Raptors Salary Cap Situation (and planning for the future)

[LandyFey]

It is very interesting. People always want to know this.

[KHD]

https://www.raptorshq.com/2019/7/6/2...leonard-leaves

If anyone wants a current cap update after Kawhi and Danny left and Thomas and Johnson were signed.

pascal/giannis/beal in 2021. I don't even like Beal but lets do it Masai.

[DanH]

https://www.raptorshq.com/2019/7/6/2...leonard-leaves

If anyone wants a current cap update after Kawhi and Danny left and Thomas and Johnson were signed.

[DanH]

Are empty roster slots considered for tax purposes too? I figured that would be an exception, and thus not considered.

It's two different things. Empty roster slots are considered for cap room purposes in the off-season because you are allowed to be under 14 players in the off-season. But in-season, you have to have 14 players signed. Meaning if they magically make CJ disappear, they have to sign someone. Meaning adding at least the 1.5M minimum salary (for tax purposes). So they can't save all of CJ's money, not because of roster slot holds but because of the real salary of whatever 14th man they are mandated to sign.

[planetmars]

Yeah, that's about right. Except they need 14 players so you have to add 1.5M back in, making the salary savings 6.8M and the tax savings lower as well. Still a lot, of course. Will be even more significant next season where they could be even deeper in the tax.

Are empty roster slots considered for tax purposes too? I figured that would be an exception, and thus not considered.

[DanH]

How they gonna keep Kawhi AND sign Durant, it's going to be tight.

If Kawhi bolts we sign Durant

Neither of these things will happen. Both take significant effort (like, dramatic) to make them even possible next summer.

[DanH]

Dan,

If the Raps could dump CJ with nothing coming back how much does it save the team in tax?

Let’s say to a team with room for a protected 2nd round pick. (Sacramento?)
Anyway, beyond the 8.3mill in salary if we can dump him for nothing what’s the net savings in tax?

Edit—I messed around with it a bit. Is it about 22 mill in taxes meaning dumping CJ for nothing would save $30 mill in total? If I did that correctly...that’s a lot of money.

Yeah, that's about right. Except they need 14 players so you have to add 1.5M back in, making the salary savings 6.8M and the tax savings lower as well. Still a lot, of course. Will be even more significant next season where they could be even deeper in the tax.

[sanyo]

How they gonna keep Kawhi AND sign Durant, it's going to be tight.

If Kawhi bolts we sign Durant

[Superjudge]

How they gonna keep Kawhi AND sign Durant, it's going to be tight.

[Rudy Bargnani]

Dan,

If the Raps could dump CJ with nothing coming back how much does it save the team in tax?

Let’s say to a team with room for a protected 2nd round pick. (Sacramento?)
Anyway, beyond the 8.3mill in salary if we can dump him for nothing what’s the net savings in tax?

Edit—I messed around with it a bit. Is it about 22 mill in taxes meaning dumping CJ for nothing would save $30 mill in total? If I did that correctly...that’s a lot of money.

[DanH]

Davis has a player option in 20-21 that he will definitely opt out of.

Spotrac is garbage. Use Bball insiders or even better, Deeks' capulator at ShamSports.

Siakam is a free agent before 2021, so he'd have gotten paid. Same goes for any other young pieces we are keeping. Except OG, who will be a free agent that summer and will have a moderate cap hit. We will also still have Norm on the books, for the moment anyway. Two maxes is possible. But if their 1st rounders are in the top 5, those salaries aren't nothing, so it gets tricky to fit two pretty quickly.

[inthepaint]

I'd think the best case 2021 scenario would be having our depth rotation players (though I think FVV will be gone by then), ideally two really good players from the draft, and enough cap room for one star signing.

Also, Davis is a free agent in 2020, I believe.

Yeah I think if we had OG, Siakam and FVV out of this group by then it would be nice (though I also think FVV will be gone by then).

Spotrac says Davis is a UFA in 2021. I'm wondering if we would have the ability to pay 2 of Davis/Giannis/Gobert while retaining OG and Siakam.

These 4 players would be the highest paid in the team (somewhat similar to what we have in Lowry, Leonard, JV and Ibaka now), and the rest of the roster (the backcourt), we'd have on rookie/mid deals from the rebuild. Lots of variables, and may not necessarily be the best way to structure the roster, but just wondering if would be attainable at all.

[DanH]

I'd think the best case 2021 scenario would be having our depth rotation players (though I think FVV will be gone by then), ideally two really good players from the draft, and enough cap room for one star signing.

Also, Davis is a free agent in 2020, I believe.

[inthepaint]

I hope Kawhi re-signs (I actually think that's not an unlikely scenario at all), but in the event he doesn't, it's interesting the path the team could take in the next 3 yrs of so. Huge variables in place on a 3yr path of course, but just for fun, this is something I imagined:

--2018-2019 Season: Finals run. If we make it and take a game or two out of golden state, that's a huge incentive for Kawhi to stick around, in which case we shoot for it again the year after. But if we don't and he bolts, then-

--Summer 2019: Try to move expiring deals of Lowry, JV, Ibaka and Miles (before they become UFA's in 2020), for prospect & picks as best as we can. Retain FVV, OG and Siakam.

--2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons: 2 yrs of rebuilding and clearing cap space, hopefully drafting as high as possible (aiming for backcourt players)

--2021 summer: Anthony Davis (PF), Rudy Gobert (C) and Giannis Atentekuonpo (SF) are all free agents. If we had the cap space and pull to sign 2 out of those 3 guys, that'd be an awesome frontcourt (to combine with the drafted back court players we would have drafted during the rebuild)

[DanH]

Huh. Might as well just make it so the contract is automatically the full 120% then.

Does anybody not get the full amount? Seems like a formality at this point

It is a formality, with very few exceptions. Teams do like to be able to build in soft bonuses into that 120% though - like fan event appearances, summer league participation, etc.