The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: Purely from a financial perspective, LeBron James would probably be best to pick up his option for the 2010-11 season and then extend that contract this summer to 2013 or 2014 to protect himself from the expected salary cap drop and subsequent reduction in max salary. By setting the start of the extension at 2011, James would be in position to reap the rewards of a favorable new CBA for max contracts because his deal would be automatically revised to meet the new max level. But if the cap collapses he’d also be assured of getting a raise on his $17 million salary in 2010-11 and there’s a chance he could actually be above the max contract level after the cap goes down. He would also be wise to build in a series of termination options to continue to apply pressure to the Cavs to surround him with talent while protecting a massive salary for many years. In his position, he will get whatever he asks for as long as it is allowed under the CBA.
Month: March 2009
Okafor, Bell lead Bobcats over Clippers 100-95
The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats lost an inordinate amount of close games early in the season. They just hope it won’t come back to haunt them, now that they’re within striking distance of the franchise’s first playoff berth. Emeka Okafor had 28 points and nine rebounds, Raja Bell scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte beat the Los Angeles Clippers 100-95 on Saturday night for their third straight victory… Okafor made 11 of 17 shots, while Diaw added 15 points. Zach Randolph had 33 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, coming off a 98-86 loss at Sacramento that followed Wednesday’s stunning 93-91 upset of the NBA champion Boston Celtics.