01-24-2020, 05:18 PM
(01-24-2020, 04:42 PM)DanSchwartzman Wrote:(01-24-2020, 04:30 PM)Tyler Wrote: The main point I'm getting is that they want to clear a roster spot but prefer to do it via trade than to simply cut a guy. Maybe they're looking at some deals that get them close to the luxury tax and they need to carefully manage the payroll.
This is where my mind went once I had a moment to think about it. Dallas is $12mm under the LT and would get hard capped if they took on an additional $16mm. If they take someone into the TPE at $11.8mm and do a $5mm spread in a deal at the same time, that is $16.8mm. You could actually go over $5mm in a deal that is large enough to count at a 125% spread (like Wright + Lee for Drummond which uses the 125% spread). Then you have to account for the minimum wage center you add. It is quite conceivable that trading someone, instead of cutting them, could matter in the legality of a deal with the hard cap in play.
So, the trick is to find deals that use up most or all of the TPE with a second player coming in at a large spread over the outgoing salary.
As a for instance, Dallas could deal Wright and Lee for Otto Porter Jr. They could also take Satoransky into their TPE. That deal works and keeps them under the apron by a few hundred thousand. HOWEVER, if they then try to add a center without first trading away someone like Roby, then there isn't room under the apron (or it would be exceedingly close).
Is Satoransky a better fit here than Wright? I think so. Would it be nice to have a healthy Porter on the wing playing D and hitting 3's this season and next? Would Chicago do the Satoransky deal in order to shed Porter? Someone smarter than me will have to figure out who, if anyone, would get a pick in a deal like that, but it might explain the meaning behind the rumor.