By earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team this week, Hawks guard Trae Young ensured that his five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension will start at 30% of the 2022/23 cap rather than 25%, as we outlined on Tuesday. Based on the current maximum-salary projections, that means Atlanta’s projected team salary for next season will increase by $6.1MM.
As Chris Kirschner of The Athletic writes, Young’s salary bump means Atlanta is more likely to be over the luxury-tax line in 2022/23 and perhaps less likely to bring back Danilo Gallinari, whose $21.45MM salary is only partially guaranteed for $5MM. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the Hawks currently project to be about $7.8MM over the tax line, so they could, at least temporarily, get out of tax territory by waiving Gallinari and saving that $16MM+.
Young’s more lucrative contract may place a few more constraints on the Hawks over the next five years as they attempt to build a championship-caliber roster around him. However, as Kirschner observes, the team will at least no longer have to worry about Young being disgruntled as a result of missing out on an All-NBA spot and an extra $35MM.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- With Kyle Lowry still clearly being affected by the left hamstring injury that has forced him to miss eight playoff games, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel and Joe Vardon of The Athletic believe the Heat have to seriously consider whether or not Lowry should start – or even play – in a do-or-die Game 6. Vardon says the team should probably bench both Lowry and Max Strus, who are a combined 1-of-28 from the floor in the last two games.
- Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic take a look at the Wizards‘ future, discussing whether a full-fledged rebuild or building around Bradley Beal would be a better course of action for the franchise. Hollinger wonders if the team missed an opportunity to get a Jrue Holiday-esque haul (or better) for Beal by not moving him a year or two ago, but believes that the best course of action at this point would be to re-sign the All-Star guard, since he could always be traded later.
- Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel explores what the Magic‘s starting five may look like next season, depending on whether the team drafts Jabari Smith or Chet Holmgren. In Price’s view, floor-spacing issues mean that Cole Anthony may be a better fit alongside Holmgren, while Jalen Suggs could make more sense alongside Smith.
Lowry at 37 next year is trending towards wall and Russ albatross territory!
Lakers would still value him as a asset though( a asset three years to late but I digress) so watch out for a Russ and a 2027 first for Lowry and Duncan Robinson deal !
Doesn’t help the heat on the court but increases their flexibility immensely
Why on earth would the heat want to do something silly like that? It would take like 4 draft picks to justify taking on Westbrook. And he makes their biggest weakness even worse: a lack of scoring options outside the paint.
Bc yesterday wasn’t a fluke for Kyle Lowry ! Yesterday was a continuation of a guy who’s past his prime and a shell of himself at age 36 soon to be 37 next year, you can forget about him being part of any trade that actually lands heat a star he is now on a contract no team will want ! This will be the last year dumb teams like lakers or Knicks might still think he’s good
It’s all about flexibility heat don’t even have to play Russ ! But Russ as a expiring heat have assets to make something out of it lakers don’t have! Just one example say jazz have to trade dom heat can offer to take him and one contract jazz might not like like boggy or Clarkson or even Conley and offer the Russ expiring ,herro and up to four first rd picks if they get one or two from the lakers ! Lowry is gonna be 37 with 58 million due he has no appeal to teams in a trade ( besides maybe desperate lakers or Knicks) esp to a team that has to trade a star
@Noel
Lowry isn’t anywhere albatross territory. Dude has an injury he hasn’t recovered from. If the Heat weren’t still playing into late May this wouldn’t even be an issue. But he’s still a productive PG with 7.5 assists per game and good perimeter shooting. He’s got 2/$58 OR $29 per left. For a useful point guard that’s different than Wall or Westbrook @ 1/$48 mil.
He’s 36 gonna be 37 with chronic aches and pains ! You can believe yesterday was a fluke but no yesterday was a continuation of a guy who’s a shell of himself , not all guys age like lebron esp point guards
Lowry is a winner ! Forget about stats…. Only Westbrook thinks about those stats…
As I said in another article, the Heat should go to more small lineups with multiple shooters on the floor when Boston has Grant Williams and Horford on the floor together. Put Strus and Robinson on the floor together around their defenders
Gallo was gone either way. Trae getting his recognition & extra $35M is a slight inconvenience to the team but absolutely incredible for the boy & well deserved. Hawks already have a championship caliber roster around Trae tho
@Sankara The Hawks are nowhere near being a championship team. They were a 9 seed this year.
Warriors literally missed the playoffs last yr. Have you forgotten that already?
They definitely don’t.
You have a short memory
GSW are champs, Hawks are chumps. Poor comparison. Has nothing to do with anyone’s memory.
Damn it, Trae! Lol
I’ll ask again, Kevin Huerter to OKC for Derrick Favors, Kenrich Williams & LAC’S 2024 1st.. Who says no, Schlenk (Atl) or Presti (OKC)? ik someone here is capable of finding some fault in this deal..
I responded to this earlier, but it seemed to have disappeared, so I’ll try again..
I dont pretend to know everything about Gallinaris guaranteed/non-guaranteed deal, but I would see if I could add Gallinari’s non- guaranteed deal (5m), and add some cash to cover his buyout. That way, when he is waived, it doesn’t count towards our cap hit.
Leaving Gallo out of it for the time being, who do you feel would say no to the original deal, OKC, Atl or nobody?
I believe both have reasons to turn it down. ATL turns it down because I think Huerter is additional salary for a bigger trade, and OKC won’t because Huerter would come off the bench (SGA, Giddy, and Dort are starters), so no need to attach 1sts to get a bench player.
Huerter is additional salary for bigger trade? Lol I guess I gotta give u an A for effort. That’s better than anyone else could do. That’s obv ridiculous tho lol… as far as OKC’s side, Huerter could/would easily start over Giddey or Dort for OKC. It’s about time they start trying to compete again & to compete they’re gonna have to cease being the worst 3pt shooting team in the league. Trading for Kevin Huerter, 1 of the best young shooters in the game, would be a positive step in that direction. As much as I love Giddey’s game, playing him off the bench & less mins would also help OKC become a better shooting team bc he was 1 of the worst 3pt shooting guards in the NBA last season. And whether Kev starts or not really doesn’t matter a whole lot anyway tbh. OKC clearly needs someone like him badly. He’s young, he can shoot, he has more playoff experience than anyone on the roster outside of Favors, he’s locked up for 4yrs & ofc he’s the type of guy that Oklahomans can really get behind (similar to Collison, Adams, Poku). OKC has a boatload of future 1sts, I think they have 4 total in 2024. Giving up 1 plus a couple of role players, 1 of which has negative trade value to get a guy who can strengthen numerous team weaknesses sounds alot like a W.
What I mean is if, for example, the jazz would trade Gobert for Collins+Huerter, to make salaries match. Just an example of what I mean by “additional salary”.
It’s a large stretch (understatement) to say you shouldn’t trade a player bc you might need him for another future trade that may or may not happen. Especially when it’s not true lol. We got plenty of guys we could use for future trades. Bogdan’s contract can easily take Kev’s place in that or any other terrible offer for Gobert.
Nobody cares, ward-bound. Your expectations are meaningless.
Can’t do that dlb
Trade Gallo’s non-guaranteed? Honestly didn’t think you could, but I heard otherwise on another board. Never said I was a cap genius! Lol
Releasing Gallo was assumed, and yes it temporarily gets them out of the tax. But it doesn’t change the longer term payroll issue.
They have to reduce the number of eight figure escalating contracts by at least 1. This team can’t operate effectively that close to the tax line. Even a team essentially standing pat on these numbers would be challenged to do it. One intending to make changes certainly can’t. Hunter, their most valuable trade asset, doesn’t have one of those contracts, but will add to them in 2023/24. As would any trade target when acquired. Their big contract guys are at least fully priced or more, so it’s hard to see a value trade where they don’t take back almost the same money for a couple of years.
Lol what??? “Their big contract guys are at least fully priced or more, so it’s hard to see a value trade..”??? What are u talking about dude lol idk how to respond to this.. Hawks will be abt $5M under the tax line once we waive Gallo & sign our draft picks. Even going over the tax is fine. We will be reducing the # of 8figure earners on the team by 1 as soon as we waive Gallo. As I’m sure you’ve seen I’m in favor of trading Kevin Huerter for Kenrich Williams, Derrick Favors & a future 1st. The future cap savings are part of the appeal but more than anything it helps us get much tougher, stronger on the court. $ wise the Hawks are good tho. Zero bad contracts, zero contracts that look iffy even when projecting forward a yr or 2. There’s def room to improve but Schlenk has set up the roster really well. Paying luxury tax for an aging team with no chance to compete is 1 thing. Paying it for a young, talented squad with a wide open window to compete for titles for yrs & yrs to come is much easier
Read more carefully: Distinguish “hard to see a trade” from “hard to see a VALUE trade WHERE THEY DON’T TAKE BACK THE SAME MONEY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS”. Value trade would be distinguished from a “salary dump” (which would include just getting back shorter contracts of lesser players, but no real asset). The last clause should be self explanatory.
Your proposed trade would (if accepted) be a value trade (not be a salary dump) since you’re getting back expiring deals PLUS a 1st (unprotected no less), PLUS Williams (who Presti has priced at a 1st coming to him). BUT – I don’t think OKC accepts it. OKC, in their current mode, doesn’t really trade 1st round picks, they trade for them. Because of how Presti values (overvalues) Williams, it’s like your asking him for two 1st rounders, plus taking on KH’s contract, in exchange for KH’s services. But YES, if it were accepted it would add a replacement asset to the asset base (if only by a draft pick) and be payroll positive (since it’s a multi-year problem). Be skeptical of your own proposals when you have a wannabe contender like ATL getting a draft pick and a tanking team like OKC giving one up. Almost never happens.
You don’t appreciate the downside of being in the luxury tax. I’ll try (probably foolishly). You’re likely thinking it’s a bill to a rich owner. No. Most owners (including yours) are willing to pay luxury tax to sustain a contending team, vs a rebuilding or retooling one. The latter is good for his bottom line, but also good for the team. A team that’s rebuilding / retooling can’t live with the operating restrictions (no S&T’s, no full MLE, no BAE, etc.) even if the owner’s pockets were unlimited. Another fact owners ask is how long (consecutive years) will we be in the tax. That’s because of repeater penalties, that increase all the tax rates across two additional tiers. A young team means once you go in, you’ll hit tier 3 of the luxury tax in year 4. Golden State, which cares the least about luxury tax (in part because they one of the only teams that can fund most of it from team revenue, vs the owner’s separate funds), gave up assets to get under the tax line in the two straight years they were bad. Why? The few dollars of tax from being over the line? No. So that they could stay in the tax longer once they inevitably went into it again. It’s 100’s of millions of dollars difference over the next 3 years (yes, difference due to repeater tax increment only). Plus, flexibility in the two prior years they were under. Luxury tax ends a team’s organic growth and requires outside funds. It can’t be sustained indefinitely. You need to have a finished product before entering, and exit when you no longer do. Hawks are not a finished product, by their own statements.
OKC has been tanking for the last 2 seasons. This is not something that’s gonna go on indefinitely. At some point (this summer) they’re gonna transition into competing again. They’ve accumulated a stable of young talented players as well as a lot of future 1sts. They’re not gonna just hoard all those picks & continue to tank until KD comes back. Cashing in extra picks to buy low on a talented young specialist is exactly how Atl got Capela & has worked for many rebuilding teams repeatedly throughout nba history. Adding Kev who could be a starting wing for them for the next 5-10yrs & having him locked up for 4yrs is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Thunder… Kenrich Williams was obv more valuable this time last yr when he had 2 cheap yrs left on his deal. Now that he’s an expiring contract & will be in line for a raise he’s not worth a 1st (he never was)… obv there’s downside to being above the tax line. So much of what u just said is just complete trash tho smh. Tony Ressler said flat out that he’s willing & expecting to go into the luxury tax this season. This is after we lost in the 1st rd. Nothing about waiting until we’re sustaining a contender lol. He has no qualms about paying the tax to maintain/improve this roster nor should he. You say going into the tax means the end of a team’s organic growth smh I mean this is obviously a dumb statement. Jalen Johnson & Okongwu & Sharife & Trae & etc are all still gonna improve organically as will the team as a whole whether or not we’re paying luxury tax smh. We have young guys that are earning their bag (Dre, O, Kev & more). All those guys are gonna be able to be paid by us if they show they deserve it. We’re shaving $17M off the payroll by waiving Gallo, that $ will go to Kev who’s new contract is starting next season. When it’s time for Dre to get paid, Bogdan’s contract will be coming off the books. Same with O & Capela… Relax dude lol Hawks financial situation is just fine. All our guys are on reasonable deals & all our big earners are wanted by teams around the league. If O balls out & earns a max contract we can easily make room for that. Whether we have the full MLE available or have to settle for the TPE isn’t really a big deal. Having a squad deep with big time players is a big deal. And you’re talking about how being a tax paying team isn’t something that can be sustained indefinitely lol we’ve paid the tax one whole time in franchise history that I can recall. We aren’t at all worried about the sustainability of paying the tax for numerous yrs in a row lol ket us pay it once then we’ll worry about that repeater stuff lol
@Sankara:
Look, your deal is so good for ATL that you should call the FO or write it in to AJC (comment section) or other paper. Nobody is going to say its not good for ATL. My prediction is the same. OKC hangs up, laughing. Huerter is who he is, and, IMO, he doesn’t have that much trade value. But maybe OKC feels different. No harm in trying.
On the luxury tax issue, I read what the ATL owner wrote. Him being willing to pay the tax as of any year isn’t the issue, nor is his actually paying it in one year. Schlenk won’t voluntarily go into tax land this soon. It’s not good for ATL if the owner forces it. The statement that a team entering tax land ends its organic growth is a truth. The only stupid thing is not realizing it. You’re a hard core fan(boy) and (obviously) finance isn’t your thing. But listening and learning is a better approach than pretending you know what you clearly don’t know.
Don’t say things like Kevin Huerter doesn’t hold much trade value smh. This is me looking out for u. You expose yourself when u say stuff like that. OKC obv needs shooters. They’re gonna want guys that fit their timeline. They’re gonna be looking for guys that have playoff experience. They’re gonna want guys that are locked up long term bc of how hard it is to keep talent in OKC. Kev checks all these boxes. He’s exactly the type of guy the Thunder would be interested in & it doesn’t take a genius to see it… your 2nd paragraph is you being angry & disagreeing but with nothing to back yourself up lol. You badly want me to be wrong but are incapable of proving me wrong with any type of facts. I love that you admit that I’m right about Ressler having no issue paying the tax. You say Schlenk would be against it tho which is just nonsensical lol. You back that statement up with nothing, no quote or logic or anything.
Not completely on topic but I enjoy both your views so i’ll just throw my opinion in the hat
What I think will happen;
John Collins moves this offseason- Think he just holds more value to the other 29 teams than Atl (which is a bit weird )
-They get a combo guard that can defend via the Collins trade and maybe a pick and pre RFA guy that level’s the contracts down
They ask a WHOLE lot more of Hunter next year on the wing then
**What Id do – Difficult but Id try to parcel Capela and hand the keys to OKO – Difficult as he’s got a 3/67 left but perhaps doable. They can get some smaller contracts that can be parceled off later (if need be)
**Can’t think of many teams looking for a 22 AAV C that can’t stretch tho currently (Cha?)
You got us trading John & Clint huh lol yall are a trip I swear. Did you not just see the Mia vs Atl series & what happens when we don’t have those 2 guys?… Why would the Hawks trade John again? I gotta completely disagree that he’s less important to us than he’d be elsewhere. I’m pretty sure we don’t have anyone that could remotely replace him unless you think Jalen Johnson is ready… also I feel like u have missed Clint Capela’s career up to this point lol by now nobody should be doubting how good this guy is. Trading John & Clint means rebuilding & eventually Trae asking for a trade himself
I said just one not both, that was pretty clear
Look your front office team just said it’s gonna make some moves- Huerter isn’t going to net anything of surplus value-
John Collins doesn’t seem to love it in ATL right now. He’s the greatest value to move in the market.
Oko can pick up a ton of Capelas minutes- I like Capela but his salary is ranging up and he looks to be getting a tick slower year by year. He’d be my choice but I don’t see a strong market so I think they dish JC in the end
Who you gonna move to mix it up?
Huerter does nothing in the market…Bogs?… Sure, maybe but that’s not gonna net a major difference either
Im going off ATL’s words… I see John moving this offseason, always had SAS on my mind here but just a hunch, 3 team trades can open up ATL’s pickings on some defensive players to net back. I don’t see that being a controversial take
Heat will get out of Lowry, Duncan Robinson contract, need to sign Hero long term, resign Olidipo as 6th man, move Tyler in as starter. They may have to throw Strus as sweetener to get rid of Lowry… Westbrook? Tough pill to swallow for 1yr… Westbrook, Hero, Tucker, Jimmy, Bam?
Lowry is the difference maker!