Sasha Vujacic

Sasha Vujacic
SG, 6’7, 195lbs, 33 years old, 10 years of experience

Supposedly a three-point shooter, Vujacic does not get a high volume of shots up, and when he did get them up this past season, he hit only 31.1% of them. This was at least an improvement on his 30.6% two-point shooting. Now old by NBA standards, he may play the part of likeable and heavy veteran well, but he does not any longer do much.

Player Plan: Just played a minimum salary contract season, and did not prove himself to be worthy of another one.

Sasha Vujacic - After two years away, Sasha came back to America this offseason to work out with several teams, determined to rejoin the NBA and not have to go back to Europe. He did not succeed in this aim, but nevertheless is still unsigned, so may still be trying.

[...] And this is probably a good thing. Of the 106 players from 2008, 31 of them had an average salary for the duration of between $3 million and $9.3 million, and only two of them (Ben Gordon and Robert Swift) were one year deals. Included in there were four years deals for the likes of Eduardo Najera ($12 million) and James Posey ($25,020,800), five-year deals for the likes of Ryan Gomes ($21,175,000) and Daniel Gibson ($20,054,000) and oversized three-years deals for the likes of Sasha Vujacic ($15 million) and Stephen Jackson ($27,769,500). Of those players, only Gomes has ever received another deal and is still in the league, an unguaranteed minimum salary one with OKC. You know your contract was too long when the player never gets another one afterwards.[...] And this is probably a good thing. Of the 106 players from 2008, 31 of them had an average salary for the duration of between $3 million and $9.3 million, and only two of them (Ben Gordon and Robert Swift) were one year deals. Included in there were four years deals for the likes of Eduardo Najera ($12 million) and James Posey ($25,020,800), five-year deals for the likes of Ryan Gomes ($21,175,000) and Daniel Gibson ($20,054,000) and oversized three-years deals for the likes of Sasha Vujacic ($15 million) and Stephen Jackson ($27,769,500). Of those players, only Gomes has ever received another deal and is still in the league, an unguaranteed minimum salary one with OKC. You know your contract was too long when the player never gets another one afterwards.

The L.A. Lakers made their big tax-saving move back in December, when they traded Sasha Vujacic and a first round pick to New Jersey back in December, in a trade that was so predictable, even an idiot like me could predict it. The Lakers also received Joe Smith in that deal, a minimum salary player with no contributions left to give on the court; it was subsequently predicted by the author that Smith too would be dealt, his one year minimum salary contract being easily tradeable due to its ability to be absorbed by any team, even those over the cap, via the Minimum Salary Exception. However, for whatever reason, this did not happen.

The teams projected to be over the $70,307,000 luxury tax threshold in 2010 include Boston ($77.8 million, assuming Sheed got nothing), Dallas ($84.5 million), Denver $83.8 million), Houston ($73.6 million after the Trevor Ariza/Courtney Lee trade), the L.A. Lakers ($91.9 million before Shannon Brown), Orlando ($92.6 million), Portland ($72.8 million) and Utah ($75.3 million). Some of those teams will never get under the tax threshold, and some of them won't try. But some will, and even those that don't make it will probably pawn off excess salary onto the teams with cap space they're otherwise struggling to use. Here are some such dumps that I'm officially predicting, apart from the ones that I'm not.

1) Sasha Vujacic

- Called it early in this long piece which is now no longer relevant; a few days after that was written, the concurrent story broke. It makes sense; L.A. has a crapload of salary committed, yet apart from the contracts of Vujacic and Luke Walton, it is all committed on purpose, i.e. spent on the rotation players that have seen them win back to back championships. Walton's three year contract would be the one they'd rather dump, but because of its length (and the fact that Walton will probably miss next season), it's the one that can't be shifted right now. So for the sacrifice of a first round pick - which would only otherwise be spent on a player who wouldn't play, if not sold outright - the Lakers can move Vujacic. This is the kind of deal that Minnesota or Sacramento should look to do. After all, it's basically a free pick. Don't expect it until the deadline, however.