Cash Considerations

What is the maximum salary a player can receive in the NBA?

Similarly to the minimum salary I mentioned in a previous post the max salary is dependent of Years in the NBA and the current salary cap. Below is a table featuring the information for the max salary for 2017-20.

Years in NBA¹	Defined maximum salary	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
0 – 6	25% of cap	$24,773,250	$25,467,250	$27,285,000
7 – 9	30% of cap	$29,727,900	$30,560,700	$32,742,000
10+	35% of cap	$34,682,550	$35,654,150	$38,199,000

The above maximum salaries are for the general case, but there are exceptions. The first exception is that in a multi-year contract only the first season’s salary is subject to the maximum.

Below are the top 5 highest paid players in the NBA:

Rk	Player	Tm	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Signed Using	Guaranteed
1	Stephen Curry	GSW	$40,231,758	$43,006,362	$45,780,966		Bird Rights	$129,019,086
2	Chris Paul	OKC	$38,506,482	$41,358,814	$44,211,146			$124,076,442
3	Russell Westbrook	HOU	$38,178,000	$41,006,000	$43,848,000	$46,662,000	Bird Rights	$123,032,000
4	John Wall	WAS	$37,800,000	$40,824,000	$43,848,000	$46,872,000	Bird Rights	$122,472,000
5	James Harden	HOU	$37,800,000	$40,824,000	$43,848,000	$46,872,000	Bird Rights	$122,472,000

Here are highlights from Steph Curry, the highest paid player as of the 2019-20 season.

Angels want cash

As trade season approaches the MLB, the Pirates clearead a spot on their 40man roster when they traded reliever Parker Markel to the Angels for cash considerations.

Markel, 29, went 0-1 this season with a 7.77 ERA in 20 appearances with both the Mariners and Pirates.

In Pittsburgh, Markel had a 5.71 ERA in 17 1/3 innings with 21 strikeouts and 13 walks. Markel allowed a total of six home runs across his 22 innings in the majors — his first such work at this level.

For more information on Markel.

Is Andre Drummond Worth the Max?

Andre Drummond puts up insane numbers but doesn’t seem to get much respect around the league. The big man for the pistons is averaging 19.6 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and 1.6 steals a game on better than 55% from the field. If Drummond can sustain that rebound rate it will be the highest average since Dennis Rodman averaged 18 in 1992. But what are these numbers worth? are they inflated playing on a talent void roster or is big Dre legit. He has a 28.7 million player option but Andre may opt out to seek a max deal. Many GM’s may say he isn’t worth a max but all it takes is one GM to say he is to make him a max player.

What is the true minimum in the NBA

The NBA minimum salary is an amount that scales with the hard cap of each NBA season. The salary is then determined based on the amount of years played in the NBA. Below is a table featuring the amounts for the 2019-20 season.

Minimum salary scale for contracts signed in 2019-20:

Years in NBA¹	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
0	$898,310
1	$1,445,697	$1,517,981
2	$1,620,564	$1,701,593	$1,782,621
3	$1,678,854	$1,762,796	$1,846,738	$1,930,681
4	$1,737,145	$1,824,003	$1,910,860	$1,997,718	$2,084,576
5	$1,882,867	$1,977,011	$2,071,154	$2,165,298	$2,259,441
6	$2,028,594	$2,130,023	$2,231,451	$2,332,880	$2,434,310
7	$2,174,318	$2,283,034	$2,391,750	$2,500,466	$2,609,182
8	$2,320,044	$2,436,046	$2,552,050	$2,608,053	$2,784,055
9	$2,331,593	$2,448,172	$2,564,752	$2,681,332	$2,797,912
10+	$2,564,753	$2,692,993	$2,821,230	$2,949,467	$3,077,705

Players that are on minimum-salary contracts may receive salary bonuses and deferred compensation as well as trade bonuses. Minimum salaries begin to pro-rate starting on their first day of the regular season.

A look at one of the best minimum salary players in the NBA, Kyle Kuzma from the LA Lakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkFHnrY3FKo

Dwight Howard Instagram Defender

Last week Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tweaked his ankle on the way to the basket in a win over warriors. KCP has been shooting poorly and some fans took this injury as a time to mock KCP for poor play. The Lakers back up big who has faced his fair share of blacklash from the fans is standing up for KCP. Howard took to social media following the game saying “We’re gonna need KCP to win this championship, and I don’t think it’s right for anybody to wish any type of harm or any type of danger on my teammate. Of course there’s going to be nights where guys miss shots, miss layups but we need to set a standard,”.

While KCP’s mistakes are loud (missed layups) his positives are still there. He’s actually been a hugely positive impact on the team this year overall. When he’s been on the court, the Lakers only surrender 95 points per 100 possessions. Of players who’ve gotten legitimate minutes this season, that’s the second lowest defensive rating of anyone on the team

50 points

With the NBA an all time high in pace scoring 50 points in a game is becoming more and more common. So far through the 2019 season four players have already had 50 point games. In the past 4 years there has been more 50 point games than any other time except for when Wilt was dominating in the early 60’s.

On any given night in the NBA the odds of seeing a player snap is at an all time high. We’ve come a long way from Andre Miller’s out-of-nowhere night representing the only chance for a player to reach 50 for a full year.

How much cash can be included in a trade in the NBA?

According to CBAFAQ, the maximum amount of cash a team can pay or recieve per season is limited to the Maximum Annual Cash Limit”, which is $5.617 million in 2019-20 season.

Season	Amount
2017-18	$5.1 million
2018-19	$5.243 million
2019-20	$5.617 million

There are two separate limits, one of the limits pertains to the amount of cash a team pays as part of trades and one amount that limits the amount each team receives as a part of trades each season. So in 2019 a team may pay $5.617 million as well as received $5.617 million each season

Cash isn’t considered when matching salaries under the Traded Player exception. For example, a taxpaying team cannot add $3 million cash to a trade of their $5 million player in order to acquire a $10 million player.

Dinwiddie Goes Crypto

The Brooklyn Nets guard is reportedly set to turn his $34 million contract into a blockchain tokenized bond. Investors will be able to put money into the contact in hopes to earn interest based on his basketball performance. This hasn’t been approved by the head office yet but if it it will be the first crypto based contract in major league sports.

In order to do this Dinwiddie will start his own company that will then allow him to force his NBA contract in the form a digital toke. Doing this will mean Spencer received a full upfront payment of the $34 million. This move is an important move forward showing the possibilities of professional contracts and crypto in the future. I’m looking forward to Lance Stephenson signing with the Brisbane Bullets on a 23 Doge coin contract.

“I’m worth more than cash considerations”

A week ago we looked at the trade of TJ Warren for Cash considerations. Since then TJ has made his opinion clear that he is worth more than cash. In an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic TJ had the following to say.

“When I saw it, I looked at it as a business. I’m grateful that the Pacers were able to make that transaction for me. When guys get moved, they want to show and prove the team that moved them wrong,” Warren said.
“I’m not mad at the Phoenix Suns, but they made the deal and I’m just excited to move on. I’m ready to show the whole NBA — and not just the Suns for making the wrong decision — that the Pacers made the right decision. I’m worth more than cash considerations. It’s on me to prove it. But the Suns messed up.”

This statement is an interesting one on the meta analysis on what the value of cash considerations really is. Is cash considerations value solely in its monetary value or is there more? Something I will look into in future posts.

Simmons to Wizards for Cash

Looking back at the 2019 NBA draft day trade where the Sixers GM Elton Brand traded Jonathon Simmons and pick No. 42 to the Washington Wizards for cash considerations, a team source confirms to NBC Sports Philadelphia. This move will save up to $5.7 million on the cap for next year.

Simmons has become somewhat of an under performing journey man since leaving San Antonio. With Career averages of 8.3ppg on 44% from the field. Now it is up to the Wizards if they are going to try to trade him or keep him on their roster. He doesn’t exactly fit their timeline but could be a serviceable role-player for a young squad.