Knick fans know that team president Donnie Walsh has been targetting the summer of 2010 to make his big free agent splash. With such names like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh all coming off the books, the Knicks are setting themselves up to offer two big time free agents max contracts, with James at the top of the wish list.
The wrench in the gears though is NBA salary cap, which according to a league wide memo is going down, and going down a lot. The official league memorandum forecasts a dip in basketball-related income in the 2009-10 season of 2.5 percent to 5 percent, which threatens to take the 2010-11 cap down some $5 million to $8 million from last season's $58.7 million salary cap.
A significant drop for the luxury-tax threshold is also projected going into the summer of 2010. If basketball-related income drops by 2.5 percent in 2009-10, league officials are projecting a 2010-11 salary cap of $53.6 million and a luxury-tax line of $65 million.
If BRI, as it is referred to in the NBA, decreases by 5 percent, teams would be looking at a $50.4 million salary cap and a luxury-tax line of $61.2 million in 2010-11.
This equals bad news for the Knicks, who suddenly would have less money to play with and lure in big time free agents. Right now the Knicks have $18 million on the books for the 2010-2011 season, not counting recent draftees Jordan Hill and Tony Douglas, both of whom have not yet signed. This could also potentially affect their decision on whether or not to keep veterans David Lee and Nate Robinson.
Bantering Points: 4/16/24
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