Fear factor

Luxury tax worries may have been a bit premature

Remember all the consternation this summer over the upcoming luxury tax?

Fearful of having to pay a dollar-for-dollar tax if its team payroll exceeded a certain threshold, many NBA clubs chose to stand pat rather than bid on free agents. Even contenders like the Heat, Suns, Celtics, Bucks and Lakers passed up deals to improve their roster out of luxury tax fears.

Now it turns out, according to several league sources, there probably won't be a luxury tax this season after all. Because of some surprising attendance boosts (thank you, Michael Jordan), the NBA will likely take in more revenue than it expected. As a result, the players' aggregate share of salaries probably won't exceed 61.1 percent of defined league revenue, the threshold required to trigger the luxury tax.

"Call it the Michael Jordan Effect," one GM said. "Right now it looks like nobody is going to have to pay it."

Just because the luxury tax probably won't come into play this season, however, doesn't mean we'll see more trades and free agent signings in the summer of 2002. With several big-ticket contracts set to kick in next season (Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Paul Pierce, et al.) and other big-name players already having built-in raises at 10 percent or higher, it is all but certain that the luxury tax will kick in next year.

Cassell hoping to get rich along with Bucks

Bucks guard Sam Cassell, who recently signed a three-year, $17 million contract extension, has plenty of incentive to help his slumping team get back on the winning track. According to sources, Cassell has a bonus clause in his contract that says if he plays in 41 Bucks victories, he can make as much as $250,000. He has a separate clause for a 2.6 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio that's worth about $500,000.

Cassell's agent, Charles Tucker, said such incentive clauses were the reason it took so long to get his client's extension signed. The NBA had to determine whether the bonuses should be included as part of Cassell's base salary when it came time to compute the 12.5 percent maximum raises allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. "The important thing is that Sam's incentives are team-oriented, not individual-oriented," Tucker says. "If he helps them win games, then he gets rewarded."

Cavs' Lucas breaking down gender barrier

Cavs coach John Lucas has invited Lisa Boyer, an assistant with the WNBA's Cleveland Rockers, to help out at practices this season and be part of his coaching staff during home games. Boyer, a 19-year veteran, doesn't travel with the team or sit on the bench during games (league rules limit the number of assistants on the bench). But she attends staff meetings, works with players on individual drills and charts plays along with Cavs assistant Chuck Person from a seat just behind the bench during games.

Lucas met Boyer during training camp when she came out to monitor his practices, and soon after invited her to help out as an unpaid assistant. Lucas has long believed that a female presence could be beneficial to NBA teams. With so many young players coming from households with strong mother figures, he once told me, they just might be more willing to listen to a female voice.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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