Posted by fishmike:
forget about getting under the cap. The only time getting under the cap matter is if you stink enough to have 2-3 impact players in their rookie contracts. The only way to get that is to stink enough for 2-3 years to have top picks. Denver was able to do that w/ Nene amd Melo. The Spurs had Tony Parker and Ginobili under rookie contracts when they signed Nesterovich. Utah had AK47 in his rookie deal when they overpain Okur/Boozer (how's that working out). Miami had Wade and Butler under rookie contracts when they signed Odom (only made possible by ACarter's agent SNAFU).
While I agree with most of what you said. You did not indicate that all those teams you mention have been under the cap. When the Spurs signed Nesterovich, they were under because Robinson, Kerr, Smith came off, $90 million came off that is why it was likely they could have sign Kidd. Miami, have been dancing under the cap now since Morning, Hardaway, Thunder "Dan", and Mason came off. They were hurting for awhile now. While drafting well helps you win championships it not important, the same for getting under the cap. Riley had a good point about 2 weeks ago when the Knicks were playing the Heat, he talked about how they had to suffer to get better but they made smart moves, let expiring contracts just expire rather than trade. Drafted well, and signed free-agents that they could later use. Should the Knicks get under the cap, yes. It work well when they did it in '96. Should they draft smarter and develop, yes. I am praying for Sweets to develop. It is hard to believe that after Ewing, Charlie Ward has been the Knicks most successful 1st round pick. Also you have to have the right personnel. Jerry West did both things, got under the cap to sign Shaq, drafted well (Kobe), made significant roster moves, but it didn't pay dividends until he got Jackson the run the day care.
2/23/2005 2:19 AM
