It will be either because of a) free agency, b) trade, or c) both. PREFERABLY BOTH. And, since T.B. is their #1 tradable asset, the best way for this team to improve via trade is by trading T.B.

Here is THE BEST way for Minnesota to get MAXIMUM RETURN for T.B.:

Idea #1. Terrell Brandon TO MILWAUKEE FOR Gary Payton (sign-and-trade) and Jason Caffey (two years remaining).

The Bucks are JUST BELOW the luxury tax threshold if they let GP walk, their payroll will be right around $51 mil. At the moment, they totally cannot pull off a sign-and-trade involving GP in which they get equal salaries in return, salaries of players WHO ARE ACTUALLY PLAYING, that is. If they do, then they cannot possibly stay under the threshold. The only way that they move GP in a sign-and-trade is if they either a) ship him to a team with a pretty significant amount of cap room or b) ship him to Minnesota for T.B. AND, since teams with cap room do not HAVE to work out a sign-and-trade if they want GP--they can just go sign him themselves--then Minnesota makes a ton of sense for GP.

I think GP will sign with San Antonio if the Spurs want him. The other teams with cap room are the Jazz, the Heat, the Clips, and the Nuggets. I cannot imagine that he would be interested in signing with the Clips or the Nuggets. The Heat don't have much cap room (they only have about $6 mil to play around with), plus Miami sucks, plus Miami is literally as far away from GP's beloved Pacific Northwest as you can possibly get, so I wouldn't consider the Heat an option, either.

Utah? Well, I think most of us are more or less taking it for granted that the Jazz will replace John Stockton with Andre Miller, not Gary Payton. We may be wrong, but I don't think so.

That leaves San Antonio and Minnesota vying for GP's services. GP will probably WANT to sign with the Spurs. But the Bucks will want to work out a deal with Minnesota, so they can get rid of Jason Caffey's contract and so they get comfortably under the luxury tax threshold (from $51 mil to around $46-$47 mil). Presently, the Bucks cannot even afford to sign their first round pick (#14 overall) without crossing the threshold. Milwaukee will be all about trying to make this deal happen. So will Minnesota. It really boils down to whether GP wants to play for the best team in the NBA (San Antonio) or the fifth-best team in the NBA (Minnesota). It also boils down to whether the Spurs want him. They might not! Keep your fingers crossed, Timberwolves fans!

Here are the other eight trades involving T.B., enjoy:

Idea #2. Terrell Brandon and Marc Jackson (four years remaining on his contract) TO INDIANA FOR Brad Miller (re-signed) and Austin Croshere (nauseating longterm contract). Indiana does this trade because a) they weren't planning on re-signing Brad Miller ANYWAY so as to avoid the luxury tax and b) they get rid of Croshere's terrible contract. Packaging Miller with Croshere for T.B. gets this team several million dollars under the luxury tax threshold, and it rids them of Croshere's contract once and for all. Indiana can either a) let Brad Miller walk, avoid the luxury tax penalty, and continue to be stuck with Croshere's contract, or b) trade Miller to Minnesota, avoid the luxury tax penalty, and be FOREVER FREED from Croshere's contract. In both (a) and (b), Indiana loses Brad Miller and avoids the luxury tax penalty, but only (b) allows Indiana to rid themselves of Croshere's contract forever and ever. Indiana would do this deal, trust me.

Idea #3. Terrell Brandon and Joe Smith (four years remaining on his fairly large contract) TO TORONTO FOR Antonio Davis (3-4 years remaining on a bloated max contract) and Lamond Murray (three years remaining). Toronto not only stays under the luxury tax threshold BUT ALSO they can actually add a few million to their payroll this summer (via free agency) and REMAIN under the threshold by making this deal. By standing pat, Toronto CANNOT add payroll via free agency this summer. Toronto desperately wants to reduce their salary cap-luxury tax number in the worst way. Great trade for Toronto, getting rid of both of these two terrible contracts is a major accomplishment.

Idea #4. Terrell Brandon TO CHICAGO FOR Donyell Marshall and Eddie Robinson (four years remaining). Chicago is closer to the luxury tax threshold than Bulls fans think. The Bulls cannot sign Juwanna Man Howard (or use their full MLE in any other way) this summer without exceeding the threshold. Sure, they lose the reasonably priced and incredibly productive Donyell Marshall, but the Bulls no longer have to worry about E-Rob's terrible contract ever again. And the Bulls can replace Marshall with Juwanna Man (full MLE) without having to worry about the luxury tax. Great trade for Chicago. Chicago is essentially trading Donyell Marshall and Eddie Robinson for Juwanna Man Howard. IF Howard signs with Chicago. I think that, all things being equal, Howard signs with Chicago, because a) he is FROM Chicago and b) his Fab Five teammate (Jalen Rose) plays for Chicago.

Idea #5. Terrell Brandon TO ATLANTA FOR either Glenn Robinson or Theo Ratliff. If Atlanta does this deal, they get below the threshold. If not, they stay above the threshold. Cut and dry. Great trade for Atlanta, this deal saves that team so much money IN ONE SEASON, it's ridiculous! Of course, if they re-sign Jason Terry, they are right back above the threshold again. The Hawks are more likely to work out a whopper with the Knicks this summer, actually.

Idea #6. Terrell Brandon TO SEATTLE FOR Brent Barry, Calvin Booth (four years remaining), and Vladimir Radmanovic. Barry and Radmanovic is maybe the best package that we've seen so far here. The Sonics would be able to sign Juwanna Man Howard (who they want very much) at the full MLE after this trade and STILL be quite a ways away from having to worry about the luxury tax. HOWEVER, the Sonics will see if they can trade away Radmanovic and Booth (or Vitaly Potapenko) WITHOUT having to give up Brent Barry BEFORE they even CONSIDER this deal for T.B. This trade is the best trade listed here from Minnesota's perspective (besides the GP deal, that is), BUT it is also the least likely BECAUSE Seattle will be reluctant to make this move.

Idea #7. Terrell Brandon TO MEMPHIS FOR Lorenzen Wright and Stromile Swift. Again, if Memphis makes this deal, they get below the luxury tax threshold. If not, they don't. Cut and dry. Because of Swift's "upside," this deal may be our best bet. I'm not sure if any of the other packages really top this deal (again, besides the GP deal), at least not from Minnesota's perspective, anyway. Seattle's offer may be better, but Memphis is more likely to pull the trigger on this deal than Seattle will be on their deal.

Idea #8. Terrell Brandon TO PORTLAND FOR Derek Anderson (four years remaining) and Jeff McInnis (two years remaining). Paul Allen is, I think, pretty serious about rebuilding this Blazers team and reducing payroll. This deal saves Portland at LEAST $60 mil, probably closer to $70 mil, in the long run. TON OF MONEY.

Idea #9. Terrell Brandon TO HOUSTON FOR Kelvin Cato (four years remaining, I believe) and Moochie Norris (3-4 years remaining). Houston stays above the threshold if they do NOT make this move, they get below it if they DO make this move. Cut and dry. Great trade for Houston. Dumping the salary of either Cato or Maurice Taylor is a MUST for Houston. Houston may even agree to cough up Cuttino Mobley somehow if the Timberwolves can help them get under the luxury tax threshold.

IN ANY EVENT, some of these trades seem ridiculous FROM A BASKETBALL STANDPOINT, but you GOTTA understand the financial rationale behind these moves. You GOTTA appreciate just how desperately teams want to avoid the luxury tax. In many of these instances, acquiring Terrell Brandon is THE DIFFERENCE between paying and not paying the luxury tax. That's why this guy is worth more than you think he is.

SO, in return for T.B., Minnesota fans can either expect a C (Brad Miller, Antonio Davis, Theo Ratliff, Lorenzen Wright, Kelvin Cato), a scorer (Glenn Robinson, Vladimir Radmanovic, Donyell Marshall), veteran backcourt help (Derek Anderson and Jeff McInnis, Brent Barry), OR a top prospect (Stromile Swift). OR, of course, Gary Payton, who will be their target. I don't know which non-GP package makes the most sense for Minnesota, I really don't, but the point here is that all eight non-GP packages here makes sense for the teams that are wanting to do business with Minnesota. Do NOT underestimate Terrell Brandon's value. He is THE KEY to getting under the luxury tax threshold this summer for many teams (because of the circumstances regarding his injury). KG will DEMAND that the team make a move. Look for T.B. to get shipped off this summer, very possibly for one of the eight packages listed here. The fans of the team that trades for T.B. will, of course, be left scratching their heads, because the vast majority of sports fans are not interested in thinking about payroll issues. But smart Basketballboards.net fans will know what is going on.

BY THE WAY, these eight trades are in order from MOST LIKELY to LEAST LIKELY. Those first two non-GP trades--the one with Indy for Brad Miller and Austin Croshere, and the one with Toronto for Antonio Davis and Lamond Murray--make the most sense to me, way more sense than any of the other six trades. Indy fans should not underestimate how much Austin Croshere's contract is TOTALLY KILLING THEM. Same deal with Toronto, that team has ANY NUMBER of terrible contracts on their payroll, and Antonio Davis' contract is THE WORST! HOWEVER, either Miller or Davis could be seen as the missing piece to Minnesota's second (or third!) round puzzle, either player could be seen as a legit #3 scoring option (behind KG and Wally World). Miller is way younger and way less injury-prone than Davis, so I gotta think that this Indy trade makes the most sense here.

IN ANY EVENT, look for Minnesota to make a weird trade this summer involving Terrell Brandon. And, when your non-Basketballboards.net NBA fan friends ask you, "What was the DEAL with that retarded Terrell Brandon trade, dude?", you will be able to answer that question!


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## brazys (Jul 17, 2002)

seattle (barry, radmanovic and potapenko) and portland (DA and mcinnis) deals makes most sense, because the talent which minny gets would be worth the money, which could be saved by simply letting brandon contract run out.
in minnesotta's place i would try to get bonzi wells and ruben patterson for brandon and filler. although wells is base year compensation player and patterson has a trade kicker. in any case, because of KGs contract minesotta is in both need of talent and cap space. that is a tough choice between.


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## Genjuro (Jul 17, 2002)

Great post Roby. Your first idea with the Pacers makes a lot of sense to me.

But I think you are wrong in the Grizzlies situation. They have Reeves in the same situation as Brandon, so they likely won't have to pay the tax.


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## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Genjuro</b>!
> Great post Roby. Your first idea with the Pacers makes a lot of sense to me.
> 
> But I think you are wrong in the Grizzlies situation. They have Reeves in the same situation as Brandon, so they likely won't have to pay the tax.


You are right, but I still think that West is awfully interested in moving Wright for a salary that expires a year or two sooner. Grizzlies fans are probably nuts for thinking that their team can steal Kobe away from The Lake Show, but if it's ever going to happen, then they're going to have to clear cap space.

Interestingly enough, not only do the Grizz have Bryant Reeves' contract not getting counted for salary cap and luxury tax purposes, but, in a couple of years, they will have Dickerson's contract not getting counted, either. That guy will never touch the floor again. If the Grizz can get Dickerson's contract knocked off their salary cap number, and if they can replace Wright with T.B., then the Grizz will be looking at quite a bit of cap room in the summer of 2005, when Kobe will be an unrestricted free agent. Pretty impossible to imagine the guy leaving L.A., but you never know.

ALSO, I totally left off the most obvious trade in the WORLD for Terrell Brandon:

Terrell Brandon TO MILWAUKEE FOR Gary Payton (sign-and-trade) and Jason Caffey (two years remaining).

The Bucks are JUST BELOW the luxury tax threshold if they let GP walk, their payroll will be right around $51 mil. At the moment, they totally cannot pull off a sign-and-trade involving GP in which they get equal salaries in return, salaries of players WHO ARE ACTUALLY PLAYING, that is. If they do, then they cannot possibly avoid staying under the threshold. The only way that they move GP in a sign-and-trade is if they either a) ship him to a team with a pretty significant amount of cap room or b) ship him to Minnesota for T.B. AND, since teams with cap room do not HAVE to work out a sign-and-trade if they want GP--they can just go sign him themselves--then Minnesota makes a ton of sense for GP.

I think GP will sign with San Antonio if the Spurs want him. The other teams with cap room are the Jazz, the Heat, the Clips, and the Nuggets. I cannot imagine that he would be interested in signing with the Clips or the Nuggets. The Heat don't have much cap room (they only have about $6 mil to play around with), plus Miami sucks, plus Miami is literally as far away from GP's beloved Pacific Northwest as you can possibly get.

Utah? Well, I think most of us are more or less taking it for granted that the Jazz will replace John Stockton with Andre Miller, not Gary Payton. We may be wrong, but I don't think so.

That leaves San Antonio and Minnesota vying for GP's services. GP will probably WANT to sign with the Spurs. But the Bucks will want to work out a deal with Minnesota, so they can get rid of Jason Caffey's contract and so they get comfortably under the luxury tax threshold (from $51 mil to around $46-$47 mil). Presently, the Bucks cannot even afford to sign their first round pick (#14 overall) without crossing the threshold.

Is GP the missing piece to the second round puzzle in Minnesota? Probably! Is GP a better player than the other top players mentioned here (Brad Miller, Antonio Davis, Donyell Marshall, etc.)? Absolutely! I will edit my post and make GP the #1 choice for Minnesota. Keep your fingers crossed, Timberwolves fans! If anybody has Kevin McHale's e-mail address, send him this idea! It would totally work!


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## Genjuro (Jul 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>robyg1974</b>!
> 
> ALSO, I totally left off the most obvious trade in the WORLD for Terrell Brandon:
> 
> Terrell Brandon TO MILWAUKEE FOR Gary Payton (sign-and-trade) and Jason Caffey (two years remaining).


Great work again. I agree this would be the trade that makes the most sense. Props to you!


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

I agree mostly on the GP-TB scenario. The problem here, is that GP will have to agree and sign a contract that pay him $7.7M or less in the first year (not really sure about this. I used 120% of TB's salary minus Caffey's salary + 100k, should be close). San Antonio could easily pay him a million or two more than that although I doubt they will. This GP thing is getting interesting...


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## NugzFan (Jul 26, 2002)

how do you come up with this stuff roby?!


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## OZZY (Jun 14, 2002)

I might be wrong on this but isn't Brandon done playing basketball? He has not played in a long time, and I think he is done career wise. His leg can't take it and I don't care what trades people make up out of the blue teams DO NOT want Terrell Brandon unless he is 100% healthy and ready to play. I just don't think that is the case, sweet if we get something for him but I don't think we will...

You are great with those numbers roby but I just don't think talking trade with Terrell Brandon is worth the time and effort, the guy is done. The guy obviously has a bum leg and has not played for two years. Some say same thing with Grant Hill, no Hill played this year some and showed he can still be great, Terrell on the other had has been out of basketball for basically two years...


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## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>OZZY</b>!
> I might be wrong on this but isn't Brandon done playing basketball? He has not played in a long time, and I think he is done career wise. His leg can't take it and I don't care what trades people make up out of the blue teams DO NOT want Terrell Brandon unless he is 100% healthy and ready to play. I just don't think that is the case, sweet if we get something for him but I don't think we will...
> 
> You are great with those numbers roby but I just don't think talking trade with Terrell Brandon is worth the time and effort, the guy is done. The guy obviously has a bum leg and has not played for two years. Some say same thing with Grant Hill, no Hill played this year some and showed he can still be great, Terrell on the other had has been out of basketball for basically two years...


Dude, did you even read the post? I obviously know that T.B.'s career is over!


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## (-) 0 † § I-I () † (Jun 11, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>OZZY</b>!
> I might be wrong on this but isn't Brandon done playing basketball? He has not played in a long time, and I think he is done career wise. His leg can't take it and I don't care what trades people make up out of the blue teams DO NOT want Terrell Brandon unless he is 100% healthy and ready to play. I just don't think that is the case, sweet if we get something for him but I don't think we will...
> 
> You are great with those numbers roby but I just don't think talking trade with Terrell Brandon is worth the time and effort, the guy is done. The guy obviously has a bum leg and has not played for two years. Some say same thing with Grant Hill, no Hill played this year some and showed he can still be great, Terrell on the other had has been out of basketball for basically two years...


lol come on Ozzy, you put all the effort into your own posts , and make them really long. You couldn't just read that? 

And roby , good thoughts, Id have to say the first one is defintely the most probable, I just can't wait to see basketball fans who don't understand it. There reaction will be in aww.


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## OZZY (Jun 14, 2002)

> Dude, did you even read the post? I obviously know that T.B.'s career is over


 I read it is just did not make any sense to me. You made it seem like teams actually want Terrell? And making up trades for other players, well that sure seems like you think he can play still...

But sorry I did not get the idea, how would other teams signing TB help them? I just don't really understand your reasoning behind it. Sure I'm not some buisness major but I just did not get what you were saying...


It is a great post I just need more clarification on the topic, I'm not real big on numbers and money in basketball, that is not my thing. I just don't see why teams would want TB's contract and how that effects the Luxury tax?


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## Samyell (May 13, 2003)

i dont really know alot about it but all that i know is that the team that gets him will get alot of cap relief. so they could sign a good free agent in the future.


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## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>OZZY</b>!
> I read it is just did not make any sense to me. You made it seem like teams actually want Terrell? And making up trades for other players, well that sure seems like you think he can play still...


Actually, I point out in the first paragraph that T.B. will never touch the floor again in the NBA, but that he will be a valuable commodity anyway. I proceed to explain as well as I can why exactly he is a valuable commodity. It's because of the luxury tax. If a player is determined by a league-appointed doctor that he is physically unable to resume playing, then that player's contract does NOT COUNT for luxury tax purposes. Since he has a pretty large contract, that's a ton of money that a team can save by acquiring him.


> But sorry I did not get the idea, how would other teams signing TB help them? I just don't really understand your reasoning behind it. Sure I'm not some buisness major but I just did not get what you were saying...
> 
> It is a great post I just need more clarification on the topic, I'm not real big on numbers and money in basketball, that is not my thing. I just don't see why teams would want TB's contract and how that effects the Luxury tax?


Dude, all I can tell you is that I did the best I can. I think that it's pretty straightforward. I tried to make it as simple to understand as I could. If it's poorly written, well, sorry, but just trust me when I tell you that Minnesota will get one or two pretty valuable players for T.B. this summer from a team that is desperately trying to avoid the luxury tax. The more desperate that team is, the more that the Timberwolves can squeeze out of them. There are some desperate teams out there, Ozzy!

The Bucks are pretty determined to avoid the luxury tax, they are sitting right on the fence at the moment. If they re-sign Gary Payton and keep him for themselves, they definitely will pay the luxury tax, which is why GP will NOT be back in a Bucks uniform next season, regardless of what you read or hear. When you read or hear that GP might end up in Milwaukee, ignore it, that information is coming either from GP's agent (to keep GP's options open and to keep GP's name fresh on everybody's minds) or from the Bucks organization (to delude their fans into thinking that they are actually more interested in winning than they are in the luxury tax) or from sportswriters and fans who don't understand the CBA.

Now, if the Bucks let GP walk with no compensation, they still may have to pay the luxury tax, it'll be awfully close. HOWEVER, if they re-sign GP and package him with some unwanted payroll for T.B.'s contract, then the Bucks will NOT have to pay the luxury tax. That's why it's VERY VERY POSSIBLE that Gary Payton will end up in Minnesota this summer, that's why the Bucks will be interested in Brandon. There is really no other contract in the league quite like Brandon's contract right now. Give Grant Hill and Michael Dickerson another season of not playing, and their contracts will be valuable for the same reason why T.B.'s contract is valuable, but for now, T.B.'s contract is the only one like it.

GP obviously is a huge addition to that team, you guys are in the second round with GP next season. GP will either end up in Minnesota in a T.B. trade or in San Antonio as a free agent, depends on which team will offer him the most money. Both teams can offer more than the MLE (well, Minnesota can't, but Milwaukee can, and if GP is traded to Minnesota, it will be for a salary higher than the MLE). Teams that can only offer MLE money (the vast majority of NBA teams) do not really have a chance to get GP, although that does not stop their fans from constantly daydreaming about it and sportswriters who don't understand the CBA from constantly writing/talking about it!

Gary Payton and Jason Caffey for Terrell Brandon makes a ton of sense for Milwaukee. There may be some filler thrown in on both sides, and Milwaukee may be so determined to get below the luxury tax that they may have to beef up the offer, possibly by taking on Joe Smith and/or Marc Jackson somehow, maybe subbing in Tim Thomas for Jason Caffey somehow, I don't know, but the key players involved will be Payton and Brandon (more specifically, Brandon's contract).

Hope that re-explanation helped, Ozzy! If not, sorry, I give up!


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## gesael (May 7, 2003)

very good post roby!!!
you contribute to improve my knowledge of behind court basketball (that's easy i know so little and it seems so complex...)
i hope KG will get help...i want him to kick lakers ***!!!

just a question even if it's not the topic (but where can i ask that?) what is the MLE? what does it means?


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## brazys (Jul 17, 2002)

MLE is a Mid Level Exception. That means every team in nba, (even if it over the 40-42mln USD salary cap) has a right to spend an average nba player salary in every offseason on one or more players.
this offseason MLE will be 4.5-5mln USD, so every team can offer a contract with starting 4.5mln wage and with annual 15 percent growth for any free agent. that is not enough money to get Jason Kidd or Jermaine ONeal, but it helps anyway. For example, Dallas could get a PJ Brown or even Karl Malone for that money.


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## OZZY (Jun 14, 2002)

Ok roby that cleared it up, sorry to make your write all of that just because I did not understand it. Will be awesome to see what player the Wolves get!


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## gesael (May 7, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>brazys</b>!
> MLE is a Mid Level Exception. That means every team in nba, (even if it over the 40-42mln USD salary cap) has a right to spend an average nba player salary in every offseason on one or more players.
> this offseason MLE will be 4.5-5mln USD, so every team can offer a contract with starting 4.5mln wage and with annual 15 percent growth for any free agent. that is not enough money to get Jason Kidd or Jermaine ONeal, but it helps anyway. For example, Dallas could get a PJ Brown or even Karl Malone for that money.


that's exception like this which allow team to go over the salary cap and reach the luxury tax?
I've problem to understand the luxury cap beacause of the salary cap...how a team can reach a limit if it is limited below...but if there is some exeption...that explain...

thx for your help i will go to bed less stupid tonight (can i say this in english?)

One more thinks i don't understand (among many) is why minesota doesn't seach a big man to help KG?
I agree payton would be a great addition to their squad, but, and i maybe wrong on this point, it seems KG is alone to grab boards. I think it's one thing they suffer against LA. It seems that in the west without a big guy you do little...KG is great but he has shown that alone he can't do anything against big teams.
do they hope to land a good big man (like a gooden for example) with their draft pick?


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## jokeaward (May 22, 2003)

I'm sort of a layman in 'off the court', and I didn't read every page.

Why do we or SA want Gary Payton? Both teams have PGs and SGs!

Arenas will probably leave GS.

How about this trade: Antawn Jamison (Scorer SF!) <-> TB, Others


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## robyg1974 (Jul 19, 2002)

*Tooting my own horn here...*

http://www.startribune.com/stories/511/3894246.html

See? Man, I called this, what, a month or so ago? If Minnesota wants KG to stay, they're going to have to trade T.B. for something good, because they can get something good for T.B., and KG KNOWS they can get something good for T.B. If Minnesota DOES NOT trade T.B., then KG will want out next summer (if not earlier). So keep an eye on this story, it'll be THE determining factor in KG's future with Minnesota.


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## brazys (Jul 17, 2002)

> During a recent radio interview, Taylor insisted that the fans he had talked to since the Wolves were eliminated by the Lakers had been surprisingly upbeat about the team's future. Taylor added that he was more impatient about the franchise's one-and-done habit than some of the fans were.


It really looks as if minesotta are willing to deal brandon's contract away. Man, timberwolves should call their telephone number "luxury-tax-busters hotline" now, because teams will come BEGGING for a deal


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## Carpe Diem (Jun 4, 2003)

*Good job Roby*

Excellent analysis on the worth of T.B. and I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. One potential partner I don't see on the list is Phoenix who is looking at over $60 million in salaries with their front 8. They'd love to dump Penny. I'd consider this to be a somewhat viable option. I think we will see something on draft night as teams will try to entice with a mid-first round pick, perhaps even a low lottery. Although, one could interpret Payton's recent comments which in the main were "LA being first choice, MN is interesting" as meaning that if I have to take the mid-level then it's LA but if MN wants to pay $$$, then.


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## Scinos (Jun 10, 2003)

*hmm..I don't know*

Some of those trade situations don't seem to work out.

The only teams interested in trading for Brandon will simply be trying to dump a horrible contract on you.

I can see the Portland, Toronto, Memphis , Atlanta and possibly the Indiana and Houston happening, but not the others.

Portland are have a 100 Mil roster and would probably save A LOT of money by doing a trade for TB, plus they want to get rid of some of the bad boys anyway - I can definitley see them interested.

Toronto is over the luxury tax mark, but not by much. They could be interested in such a deal, but you might not get Davis - its quite possible though.

Memphis could benefit by getting rid of some cap space - can see a deal going down.

Atlanta could do that deal, and save some cash - Could happen.

Indiana would love to get rid of Croshere's salary, if Miller was gonna walk anyway, they might as well package them together - deal possible.

Houston are slightly under already, but might want to get rid of Taylor and his big salary - not so likely, but still possible.

As for the Seattle deal....Won't happen unless you want to take Booth or Potapenko's big contracts. We already made a deal for Campbell whose 8 Mill salary runs out this year, we will be under after that. - Deal unlikely

Bulls Deal ? The Bulls are way under, about 44 Mill roster. They can trade some of their young players for other talent - Don't see why they would do this deal.

Milwalkee will be under if Payton just walks anyway, they don't need to sign and trade him to save cash, only if they want talent in return. - Unless there's a reason I overlooked, I can't see it happening.


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