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Messing with success Sixers' trade leaves fans scratching their heads
Updated: Monday September 10, 2001 10:53 PM
Why are the Sixers messing with success? That's what everybody seems to want to know, based on the latest batch of mail. Philadelphia's decision to trade power forward Tyrone Hill and promising forward Jumaine Jones to the Cavaliers for Matt Harpring, Cedric Henderson and Robert Traylor has left a lot of fans scratching their heads. Andrew Strasser of San Diego points out the solid contributions of Hill and Jones to the Sixers' Finals run last season and writes that he's "stumped" by head coach/VP Larry Brown's latest moves. Randall Meyer of Galveston, Texas, notes that Hill and Jones were prime examples of the type of "tireless, selfless players that allowed the Sixers to be successful." Sam Dada of Philadelphia asks if Brown might be trying to clear space next season for a run at Blazers power forward -- and Philly native -- Rasheed Wallace. While it's true that Harpring, Henderson and Traylor are each in the final year of their contracts, the Sixers didn't make this move to clear cap space for next summer. They did it because they felt they needed an outside shooter, especially with the advent of zone defenses next season, and Harpring is the kind of hard-nosed kid Brown loves. Hill, meanwhile, wanted a contract extension, and the Sixers felt he wasn't worth it -- especially since they have Dikembe Mutombo as a low-post threat. The Sixers are definitely taking a risk, as they now have a gaping hole at power forward. But Brown is a chronic tinkerer by nature, as he proved last season when he traded Theo Ratliff. We all know how that move worked out. Now onto the rest of the 'bag: Is there anything to this rumored deal that would send Penny Hardaway and Tom Gugliotta to Memphis for Michael Dickerson, "Big Country" Reeves and Stromile Swift? It sounds like a Suns steal to me and would fit nicely into the salary cap structure. I think Memphis might consider it because they need to get an identity and Hardaway is a local product. Will it happen? -- Dan Beeson, Prescott Valley, Ariz. It's no secret the Suns are in a retooling mode and would be interested in getting out from under the big contracts of Hardaway and Gugliotta. They did talk to the Grizzlies about taking Penny, a Memphis native, and would love to get Dickerson, a former University of Arizona star. However, the Suns don't want to take on Reeves' monster contract and the Grizzlies don't want to give up on Swift. Also, the lure of Hardaway as a local attraction might be a bit overblown. After all, the novelty of a new NBA team will fill seats in Memphis for the next few seasons. Look for the two clubs to continue to talk, but nothing will get done until Grizzlies management is convinced Hardaway is fully healthy. I am constantly hearing that the NBA owners don't want to pay the luxury tax. My question is, where does the luxury tax money go to if an owner has to pay it? Doesn't the money go back into the league anyway? -- Brandon Smith, Cincinnati Yes, but the league has decided that any team that goes over the luxury tax threshold won't be eligible to get any back. Thus, teams like Portland, New York and Dallas are going to be doubly impacted. As part of the collective bargaining agreement, the NBA had the discretion to decide what to do with the money collected. Not surprisingly, the league has decided to punish violators severely. It is one more reason so many teams have been unwilling to exceed the threshold. The luxury tax level that most owners don't want to go over appears to be around $55 million. How is that figure calculated? I vaguely remember that if the players' salaries exceed 55 percent of the league's BRI (basketball-related income), then the luxury tax kicks in. Is this right? But how is the figure calculated in the end? -- Ryan, Melbourne, Australia Technically, the luxury tax does not kick in simply because players' salaries exceed 55 percent of the league's BRI. It kicks in if the amount by which total salaries and benefits exceed 55 percent of BRI is more than 10 percent of total players' salaries. As for the luxury tax threshold, it is computed at 61.1 percent of BRI on a per-team basis. Therefore, if league BRI was around $2.6 billion, we would multiply it by 61.1 percent to come up with a base figure of $1.59 billion. Since the tax is on a per-team basis, we would divide the base figure by 29 (the number of teams) to arrive at $54.8 million per team. That's roughly what the experts are estimating will be the luxury tax threshold for this season. Are the Wizards compensating the Bulls if Michael Jordan comes out of retirement? -- Tony Gallardo, Toronto They don't have to compensate the Bulls because Jordan is a free agent. He had a one-year contract during his final season, 1997-98, in Chicago. You may recall that Bulls management originally was going to break up the team after its fifth championship in June 1997. Jordan had to practically beg the two Jerrys to keep the team together for one more run. As part of their agreement, he accepted a one-year, $30 million-plus deal. He then went out and delivered the sixth championship. Jordan might have stuck around for a try at a seventh, but the Bulls apparently weren't interested in paying both him and Scottie Pippen fair market value. So Jordan retired and the dynasty expired.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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