RadioOnFire.com - Knicks fans were delighted when they learned on Thursday that the front office was working out a deal to bring Bulls center Joakim Noah over to join Derrick Rose in New York next season. The move seemed to make sense, even if the cost was hard to ignore. With a prospective contract estimated to round out at $72 million over four years [that's in the ballpark of $18 million per], most felt like the nine-year veteran was a tad bit overpriced. That was until the following day, when the Memphis Grizzlies changed the game by signing tier-two point guard Mike Conley to the biggest contract in NBA history [five years, $153 million]. A half-dozen more nine-figure deals have flooded through the gates of the leagues new salary cap since, and what appeared to be a bloated pay day for Noah not even a week ago, is starting to look like a bargain.
"The ground rules have kind of been changed by the amount of money that is out there," Knicks President Phil Jackson told a reporter providing coverage for the team's 2016 Summer League on Saturday, July 2. "But everyone knew that it was going to be one of those kind of situations where, you know, what to expect was unknown."
Come Monday morning the sports world is almost sure to see fireworks, when Kevin Durant, who is by far the most valuable free agent on the market, is expected to announce who he'll be suiting up for in the years to come. With Conley's re-signing followed up by Toronto agreeing to bring DeMar DeRozan back for $145 million/ five years, and Andre Drummond staying in Detroit for $130 million for the next half decade, one can only imagine how much Oklahoma City is going to have to put up to keep the four-time scoring champ. Bradley Beal: five years, $128 million, Nicolas Batum: five years, $120 million, Al Horford: four years, $113 million. The ground rules indeed have changed. And we ain't seen nothing yet!
Right now teams are spending to exhaust a $94 million salary cap, which is $24 million more than they were allotted at $70 million in 2015. The bank is projected to balloon once more, as free agents on the block in 2017 will enjoy looks from teams playing around with a $110 million cap. The surge in capital has all to do with the league's unprecedented nine-year $24 billion dollar network deal with ABC/ESPN and Turner going into effect. The deal nearly triples television revenue, from $930 million to $2.67 billion a year. And with a powerful players union having ensured that revenue is allocated to owners and players in an even 50-50 split, the ground rules level the playing field. For the Phil Jacksons in the room, those will be some expensive grounds to keep.
Source: youtube.com
No comments:
Post a Comment