Originally Posted by
NMThreeMVP
I think you're missing the point, but maybe it's too nuanced. Percentage of cap is fine, whatever, I get it. It's just a number and math, so I'm not explicitly arguing against math.
If you want to use % of cap, though, just like any other number, it has to fit within the context of what other teams have acquired using that percentage of cap, what opportunity is lost by using that % of the cap, and how you structure the rest of the team using that % of the cap.
If I told you were going to pay Asik $48m over 4 years, people have balked at that number because we know what hay type of money is capable for acquiring from a talent standpoint based on the past and he limitations placed on future flexibility of you give a guy that sort of contract. So the cool kids translate it into % of cap, and that number doesn't seem so scary, so people stop demanding they do the market analysis they would if it was presented in dollars.
But as I've shown, in order to give 10% of your cap to a player like Asik, you have to have several value contracts including contributing rookie scale guys and vets paid less than market. Asik fits that model next year, but in 2016 when AD is getting 30% of your cap, you have to replace or resign Anderson and Gordon, and you'll have the expectation of contending... You wouldn't want to be paying Asik 10-12% of your cap.
I'd have no issue giving Asik the reverse of his current contract. I'd give him $14, 7, and 6m with a team option after the end of 1st year and a player option after year 2.
This is my problem with Dell and those that think he's awesome. He has been been in win sooner rather than later mode going back to the Cp3 days, and he hasn't really built this team to sustain success into AD's second contract IMO.
Aldridge got Lillard on a rookie deal and Wes on a cheap contract. Duncan had Manu and Parker on favorable deals earlier in his career and now they're all playing at a discount. Steph has Klay, Barnes, and Draymond on rookie scale. John Wall has Beal on a cheap contract. Who are The Pelicans players contributing to our wins on below market deals?! Who are they going to be in 2017 when AD starts eating cap for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?!
The same people saying not to worry about it because we can move this player or that player down the line, are the same people who out the other side of their mouths are saying continuity is the key to our success and are using that as another reason we should reign Asik.