Even though everyone seems to want Sarunas...

[CleveRocks]

I think snow is more of a locker room leader. Yeah Silas benched him last year, but that had a negative effect because teh eam respected him. Snow is a good thing for us no matter the contract...

 

[Troy Wingate]

Silas was just a bad coach. Eric Snow (despite the contract) is a very good fit for this team. When the trade was made when we landed Snow, I said at RealGM that this would be a great trade for Cleveland, and I've turned out to be right so far.

Snow stays until his play really drops off.

 

[Style]

It is astounding to me that once Lucious Harris and Snow arrived, two solid veterans, they COMPLETELY forgot how to shoot. And I'm talking WIDE OPEN shots, they didn't have to work hard for good looks either. It had to be frustrating as hell for LJ and Z to kick it to those guys and know there was little chance of them nailing a shot. This was a big reason our two All Stars started to force so many shots. It made us a much easier team to defend and contributed to a lot of losses.

I like Snow, but he is a liability on offense. You do not have to play up on the guy at all b/c you know he can't hit the J. At this level of play, it's nearly unacceptable to not be at least a decent shooter and play the 1.

Having said that, Snow is a good roleplayer for this team. He can play solid defense off the bench, provides veteran leadership, and sets a good example for the youngins. I'd love to see him stick around, but that contract is brutal.

Question: Under the new CBA can we not just cut him and resign him to the veteran minimum? We'd free up loads of cap space, and you'd think Snow wouldn't be too upset b/c he'd still be getting all his cash. If you talk to Snow before hand and assure him that you want him back and he isn't slighted by it, is there any reason NOT to do this? Are you even allowed to sign your own players back if you cut them under this new rule?

 

[Maximus]

Question: Under the new CBA can we not just cut him and resign him to the veteran minimum? We'd free up loads of cap space, and you'd think Snow wouldn't be too upset b/c he'd still be getting all his cash. If you talk to Snow before hand and assure him that you want him back and he isn't slighted by it, is there any reason NOT to do this? Are you even allowed to sign your own players back if you cut them under this new rule?

It sounds like you are referring to the new Amnesty rule. We are not eligible b/c we are under the salary cap. Even if we were, you would only be reducing luxury tax - it has zero impact on cap space.

Here is an excerpt from an interesting article-

It's called the "amnesty clause," and it allows NBA teams a one-time exception to waive a player and not have that player's contract count against the luxury tax. Teams would still have to pay the player's full salary, and the full amount would still count against the salary cap, but it wouldn't count against the luxury tax. Considering that NBA teams currently pay a dollar-for-dollar penalty when they exceed the tax threshold, the savings could be significant.

The Mavs, for example, are seriously considering waiving Finley (three years, $51 million left on his deal) to save the $51 million they might have to pay in future taxes. The Knicks likewise might go this direction with Houston to save some $40 million in luxury taxes. Other players mentioned as possible amnesty candidates include Brian Grant (Lakers), Chris Webber (Sixers), Doug Christie (Magic), Jalen Rose (Raptors), Theo Ratliff (Blazers) and Raef LaFrentz (Celtics).

Any player waived would be free to sign a new deal with a different team and still get to keep the money from their old one. Finley, for example, could pocket his $51 million from Dallas and then sign with a contending team for the mid-level exception (around $5 million per season). The only restriction is that a player can't re-sign with his former team. In Finley's case, he likely would have his choice among such suitors as the Suns, Nuggets, Cavs and hometown Bulls.

 

[Style]

Thanks for the clarification Maximus. So not only would this not clear Snow from our cap, but then we'd be out a good backup pg too, as we could not resign him.

I figured there had to be some gotchas I was missing, or else why wouldn't you just cut your whole team and resign who you like at the veteran minimum, creating tons of cap space?