Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 7
January 7th, 2010
Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely today, where “indefinitely” is implied to mean “for the rest of the season at least.” I don’t really have an opinion on that, apart from to state the obvious. Which I won’t do. But here’s one thing to note; the financial repercussions of the suspension. Disregarding the possible voiding of the contract for a moment – I’m not a lawyer and won’t profess to understand all the technicalities behind this – the suspension impacts the Wizards’ current salary situation too. As things stand, the Wizards are about $8 million over the luxury tax threshold, and with no obvious means of getting under it. The players they want to dump (Mike James, DeShawn Stevenson) are undumpable, and they have nine players earning $3 million or more, tied with Portland for second in the league (the Knicks have ten). But this suspension gives them a means with which they can get nearer to getting under it. 50% of money not received by players suspended by the league is deducted from the team’s number for tax calculations. If a player loses an even $1 million in salary through suspension, then a team can deduct $500,000 from their luxury tax calculations. So by being suspended, Arenas has inadvertently aided the Wizards in their previously futile quest to dodge the luxury tax. One thing I don’t actually know is whether salary lost due to suspension is calculated based on games or days missed. It doesn’t make a huge amount of difference to the general point though. So far in the season, 71 days have passed (not including today), and the Wizards have played 32 games. Therefore, regardless of whether you use 32/82nds of Gilbert’s $16,192,079 salary ($6,318,860) or 71/170ths ($6,762,574), the fact remains that the suspension will cost Gilbert over […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 6
January 6th, 2009
– Joseph Blair is averaging 8.2 points and 8.0 rebounds for Spartak St Petersburg, while also shooting 43% from the free throw line. So maybe Blair’s scouting report on himself on his website wasn’t too off-message. Joseph also wrote a New Year’s message, for us, his fans. You can read it here. (Note: even though Joseph himself says that he’s not in St Petersburg, he is. Someone should tell him.) – Will Blalock averages 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck. – Corie Blount is….indisposed. – The last time we checked in on Tony Bobbitt, the man who killed his mother had just been convicted. That’s not something I’ve ever said before. (Note: The link given in the previous post no longer works, so try this one.) Unfortunately, there’s no new Tony Bobbitt news to report, since he has not signed anywhere this season. So I guess we’ll have to leave it at that. – Dejan Bodiroga, formerly the best player in Europe, retired a while ago and is now the General Manager of his final team, Lottomatica Roma. – In keeping with tradition, Curtis Borchardt has had many injuries in recent years, limiting his court time drastically. He’s also been injured again this season, and missed four weeks of action. But upon returning in mid-November, he’s played very well for Granada, the team he’s been with since leaving the NBA over three years ago. So well has he played, in fact, that he was named the MVP for the month of December. (Or at least, I think he was. My ability to read Spanish isn’t up to much.) Borchardt averages 13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game on the season. – Ruben Boumtje Boumtje didn’t pan out […]
