Projected Salary Cap for 2010 Dooms LeBron’s Exodus to NYC
July 8, 2009 by Staff
Filed under All Sports
I know all of the talk this morning concerning LeBron James is focused on why he decided to confiscate a tape of him getting dunked on by a collegiate basketball player. However, can we go back to thinking big picture here?
Let’s start with the fact that news this morning suggesting that the NBA salary cap may be as low as $50 million next year, puts a big cramp in the LeBron James sweepstakes of 2010.
As you all know, the New York Knicks are truly hoping that LeBron James ends up in blue and orange for the 2010-2011 NBA season. However, with the likelihood of a salary cap as much as $10 million less than what the Knicks were expecting 15 months ago, the Knicks, and other teams, may have to change their plans for the 2010 NBA off-season.
In April of 2008, the projected salary cap for the 2010-2011 season was about $63 million. This morning it was reported that the salary cap for that year could be at best $53 million and as low as $50 million. Should that be the case, the $10-$13 million that the Knicks would no longer have available to them would eliminate their ability to sign another player to a maximum contract. And because the Knicks don’t have much of a roster, one would have to assume that LeBron would be hesitant to come to the Knicks without another marquee player coming to the Garden with him.
Of course, this not only affects the Knicks. Some teams won’t be able to afford LeBron James by himself. A drop in cap space of $13 million could certainly eliminate those who were just at, or even above, the salary cap space amount they needed to have in order to sign a player to a max deal in 2010.
The elimination of cap space thought to be available now dims the light on the summer of LeBron. Of course, it brings sunshine to Cleveland, where it seems all the more likely LeBron James will stay if other teams (ehemm, the Knicks) can’t bring in the players they need to surround LeBron with due to a lack of salary cap space.
