NBA Financial News - 2009-10 Salary Cap set at $57.7 Million

If there’s anyone who wanted to make a huge splash in the free-agent market of 2010, the NBA just delivered some nut crunching news. The salary cap was set at $57.7 million this coming betting season, but a memo handed down to all teams has stated that the salary cap could drop to as low as $50.4 million in 2010. The highest it could possibly be, supposedly, is $53.6 million.

To put this in to very clear perspective, the top-5 highest paid players in the NBA are Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Shaq, all of whom make between $23.2 million (McGrady) to $20 million (Shaq). With uber stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh entering contract years, and expecting to demand max contracts, if they were paid the current market value, then a team like the Knicks would be looking at spending over ninety-percent of their cap room on two players like Bosh or James.

This is bad news for a lot of teams. And when I say “a lot”, I’m talking about nearly 28 teams in the NBA. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves are in prime position to absorb a low salary cap. Almost every team in the NBA is breaching the $57.7 million mark set this season. The worst offenders are the Lakers ($84.6 million), the Hornets ($82.5 million) and the Wizards (yeah, I know…).

The term you will be bombarded with over the next few months is BRI, which stands for basketball-related income. In short, it generally dictates the rate at which teams make money in a given fiscal annum. Considering the state of the economy, and the uncertainty of the expected upturn, this is the necessary evil in the business of basketball. And if any player is complaining that they’re going to make $17 million instead of $25 million, then they can kiss my sweaty, fat, hairy ass.

Keep this in perspective, betting backers. Players will whine and moan, lobby and hardball for more money, but most teams won’t be willing to take the chance. Unless players are willing to preference a championship over personal financial gain, then a lot of “big movers” are staying put.

Toronto, Cleveland and Miami will all be in a position to offer more profitable extensions, which means that the likelihood of a mass movement next summer is also in jeopardy. What does that mean for you guys?

Two things: depending on how well a team does this year (namely Toronto and Miami) the likelihood of retaining a superstar only increases. It also means that the savvy GM’s in the league, like Sam Presti of Oklahoma City, have put their teams in the best position possible given the desperate clearance of most teams to get under the luxury tax to accommodate lowered BRI’s.

While everyone is acting like this is the freaking apocalypse, I can only see good things from it. It means that more talent will spread to more teams. It also means basketball players, who already get those ludicrous guaranteed contracts (What? You mean I only have to play one season, and then I’m a zillionaire?! Awesome! What do I do those other seasons? Sit on the bench??? That’s awesome!) will be making less money. A lowered salary cap may translate to less excitement in the trade and free-agent market of the NBA, but it will also lead to a more equal distribution of talent, and professional athletes getting paid less. In my opinion, that’s not something to panic about. That’s a good thing.