- What happens when a player dies under contract?
The player (well, their family) is still paid the remainder of
the players salary. However, one year to the day after the death,
the team can apply for salary relief, meaning that whilst the player
continues to receive their salary, it is not charged to the team's
salary cap. If the players contract was insured, as they almost all
are, insurance will pay the salary.
- What's a mid level exception?
This is an exception granted every season to teams that are over
the salary cap, which allows them to spend this amount on players.
This is done so that teams over the cap aren't completely screwed
when it comes to improving their roster. The amount of this exception
is equal to the average player salary. They calculate how much that
is in that two week moratorium period in early July. That is what
the period is mainly for - to do all the sums and stuff. In 2005,
it was a round $5,000,000.
You get one of these every season that you are over the cap. If you
are under the cap but the value of all your available roster exceptions
puts you over the cap, you are regarded as over the cap and get an
MLE. For example, if your teams salary figure is $47 million, the
salary cap is $50 million and the mid level exception is $5 million,
you get the $5 million MLE rather than $3 million of cap room. It
can be split amongst multiple players, and players can be signed for
a maximum of 5 years with it.
- What is the minimum salary that you can sign someone for?
That depends on two factors - what year it is, and how many years
you have been in the league.
For the season 2005-2006, the
minimum salary figures are as follows (minimum salary on the right,
years of NBA experience on the left):
0 - $398,762
1 - $641,748
2 - $719,378
3 - $745,248
4 - $771,123
5 - $835,810
6 - $900,498
7 - $965,185
8 - $1,029,873
9 - $1,035,000
10+ - $1,138,500
You are credited with a year of service just for being on a teams
roster for even one day of the regular season. You don't have to actually
play, or even be active. Not any more.
Because the differential is large between rookies and vets, teams
tend to shy away from signing veteran players in favour of youngsters.
To counter this, if a three year or more veteran is signed to a one
year contract or anything less than that (like a ten dayer), then
the NBA will pay the player the difference between their due minimum
salary and the minimum salary for second year players. The whole value
is still charged to the team's cap, but the team doesn't pay it all.
For example, if a team signs a 7 year veteran for a full season at
the minimum, the team will pay the minimum salary for a two year vet
($719,478), and the NBA will make up the difference between that and
the 7 year veterans minimum salary (which works out at $965,185
minus $719,378, or $245,807). Ain't they nice?
- What are Bird rights?
Bird rights are exception rights given to a team which makes it
a lot easier for them to re-sign their own players. They are called
that because the first person this exception was used on was Larry
Bird.
You are given 'full' Bird rights on a player who has played three
years
without changing teams as a free agent, or by being waived.
This is key as it means that, if a player changes teams by being in
a trade, the new team inherits the player's Bird rights. The exception
to this is players who are playing on qualifying offers (see below)
who then get traded. The team acquiring the player then has no Bird
rights on them.
The basic principle is that Bird rights allow a team to go over the cap
to re-sign its own players, without having to use its other roster exceptions
(such as the mid level exception) .
There are two levels of Bird rights: full Bird rights (where, as mentioned
above, the player has gone three years without changing teams as a FA)
and early Bird rights (when the player has gone only two years). The difference
between the two lies in how much money the team is able to spend on re-signing
the player.
With full Bird rights, the team can re-sign its own player for a maximum
of six seasons for up to that player's maximum allowable salary.
With early Bird rights, the team can re-sign its own player for a
maximum of five seasons (with a minimum of two) for either 175% of
their previous year's salary, or for the average NBA player's salary,
whichever is greater (the average salary, as mentioned above, is the
same value as the MLE. Note: when re-signing early Bird free agents
in this manner, teams do not need to use their MLE to re-sign the
player. This can be done in addition to spending that).
- What is restricted free agency and how come some people are eligible
and some aren't?
Restricted free agency is only available in a couple of circumstances,
both of which involve young players. Like Bird rights, it's a vehicle
used to make it easier for teams to keep their own players, particularly
the younger ones. The two circumstances in which restricted free agency
is an option are as follows:
- When a first round draft pick is signed to his rookie contract,
he gets two guaranteed years of salary, plus two years available at
the team's option. If the team takes out both options, after the fourth
year of the contract, the players enters restricted free agency if
the team extends a qualifying offer by June 30th (as is what happened
in the Radmanovic example below).
- Also, any player with three years or less experience can be made
a restricted free agent by his team with a qualifying offer, whether
the player likes it or not (As is what happened in the Pargo example
below).
When a player is a restricted free agent, if they want to sign with
another team, they have to go through a process involving offer sheets.
They negotiate the contract with the new team, and sign an offer sheet.
The original team then has 7 days to decide whether to match the offer
sheet signed by the new team (assuming of course they have enough
available cap space, or the approrpiate salary cap exception). If
they choose to match, the player is re-signed to the former team for
the terms of the offer sheet, whether they like it or not. If they
choose not to, they join the new team for the same terms.
- What is a qualifying offer and how much is one for?
The key to the above. In essence, (meaning, it's not really), it's
a base contract that a team gives to a player whilst negotiations
for a larger contract take place. It has to be given by June 30th.
It is best described with a few examples.
In summer 2005, Vladimir Radmanovic's fourth year of his first round
rookie contract expired. His team, Seattle, extended a qualifying
offer to him, making him a restricted free agent. He and the team
negoiated over a new contract, but could not come to an agreement
over a contract. Radmanovic then had a choice - sign a contract with
a new team elsewhere which Seattle, having full Bird rights, would
be able to match, or accept the qualifying offer as his contract for
the next season, play that season with Seattle, and then become an
unrestricted free agent the following season (at which point, he would
be off his rookie contract and have 5 years of experience, thus Seattle
would be unable to make him restricted again). He chose to do the
second one.
Also in summer 2005, Jannero Pargo of the Chicago Bulls became a free
agent. The Bulls tendered him a qualifying offer, and Jannero entered
restricted free agency. Unable to get an offer from another team that
surpassed the qualifying offer, he accepted the QO and returned to
the Bulls for the following season.
Essentially, it's like having first dibs on someone. Or the basketball
equivalent of calling shotgun. Teams can rescind qualifying offers
before they are accepted if they wish.
