Artis gets 2 year deal with Sacramento

[Sean Miller Fan]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...kings-pitt-basketball-nba-pittsburgh-panthers

For those of you in the know (ie Ski), this article says the contract means little because Artis still has to make the team but why would Sacramento give him an actual contract of any length if that were the case? Seems like he is just about guaranteed a spot, right?

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Could still see most of his time on their d league affiliate. But still, good deal for him. He should definitely get a chance to compete in their putrid roster

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...kings-pitt-basketball-nba-pittsburgh-panthers

For those of you in the know (ie Ski), this article says the contract means little because Artis still has to make the team but why would Sacramento give him an actual contract of any length if that were the case? Seems like he is just about guaranteed a spot, right?

They gave him a contract because without one he can't go to training camp with them. Is that really a mystery?

Pretty much every NBA team brings a few guys on non-guaranteed contracts to training camp. Some of those guys are likely to make the team. Some of those guys are nothing more than training camp fodder who have almost no chance to stick on the roster. You'd have to look at the Kings roster and see who all is on it to know for sure which one Artis likely is.

 

[Jpripper88]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...kings-pitt-basketball-nba-pittsburgh-panthers

For those of you in the know (ie Ski), this article says the contract means little because Artis still has to make the team but why would Sacramento give him an actual contract of any length if that were the case? Seems like he is just about guaranteed a spot, right?

They give him a "2 year" contract because in the slim chance he makes the team and sticks all season, they completely control his rights for the 2nd year without any commitment (i.e. guaranteed money) for that season. It used to have even more value in trades, but the NBA essentially cut out that loophole.

The Kings currently have 16 players under contract WITH guaranteed money for this season. They need to cut at least 2 of those players and eat their guaranteed money, in order to keep Artis in the NBA.

 

[Franb]

They give him a "2 year" contract because in the slim chance he makes the team and sticks all season, they completely control his rights for the 2nd year without any commitment (i.e. guaranteed money) for that season. It used to have even more value in trades, but the NBA essentially cut out that loophole.

The Kings currently have 16 players under contract WITH guaranteed money for this season. They need to cut at least 2 of those players and eat their guaranteed money, in order to keep Artis in the NBA.

Couldn't they also trade a few of those players, to free up roster space? Not saying that is likely, just possible.

 

[Jpripper88]

Couldn't they also trade a few of those players, to free up roster space? Not saying that is likely, just possible.

Very, very unlikely. Why? Only 1 other team has salary cap space, so the Kings would have to take players back and then cut those players instead. If the Kings traded away their 2 lowest salaried players (to open one on roster spot for Artis, rather than just cutting them) any team, other than Phoenix, would have to trade back $2.2M+ back to Sacramento in salary. Also, because of the new rules, they can't play the old non-guaranteed game with a contract like Artis' where he counts to his unguaranteed amount. That could still save the Kings ~$500k, but would cost the acquiring team more for players who can't make the Kings AND both sides would likely be looking for an asset to play ball. The other scenario would be the Kings taking back more salary from a team against the tax, but then that team would undoubtedly have to send the Kings a valuable asset. It is unlikely that kind of scenario happens before the season and more likely they would hold their cap space for December-February when they could facilitate bigger trades as a salary dump team.

TL;DR Possible, but very, very unlikely.

 

[Franb]

Very, very unlikely. Why? Only 1 other team has salary cap space, so the Kings would have to take players back and then cut those players instead. If the Kings traded away their 2 lowest salaried players (to open one on roster spot for Artis, rather than just cutting them) any team, other than Phoenix, would have to trade back $2.2M+ back to Sacramento in salary. Also, because of the new rules, they can't play the old non-guaranteed game with a contract like Artis' where he counts to his unguaranteed amount. That could still save the Kings ~$500k, but would cost the acquiring team more for players who can't make the Kings AND both sides would likely be looking for an asset to play ball. The other scenario would be the Kings taking back more salary from a team against the tax, but then that team would undoubtedly have to send the Kings a valuable asset. It is unlikely that kind of scenario happens before the season and more likely they would hold their cap space for December-February when they could facilitate bigger trades as a salary dump team.

TL;DR Possible, but very, very unlikely.

Thanks for that explanation, although I understood almost none of it - not because you weren't clear, but because the NBA salary structure is just crazy. I was saying that to someone else recently. A fan has to be really deep into this stuff to follow it, and I sure am not.