http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/19/report-lebron-james-annoyed-with-micky-arison-not-ready-to-commit-to-heat/

- They amnestied Mike Miller.
- Instead of using a draft pick to upgrade their roster, they used it as a sweetener to unload Joel Anthony’s contract.
- They didn’t use the mid-level exception, their primary tool for adding another rotation-caliber player.


Go somewhere else. Or even better, stay another year as they continue to spiral downward.

Those were some penny smart and dollar foolish decisions. When you have a championship level team and a star like Lebron you use everything you can to keep it together. Saving a few million if it costs you in the end losing Lebron is beyond a disaster.

And Miami lost their 2013 First Rounder by trading for LeBron. So that wasn't it. Miami traded their 2015 and 2016 first rounders with Joel Anthony to get Toney Douglas.

Joel Anthony 3.8mm - toney douglas 1.6 = 2.2mm
3.09mm for tax exception
1.7mm for bi-annual exception

81.530
+2.2 - difference between Anthony and Douglas
+ 3.09 for MLE
+ 1.7 for bi-annual
71.748 the luxury tax threshold
= 16.772 over the tax threshold

7mm more could have been spent on three different players. And Joel Anthony might have helped more than Toney Douglas against the Spurs.

First $5mm = 2.50 tax
5-10mm = 2.75 tax
10-15mm = 3.5 tax
15-20 = 4.25 tax

12.5mm tax for first 5mm.
13.75mm tax for next 5mm
17.5mm for next 5mm
7.531 for last 1.772mm in salary.

So by not paying that 7mm in salary, the Heat owners saved about $25mm plus the actual 7mm in contracts. So that $7mm in contracts would have cost them $32mm. Joel Anthony, a MLE and a bi-annual player would have cost the heat more than Kobe made.

Oops, forgot Mike Miller. Not going to redo all that. He was going to make $6.2mm. That would have put them 22.97 over the luxury tax threshold.

12.5mm tax for first 5mm.
13.75mm tax for next 5mm
17.5mm for next 5mm
21.25mm for next 5mm
14.12mm for next 2.97mm

Total tax bill of 79.12mm and 94.97mm in player salaries. $173mm would have been a hell of a lot to pay for that team. Spurs paid $63mm and change.

By not paying all those guys (Anthony, MLE, Bi-Ann and Miller) they saved 75.84mm minus the 6.2mm they had to pay Miller anyway. So those four players for almost $70mm.

Inb4 He Gone.

I think he stays, but if Wade and Bosh won't restructure it would be a dumb decision to stay (and I think it would be a dumb decision for Wade and Bosh to turn down $45 million a piece over the next 2 years too).

You tried it out, it worked for a while, but surrounding 3 big contracts with a bunch of old guys isn't a long term solution for a guy that only has 3, 4 maybe 5 more years left in his prime (especially when one of those 3 big contracts is getting old faster than the others). I think LeBron is going to be a good older player once his prime has past. I think he can find a younger team that is a better scheme fit than it was in Miami where it might work out for the next 10 years, he left a sinking ship once, might as well do it again.

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especially when one of those 3 big contracts turned 46 during the finals

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Fixed.

Part of the reason with Miller was because they couldn't count on him to be healthy, which i get, but here is the complete list of players from the Southwest Division to play 82 games this past regular season.


Monta Ellis
Mike Miller

That's pretty funny, Iowa.

I definitely see the owner's point if it is going to cost you $70mm to have a $3mm contract, 1.6mm contract, Mike Miller [who had not played over 60 games in 4 years and hadn't averaged over 11ppg in 5 years] and having Joel Anthony over Toney Douglas.

That's a lot of money for guys that are likely going to make up your 8-12 slots.

That said, in this case, the luxury tax did exactly what it was supposed to do. It was supposed to penalize teams for building like this and it did a good job of it. So they got a couple titles out of it. But unless you are LA or NY, you probably aren't building a team like that again.

like anthony and miller wouldve pushed them past the spurs...

That's not really the point.

It is the fact that the owner wasn't willing to pay to keep those guys there, so why should Any of them, especially LeBron, take a significant cut in pay.

Remember that their owner is worth like $7 billion.

The Spurs must have really messed him up.

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The Spurs must have really messed him up.

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This had nothing to do with the spurs but thanks for bringing them into the conversation. That is what this whole board has turned into.

Spurs OWN the league. Playing basketball at a higher level in relation to the rest of the league than ever seen before. Therefore, they come into the conversation, and not forcefully so.

Spurs are relevant to the conversation considering they exposed the flaws within the Miami system less than a week ago.

I hate the Spurs, but the Spurs are the whole reason LeBron is having this issue. It's not like they lost the championship on a 3-pointer from half court in Game 7. The Spurs systematically destroyed Miami and the rest of the league knows that Dwyane Wade's legs are giving out, Ray Allen officially has a case of the olds and Chris Bosh is Chris Bosh, just a little bit older and softer.

LeBron now is faced with becoming a free agent, which is totally within his rights, and worry about the tarnish it places on his legacy, not to mention finding a place where he can win a title, or sticking it out in Miami with an owner who he's not sure has any brilliant plans to surround him with pieces necessary to return to the Finals for more titles.

If Lebron honestly wanted to win 7 or more championships and reach his potential he would go to San Antonio.

He would be coached hard, but he would be a star in that system and be praised for his unselfishness.

The Spurs could offload Parker (12.5m), Bonner (4 m) and use the salary cap increase (5m) and pay Lebron more than he is making in Miami.

Slide Mills over to starting PG.

Or have Tony and Tim each take a two million pay cut (4 million), offload bonner (4m), joseph (2m) Belenelli (2.8m), use the salary cap increase (5m) and offer him the same salary the heat can.

If Lebron is all about winning a championship and willing to keep the same salary to do it then San Antonio should be his destination.

What the Spurs would have to do to get Lebron is much more manageable than what the rockets or most other teams would have to do.

If Lebron wanted to play with the Spurs, I'm not sure the Spurs would necessarily want him back. At least, not this next year.

I know it's a different era, but I can't imagine MJ considering team hopping like this to win championships. That goes for all the other greats.

And even though Lebron plays a fairly unselfish style, I don't think he'd like being out of the limelight in SA. He wants everything: rings, money, fame, etc. It's not enough to be on a winning team IMO.

This thread got ****ty real quick.

More like the spurs finally watched the 2011 NBA finals and saw how to beat the heat: team basketball.

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If Lebron wanted to play with the Spurs, I'm not sure the Spurs would necessarily want him back. At least, not this next year.

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GTFO

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I know it's a different era, but I can't imagine MJ considering team hopping like this to win championships. That goes for all the other greats.

And even though Lebron plays a fairly unselfish style, I don't think he'd like being out of the limelight in SA. He wants everything: rings, money, fame, etc. It's not enough to be on a winning team IMO.

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To be fair, Jordan didn't have Cleveland's front office to deal with. Then the Heat go and destroy their own cap space with the big 3's contacts and now he is where he is.

I don't fault James for leaving Cleveland at all. He was the best basketball player by a comfortable margin, he was insane in the playoffs, but the team around him was garbage and he was getting raked over the coals for not winning anything after 7 years. The front office tried to build a team but completely failed.

So, he goes to Miami. Everything is great for a while, but now he's back in the same boat where he is easily the best player in the league, he plays out of his mind in the Finals, but the team around him is garbage. The cap situation is wrecked with two former stars taking up 2/3 of the salary cap, they have no draft picks, and he's too good for them to get high picks if they did. So, should he move on? He's going to get lambasted for it if he does, but it's hard to imagine Miami turning it around in time to contend again in Lebron's prime.

If I were him, I would probably try to go somewhere with a couple promising young players, maybe a high pick, and a reasonable payroll. Cleveland (if their loony tunes owner would take him back) or Atlanta with Horford, Teague, Korver, and Coach Bud from the Spurs would both be nice options. I'm sure there are others, but those are the two that come to mind.

I would definitely not try to unite with Carmelo or anyone on that level. For one, it kills your ability to field a well-rounded team, and for another he would just strengthen the perception of needing superstar help to win.

Atlanta would have to be one of his best options outside of staying with the Heat (Horford, Teague, Milsap, Korver), but I don't know if he'd go there.