Henry Abbott: Another superstar joins another super team - Basketball Forum : Professional and College Basketball Forums

Rhyder · 08-14-2012, 10:34 AM

Thought this was a great article and deserved its own thread (and I don't normally say that about ESPN columns). If the mods feel differently, feel free to merge it with the other thread.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...her-super-team

Quote:

The system is coming for the super teams

The new CBA, they said, would make owners think twice before uniting superstars. And who's to say it won't? In that regard, the juicy parts of the new deal haven't kicked in yet. ESPN.com CBA expert Larry Coon emails to explain what's in store for the Lakers if they keep this intimidating roster together:

The Lakers will have a tax bill of around $30 million next July, and in retrospect, will view this season as their salad days -- it’s the last one where the tax rate is dollar-for-dollar. Starting in 2013-14 the new “incremental” tax takes over, where being $30 million above the tax line will mean paying a whopping $85 million tax bill.

And it gets worse. Starting in 2014-15 teams will pay an even higher rate for being repeat offenders -- defined as paying tax in at least three of the four previous seasons. A team $30 million over the tax line will pay -- brace yourself -- an additional $115 million in luxury tax.

After adding up their payroll, luxury tax bill and revenue sharing contribution (projected to be $49.4 million in 2013-14), even the Lakers have to stop to consider whether this simply can be written off as the cost of doing business -- and that’s the future if they’re paying players with salaries like Bryant, Howard, Gasol and Nash.

I asked Coon to make some rough estimates, and he guessed that salaries, revenue sharing and luxury tax could cost the Lakers close to $240 million in 2013-14. And the season after that is when the especially punitive repeater tax, for perennial high-spenders, kicks in.

Even back when players cost the Lakers about a third of that, they made transactions to cut payroll. In the lockout, they laid off video coordinators and the like to save the table scraps. After the lockout, but before facing these kinds of bills, they pointed out that it was tough to make money anymore.

In other words: This Lakers roster is barely affordable now and due for a massive day of reckoning when the NBA's real "system" is fully up and running.

I had touched on the financials in another thread, but I did not really do any formal analysis. Apparently Mr. Coon has done so (although I am assuming that figure is without amnestying anyone/Artest). My eyeball guesstimate was at about $190 million, not $240 million.

**narek** · 08-14-2012, 05:17 PM

Holy cow. $240 mill in luxury taxes? that's just incredible.

**King Joseus** · 08-14-2012, 05:19 PM

If I land on free parking, can I get in on some of that? Do they have such a thing down at the NBA offices? I'd only use a little, even.

08-14-2012, 05:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
narek Moderator Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 9,836 Rep Power: 1171356	Re: Henry Abbott: Another superstar joins another super team Holy cow. $240 mill in luxury taxes? that's just incredible.

08-14-2012, 05:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
King Joseus Rest In Peace Join Date: May 2003 Location: Zhengzhou Age: 25 Posts: 34,385 Rep Power: 9733001	Re: Henry Abbott: Another superstar joins another super team If I land on free parking, can I get in on some of that? Do they have such a thing down at the NBA offices? I'd only use a little, even. __________________ Interested in joining the KVBL? PM me for information.

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