| Decisions Due On Mbenga, Powell Authored by Larry Coon - June 30, 2009 - 1:07 pm
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The Lakers have been financially conservative this offseason, in order to afford re-signing both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. The escape clauses on Mbenga’s and Powell’s contracts provide the opportunity to save additional money, even if they intend to keep both players.
The minimum salary is a sliding scale based on years of service. For example, the 2009-10 minimum for a rookie is $457,588, while for a 10+ year veteran it is $1,306,455. However, in order to keep teams from shying away from older (and more expensive) veterans, teams are only responsible for paying the minimum salary of a two-year veteran ($825,497), with any salary above that amount paid from a league-wide pool. The luxury tax for these players is also based on the salary of a two-year veteran.
Here’s the catch -- this only applies to minimum salary players on one-year contracts. Since both Mbenga and Powell are on two-year contracts, the Lakers will be responsible for each player’s entire $959,111, along with the full luxury tax.
If the Lakers were to waive Mbenga today, then re-sign him to a one-year minimum salary contract in July, he would be paid the same $959,111. However the Lakers would only pay $825,497 in both salary and tax – saving a total of $267,228. The Lakers would risk losing him to free agency, but if both the team and player are clear about their intentions, then the risk is minimal.
Powell is paid above the minimum for a four-year veteran, so the decision for him is a little more difficult. In order to re-sign him at the minimum salary, he would have to sacrifice $74,230. The savings for the Lakers would be another $227,228, bringing their total savings for both players to $534,456.
If the Lakers are reasonably sure they would not lose Mbenga to free agency, then the decision regarding him becomes somewhat of a no-brainer. In Powell’s case, they would not only risk losing the player to free agency, they would also be forcing him to give up some of his salary. However the Lakers have a history of making such moves – for example in 2001 they did this with Brian Shaw.
For the cost conscious Lakers, increasing their ability to afford Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom might be worth risking Mbenga and Powell. |
