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Guest Post: ShamSports on Otis Smith, the Orlando Magic, and "Creative Financing"

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:33 -0000

Editor's note: 3QC is honored to have Sham, of ShamSports, write the first Guest Post in site history. Sham runs England's finest basketball site, which includes the most authoritative NBA salary database available to the general public. In this guest post, he assesses Otis Smith's construction of the latest Magic team. With no further ado, here's Sham:

"Creative financing" has long been a favoured phrase for Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith, most famously in the run-up to the 2007 offseason. Smith used the term to describe how the Magic were going to handle having maximum cap room, juggling signing other team's free agents along with retaining Darko Milicic. It was a fairly generic term that said something without really saying anything. And it only gained its resonance after Smith used all his money to give Rashard Lewis the biggest six year contract in the sport's history. (It's definitely financing, but I'm not sure about its creativity.)

Smith's use of the term in conjunction with the Lewis deal made it something of a running joke in amongst the world's particularly nerdy NBA fans. (The kind of folk who make jokes about traded player exceptions. We're a fun bunch, we are. We throw the best parties.) "Creative" became synonymous with "terrible," and Smith didn't help himself by spending his way right up to the luxury tax barrier, on a team that refused to cross it. Paying James Augustine an unnecessary $243,145 to be under contract for two weeks in mid-July didn't help anybody, either. (Other than James Augustine.)

But just how creative is the Magic's financing?

Not including Morris Almond and Linton Johnson, the Magic have a 2009/10 payroll of $82,060,953, the sixth largest in the league. The only teams ahead of them are the Lakers, the Mavericks, the Jazz, the Celtics and the Cavaliers, most of whom are perennial big spenders. The Magic also have the most committed future salary of any franchise in the league, by miles, and it's not even close. Including this upcoming 2009/10 season (and assuming for consistency's sake that all option years and partial guarantees are invoked), the Magic have $316,442,872 committed in future salary, far in excess of the second place L.A. Lakers with $256,433,829. (For comparison's sake, in last place are the Oklahoma City Thunder with only $108.7 million. Never before has the phrase "$108.7 million" been prefixed with "only.")

The Magic are juggling three of the biggest contracts in the league in Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. Those three alone combine for $203.46 million in committed salary, more than 19 NBA franchises have committed to their entire rosters. And even though all three have unguaranteed final seasons (Howard with an ETO, Lewis and Carter with partially guaranteed salaries), that doesn't mean a whole lot. Dwight is not likely to opt out of $19.54 million, and if he does he'll re-sign for something similar anyway. Lewis's astronomical $22.7 million salary is a minimum of $10 mil guaranteed (rising to as much as $17.25 mil guaranteed if he meets performance benchmarks); however, while that represents a huge saving should he be waived, it also means an 8 figure commitment to someone who wouldn't be on the roster, which is not comforting and definitely not creative. And while Carter's final season is only $4 million guaranteed, waiving him before that final season would mean paying him $37 million for two seasons of work, which is is equally uncomfortable. The Magic have taken on an absolutely massive burden, which will be doubly painful if it doesn't work out on the court.

Thankfully, the other players are more competitively priced. Smith hit a sweet one when he extended Jameer Nelson to an incentive-laden 5 year, $40.5 million contract that pays a flat $8.1 million per season. This is a market value contract to a key player, who figures to only get better throughout the life of the contract. Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus are on similar deals, both signing flat rate contracts (for $4 mil and $5.3 mil respectively) which have performance incentives that could increase their value. Marcin Gortat is entirely worth the full Mid Level Exception, if only as a future trade chip. And no other player on the roster has a sizeable salary, with the next highest being J.J. Redick's expiring $2.84 million. The bottom third of the roster is done at bargain price, with Jason Williams and Adonal Foyle earing the minimum (only two thirds of which is charged to the Magic's cap), Ryan Anderson on a rookie scale contract, and with Matt Barnes earning only slightly more than that ($1.6 million for two years). Giving Anthony Johnson two years was a mistake - giving Anthony Johnson one year was a mistake - but it hasn't cost Orlando anything significant.

Smith and the Magic front office have had a fine offseason, paying market value prices to acquire some good quality players. Even the little things, such as the inclusion of Ryan Anderson into the Carter deal, were handled well, and they've been able to assemble the deepest Magic team in the franchise's history. (Not the best, though; that title is forever bestowed upon the 1999/00 lineup that featured liberal dollops of Ron Mercer, John Amaechi and Chucky Atkins. Great fun.) But all of this offseason's succees is only possible because of ownership, and their new-found desire to spend.

Don't get me wrong; spending is good. Being able to spend means you're able to buy, to obtain players and assets that non-spending teams could not. And in this tough economic climate, where most teams are inclined to sell and borrow, it's an even bigger blessing. But what would have happened if the Magic had lost to the Celtics after all? What if there was no Finals berth? What would have happened to the spending? The always tax-shy ownership - who have never previously paid any luxury tax - might have been shy of doing so now. They're currently on tap for a payroll of roughly $100 million, once tax deductions are taken into account. Had last year's Magic team been less successful, that figure might have been $30 million less.

It's not, though. As we've seen, the Magic are willing to spend their way to success, moreso than ever before. Because of that, Otis Smith has been able to offset the loss of Hedo Turkoglu and build the deepest Magic team of all time. And he's done it well.

As a Bulls fan, I'm jealous of this. Our ownership have always said that they'll pay for a 'winner,' but they've never done so, in spite of having profits bigger than Kirk Hinrich's Adam's Apple. Perpetually needing to make a big time deal for a front court star, the Bulls haven't been as gun shy about it as the press would have you believe, but the one time they were able to find the right deal (Pau Gasol), ownership vetoed it, not believing that Pau Gasol was worth paying the luxury tax for. As a result, we had to see out the 2006/07 season with P.J. Brown at power forward, and slumped back into the lottery the following season. Not cool.

We look up to you, therefore, as an example of how an NBA team's ownership really will step up and pay for a winner. The Magic did not pay for a winner when they weren't one, but now that they are, they are. (If that makes sense.) In contrast, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf occasionally speaks of the Bulls' willingness to pay tax for a Finals team, but because we've never had one, it's never happened. We have to strive to avoid it, in fact, and this meant a dump of Thabo Sefolosha for Taj Gibson at the deadline just to be under the tax threshold this season. With profits like ours, it need not have happened....but it did. Bad times.

Yet as flattering as our envy may be, this does not matter to Magic fans. All that matters to you is the fortunes of your own team. And those fortunes are born directly out of the renewed commitment to the team by ownership. If Rich DeVos had forgotten that he was his own first name and pansied out of the luxury tax this year, your future would look a lot different. There may not have been no Vince Carter deal, for example, and no retaining Gortat. There might not have been a Bass signing, either, and the luxury of having Matt Barnes as a fifth forward option just wouldn't have been possible. With the luxury tax set at $69.72 million this upcoming season, the Carter trade left the Magic with $68.96 million in committed 2009/10 salary with only 8 players under contract. Without the Carter deal, there wouldn't have been a whole lot more money to spend, with $64.32 million committed to only 9 players (three of which would be point guards, one of which would be Tony Battie).

Had it not been for this new-found willingness to pay the tax, you would probably have entered this season with a worse team than last year's. The money just would not have been there to keep together the previous team, let alone to build upon it. To improve upon the former team would have involved finding some real bargains, cutting salary in a market where most teams are trying to do the same, and reducing the Magic's short term financial commitments without affecting the on-court product too much. To get all of that done, it would taken some truly creative financing.

And as much as he likes to talk about it, Otis Smith isn't very good at that.

So buy a cap, place it on your head, and then doff it towards the Orlando Magic's ownership. When called upon, DeVos coughed up cheese that he didn't need to cough up, all for the good of the franchise. The Magic just enjoyed arguably their best season ever, and if they do it again - or go one better - then it's directly because they took the shackles off the payroll, and financed the fine personel moves.

Otis, you buy a cap too.

The Finite Trademarks of 2007-08

Greg Payne — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:00:53 -0000

The more I think back to the 2008-2009 season and compare it to the 2007-2008 season, the more I realize how much was actually different. Like most fans I assumed that after we won, we'd just keep on rolling and possibly put together something resembling a dynasty. This wasn't supposed to be a one and done situation like the Miami Heat back in 2006. Our winning days were supposed to last at least three years, if not longer.

I know Kevin Garnett was hurt last season. I know we lost James Posey and P.J. Brown. I know Leon Powe went down in the playoffs. We lost an awful lot of talent to injury and if by some divine miracle we had actually pulled out a second championship or even a Finals appearance, it would have probably gone down as one of those "dream" seasons where everything essentially had to fall into place for us at just the right time.

But besides the different players and the injuries, we drastically missed so many finite tendencies, traditions and trademarks last year that helped define us as champions back in 2007-08.

You see, our only championship in the past two decades wasn't defined solely by the players and the coaching strategies or the nightly matchups. Sure, they played a vital role, but here's my list of other trademarks that we coveted two seasons ago, but sorely missed last year:

The catchy team slogan: Sure, we tried to bring 'Ubuntu' back, but Tom Halzack said it best when he wrote back on September 8 when referring to last season: 'Ubuntu seemed so last year'. Despite us wanting to still believe in the African proverb that became the verbal trademark of the championship season, the slogan itself seemed reserved for the rarity of the 2007-08 team and once we lost James Posey and P.J. Brown, we simply weren't looking at the same team that made it a household name. Sometimes, something works one time around, but loses its luster shortly thereafter, like a Free Credit Report.com commercial or a Geico Caveman.

Alas, there is hope this season. There is opportunity. With Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels joining the squad and Kevin Garnett returning, the excitement is mounting as if it were 2007-08 all over again. Now is the perfect time to implement another slogan that we can all hang our hats on, particularly during our rough stretches. It doesn't have to be an African proverb or even have some deep meaning. It just has to be something catchy that brings everyone closer together and keeps them there.

The victory cigar: The now immortal Gino graced the video board whenever it became clear that the Celtics would be walking away with a win back in 2008. No matter how much time was left, the Garden went from respected basketball venue to certified dance party, with the Celtics players themselves leading the crowd. Shirts were made, jokes were told and sometimes it actually seemed as if wanting to see Gino one night served as some extra motivation for the team. But, like Ubuntu, Gino helped define 2007-08.

I suppose replacing trends like Ubuntu and Gino is really like replacing quality players. Sure, there will never be another Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen, but we hope to find players like them in the future. We want a slashing, clutch scorer like Pierce, a pure sniper in Allen and an enthusiastic defensive stopper similar to Garnett. Will we ever get the originals back? Unfortunately not. But that doesn't mean we can't find solace and excitement in the next wave of talent. The same can be said for team slogans and victory cigars.

Incredible team chemistry: Sure, last season's wasn't that bad at all. In fact, the chemistry last year was still so good it made some other franchises jealous. But it couldn't compare to what we saw back in 2007-08. Remember how we would go up by double digits at some point in the fourth quarter (and Gino would appear!), but rather than sit mutely on the bench, the veterans and All-Stars were up on their feet screaming support for the pine guys now gracing the parquet?

Between the high-fives, the chest bumps and the Posey man hugs, we were the closest knit group in the league. Maybe it had something to do with having training camp over in Rome (and KG buying all the rookies fresh suits). Maybe it was our steady collection of strong personalities. Maybe it was the fact that we were winning. Whatever the case may be, both the bench and the starters wanted each other to succeed in the greatest way possible and that ultimately made us the most cohesive team in the entire league.

A Posey-like intangibles guy: I feel like I've dropped Posey's name more than any other so far, which means I either really, really liked him or he was just that vital in 2007-08. I'm sure it's a little bit of both. But, as we all know, there's only one James Posey and, unless Danny Ainge works some magic that would leave Harry Potter jealous, he won't be here this season. However, Posey's diverse and versatile game helped make up for what was arguably a lack of talent in the second unit back in '08. (If you recall, before Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown showed up, our second unit was typically comprised of Posey, Eddie House, Glen Davis (a rookie at the time), Leon Powe and one of the starters.). Now that we arguably have a more talented group than we did in 2007-08, we might not need all of what Posey brought, but we'll need at least some of it. We need that guy who draws offensive fouls, dives into the stands even when it's clear the ball cannot be retrieved and salvages broken plays when the offense seems to be going nowhere.

Leon Powe played something along the lines of this role last season, especially when he stepped in to take a charge. Before him, it was Ryan Gomes. Slowly, but surely we've lost our intangible guys. With Posey it was the confidence, the grittiness on defense, the superior hustle, the timely plays and the championship aura that surrounded him. Pierce could realistically fill such a role, but a player shouldn't have to adapt his game to fill in here. Some players are born to play this way and I'm not entirely sure we have such a player right now.

A backup point guard: Clearly, success in the regular season depends on this position. Wait...hold on. Wasn't Eddie House, a shoot-first guard our backup point back in 2007-08 for over three quarters of the season? Meaning we didn't actually have a true backup until Sam Cassell joined the ranks on March 4, 2008? And isn't House technically our backup to Rajon Rondo right now? If you'll recall, the Celtics were 49-12 when Cassell played his first game as a Celtic. Not too shabby. What's more, with this season's bench being arguably more talented than that of two years ago, House backing up Rondo might even prove to be more effective this time around.

And if you lack confidence in House, perhaps Daniels, who apparently could kill two birds with one stone by backing up Pierce and handling the ball for the second unit, is your man.

Now, believe it or not, I actually want stability at the backup point guard spot and I would be in favor of signing a guy like Tyronn Lue (or another proven veteran). Beyond having a guy who can handle the ball, particularly when pressure is applied, it allows House to focus solely on shooting, which paid dividends last year when he set a Celtics single-season three-point shooting mark with a .444 clip. But if adding a wily vet isn't in the cards, we'll have to make due with the House/Daniels combo for now. However, the postseason is an entirely different beast and will require the aforementioned stability behind Rondo. Perhaps we'll pick someone up at the deadline, or wait for someone to clear waivers late in the regular season.

KG conducting the crowd: There's something truly compelling about watching your team's emotional leader literally reaching out to the crowd for support. When Garnett stuck up his arms he demanded the crowd's attention and it always responded. Not only did the noise threaten to take the roof off the building, but it directly propelled the team when it needed that one last defensive stop or clutch basket. What's more, KG was asking for that energy so he could hone it himself. Who else does that? Maybe a revitalized Garnett will mean more of this is on the way.

Above all, we need to bring the exciting, fun, compelling and simply different atmosphere of 2007-08 back again. That team was more than just a collection of basketball players. They were a great group of people we all loved rooting for and only once they were broken up did we realize how special it actually was. While it's incredibly difficult to replicate a season, we can at least try to bring back some of the heart and soul that made 2007-08 so special and most importantly, made it a championship season.

Daily Links 9/3

FLCeltsFan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:07:59 -0000

Herald     Siena standout remains with Miami Heat
Mikki Moore heads west
Tracked Down: Vanna White, Jennifer Garner, Paul Pierce & more...
Globe   Kedrick Brown among Red Claws' picks
NESN   Former Celtic Dee Brown to Coach in the D-League
Marquis Daniels Already Proven to Be a Team Player for Celtics
Enterprise    Ainge has rebuilt beast of the East

CelticsBlog    Regaining the Gold
Over/Under 57 Wins
LOY's Place    In the Books - Second Wind: Memoirs of an Opinionated Man Part 6
Tigers and Sugar Ray and Tweets, Oh My!
Celtics Town    Seven Pressing Questions for the Boston Celtics Entering 2009-2010
Looking Back At P.J. Brown
Commercial Appeal   Tree Rollins assisting Griz, more Rudy, etc...
RealGM Arroyo Wishes He Handled Things With Sloan Differently
20 Second Timeout    Lindy's Pro Basketball 2009-10 Examines Shaq-LeBron Duo, Nash's Legacy, Tex Winter's Influence on Phil Jackson
Washington Post    You Asked, I'll Answer (Part III)
ESPN     NBA Summer Forecast: East standings
Red's Army     It's Laker-hating time on The Two Man Game
2006-07 Celtics Were Bad, But Not The Worst
The new Converse Weapon
Celtics Hub      A Word on the Grand Marquis’ PG Abilities
Lex Nihil Novi     Typical Cowens
Walton: "Celtic Pride is the Sweat and Blood You Leave on the Floor and ...Walton: "Celtic Pride is the Sweat and Blood You Leave on the Floor and ...
Hondo: "There's Never Been a Celtic Who Wanted to Win More than Cowens"
Red: The Last Interview
My Second Favorite Player Ever
Bob Cousy at Holy Cross
Green Nation What Eddie House Brings
HoopsHype     NBA Rumors September 3
Pacers Pulse    Marquis Daniels signs with Celtics
NBA Obsessed     Boston Celtics sign Daniels
T. Jose Caldesports     Bosh vs Garnett - A Player Comparison
Dimemag     Random Question of the Day
5 power forwards to watch for 2009-10
The Philippines Is The NBA’s Next Frontier
Smith Television    The Story of Rajon Rondo
Golden State of Mind     Around the Association: 2009-2010 Boston Celtics- Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Dueling Couches    Marquis Daniels Injury Update
Press Herald     Red Claws seeking a grasp on their roster at draft
WMTW     Red Claws Select 10 In Expansion Draft -
Hoop Doctors    Happy 61st Birthday Nate "Tiny" Archibald
Hoopsvibe    If Cleveland wins the chip this season..

A Look at the Orlando Magic's Last-String Power Forward/Center Options

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:11 -0000

More photos » by George Frey - AP

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Not so long ago, I took a look at potential free-agent point guards whom the Orlando Magic could sign to fill out their bench. Team GM Otis Smith has made it clear that point guard is his highest priority; he's also made it clear that he'd also like to add another big man to the roster. With no movement on the point guard front--except the rumor that Smith is still pursuing restricted free agent C.J. Watson via a sign-and-trade with Golden State--it's high time we look at potential power forwards and centers Orlando could probably sign on the cheap.

The operative word is "cheap." As we've noted previously, the Magic are over the salary cap and have used both the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, meaning they can only sign players to minimum contracts. NBA experience determines the specific finances of said deals, about which you can read here.

Unfortunately for the Magic, the best minimum-salary bigs have already signed. Joe Smith spurned the Cleveland Cavaliers to latch on with the Atlanta Hawks, while Rasho Nesterovic has re-upped with the Toronto Raptors after a one-year detour with the Indiana Pacers and, in arguably the best signing of the summer, the Cavs landed the productive-but-injury-hobbled power forward Leon Powe. Thus, there are few standouts on this list. Bear in mind that whomever Orlando chooses will be last on the depth chart, behind two All-Stars (Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis), two youngsters combining to earn nearly $10 million this season (Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass), and the second-year player whom the team views as a long-term building block (Ryan Anderson). In short, the Magic's mystery signee will hardly play, so he need not be exceptional.

After the jump, brief breakdowns of no fewer than 17 free-agent power forwards and centers who are still on the market.

And, as with the point guard piece, I've excluded D-Leaguers, because Smith has never made a D-League call-up in his tenure as Orlando's GM.

Calvin Booth:

The Good: Booth has parlayed his exceptional shot-blocking skills into a 10-year career in which he's earned nearly $36 million. He still has the touch, averaging a block per every 13 minutes played over his last two seasons, which he's split between Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Sacramento. And he'd undoubtedly accept a minimum contract.
The Bad: Just about everything else. He's not much of a scorer or rebounder, and one wonders if he'll even sign in the NBA this year as teams plan to carry fewer players due to the weak economy.
The Verdict: In spite of everything, he's hardly the worst name on this list, which should keep him in the conversation.

SB Nation - P.J. Brown

Guest Post: ShamSports on Otis Smith, the Orlando Magic, and "Creative Financing"

The Finite Trademarks of 2007-08

Daily Links 9/3

A Look at the Orlando Magic's Last-String Power Forward/Center Options

Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks: The Rivalry part 2

The Four Best Words in Sacramento

The Morning After: Air Canada Lands In Orlando

Is it the 'Big-3' or not? Media building excuses for Celtics

Orlando Magic News for March 16th: Experts Examine the Magic's Bench and Backcourt

Boston Celtics 2009 Season Preview