2012 Finals !!

[Rich]

And what about the record Durant's first two years, and how it compares with LeBron's near-playoff makes his first two years?
My point is that since Wade+LeBron+Bosh+a much better supporting cast than you could get with them on the books than anywhere else is, at best, just barely a championship team, I'm not convinced Love+Rose+Durant+a probably much weaker supporting cast (since they'd have to pay more for the same talent outside of MIA/LAL) would win a ring.

It goes with my hypothesis that it seems like even if the "very good" players will stick with their teams, the "championship" players will superteam.

Well, considering both teams sucked, I think you can chalk most of that up to the West being better.

Either way, the hypo of Rose, Durant, and Love is pretty damn close. Rose and Durant are both better than Wade, and Love, to me, is at least even up with Bosh.

 

[jay_em]

You over-estimate the value of Kaman. But again, why would he choose Miami over OKC? And I think it especially holds true for a guy like Kaman, who isn't some old vet with a year or two left. That's a guy who will be looking for a real team to stay on for a while.

As for Terry, if he's willing to take whatever exception the Heat give him, dunno why he owuldn't take it if Dallas offerred the same thing to him.

Terry is on the record mentioning the possibility of him going to Miami and Kaman would be the starting center on Miami and a backup for OKC. So starting for a championship contending team would be one of the reasons you're searching for.

EDIT: And might I add the theory for a bunch of these guys taking less money to play for the Heat is to "ring chase." Problem with that is a shitload of these dudes listed have won a ring already, particularly the good players.

The good ones have also earned a boatload of money. 1 Championship is fine, but 2 is better and 3 is better than that etc... So the question is what are they playing for money or championships. The ones playing for money obviously wont consider the Heat, but those looking for another or their first championship will likely consider the Heat.

 

[Zog]

Also, I'm not quite sure why those guys would go play with Miami. Why not go play with OKC instead? THey have the same exceptions and vet minimum's to offer that the Heat do.

South Beach vs. Oklahoma City would be a good reason to play for Miami rather than the Thunder. Florida has no state tax, either.

 

[6.19.2016]

Well, considering both teams sucked, I think you can chalk most of that up to the West being better.

Either way, the hypo of Rose, Durant, and Love is pretty damn close. Rose and Durant are both better than Wade, and Love, to me, is at least even up with Bosh.

35 and 42 are so much bigger than 20 and 23 that I'll have to agree to disagree (and the interconference records for each team most of those years indicates the gap wouldn't be much closer if it weren't for the conferences.) I'd argue that the records show with decent certainty how much better LeBron was than Durant early in their careers, just as Bosh's record leading a team by himself vs. Love's shows with decent certainty the same.

Wade/Rose is a bit closer, but last year's playoff series between the two, along with the likelihood that Rose will never be the same player again, don't make the case that Rose is that much better than Wade.

 

[jay_em]

....show how much better LeBron was than Durant early in their careers.

I cant believe that this is even a question.

 

[AngryCavFan]

You over-estimate the value of Kaman. But again, why would he choose Miami over OKC? And I think it especially holds true for a guy like Kaman, who isn't some old vet with a year or two left. That's a guy who will be looking for a real team to stay on for a while.

As for Terry, if he's willing to take whatever exception the Heat give him, dunno why he owuldn't take it if Dallas offerred the same thing to him.

EDIT: And might I add the theory for a bunch of these guys taking less money to play for the Heat is to "ring chase." Problem with that is a shitload of these dudes listed have won a ring already, particularly the good players.

It's just a better market than OKC and a place like Miami with it's beaches/night life/etc is more appealing to most players. And if Miami wins this year, then it's pretty much going to solidify their justifications for going to Miami instead of OKC.

 

[Walter White]

They have the taxpayer MLE... which is about 3 million first year salary.

The non-taxpayer MLE is 5 million.

They had it last year though. If you use it, doesnt it skip a year.

 

[Adam]

They had it last year though. If you use it, doesnt it skip a year.

thats the smaller bi-anual exception i think (judging by its name) not sur eif it even exists in the new CBA

 

[caf]

thats the smaller bi-anual exception i think (judging by its name) not sur eif it even exists in the new CBA

You are correct. And yes the bi-anual exception still exists. However, the Heat would not be able to use it as they are above the "apron". The apron is 4 million above the tax line, and is determined after any of the exceptions are put in the books. So if you are below the apron before the exception... but using the exception puts you over the apron, then that exception is not valid. You can use part of the exception as long as you end up below the apron.

But as I understand it, the only exception of decent size that can be used above the apron is the Taxpayer MLE... Therefore since the Heat are already over the apron, they can only use the Taxpayer MLE and minimum salaries.

 

[DonGilbert]

South Beach vs. Oklahoma City would be a good reason to play for Miami rather than the Thunder. Florida has no state tax, either.

This is an issue I feel needs to be brought up this off-season. Either every team gets an exception to this, or professional athletes in Florida have to pay taxes. That is just very unfair in my eyes.

 

[Rich]

Terry is on the record mentioning the possibility of him going to Miami and Kaman would be the starting center on Miami and a backup for OKC. So starting for a championship contending team would be one of the reasons you're searching for.

The good ones have also earned a boatload of money. 1 Championship is fine, but 2 is better and 3 is better than that etc... So the question is what are they playing for money or championships. The ones playing for money obviously wont consider the Heat, but those looking for another or their first championship will likely consider the Heat.

Why? I mean if we feel Kaman is worse than Perkins then Kaman certainly doesn't make anyone title locks.

 

[Rich]

South Beach vs. Oklahoma City would be a good reason to play for Miami rather than the Thunder. Florida has no state tax, either.

Man look at that list of players again. Now how many of those guys are going to choose a team based on the damn nightlife? I mean if they ARENT choosing a team based on money (hence why they would be going to Miami) they are then going to turn around and choose it based on the nightlife?

Yea, I'm going to pass up making 10 million a year for 3 million a year, but I'm not going to pass up playing in a city with good nightlife. Just doesn't make sense to me. If you are willing to give up money to chase a ring, it would seem to me that the only qualification you care about is which team has the best shot at winning a ring. And considering Wade's deterioration (and the aging West), I think it's hard to make the argument Miami will have a better shot at winning a title in the years to come over OKC.

Now, maybe a guy like Kaman who is still reasonably young will care more about the superficial things. But if that's the case, I'm positive he's going to care more about team X offerring him more than twice as much per year as MIami can offer him.

 

[Rich]

35 and 42 are so much bigger than 20 and 23 that I'll have to agree to disagree (and the interconference records for each team most of those years indicates the gap wouldn't be much closer if it weren't for the conferences.) I'd argue that the records show with decent certainty how much better LeBron was than Durant early in their careers, just as Bosh's record leading a team by himself vs. Love's shows with decent certainty the same.

Wade/Rose is a bit closer, but last year's playoff series between the two, along with the likelihood that Rose will never be the same player again, don't make the case that Rose is that much better than Wade.

I guess I'm struggling to understand the argument here. What exactly does LeBron being better his first two years as compared to Durant's first two years have anything to do with who they are today?

 

[Triumph36]

This is an issue I feel needs to be brought up this off-season. Either every team gets an exception to this,r professional athletes in Florida have to pay taxes. That is just very unfair in my eyes.

i dunno why you suddenly feel it needs to be brought up after all these years. not really sure why it's unfair, either.

also i might as well point out that athletes pay taxes based on the location of each game (it must be a pain in the ass to be an accountant for a pro athlete).

 

[jay_em]

Why? I mean if we feel Kaman is worse than Perkins then Kaman certainly doesn't make anyone title locks.

Who's better is not really the point and in my eyes they're about the same...Perk is better defensively and Kaman better offensively...so with that being the case OKC aqcuired Perk with the thought of him being they're final piece. Depending on the outcome of this series they'll have been right or pretty sure they're going to be right. So why would they swap out Perk for Kaman?

And all this talk of title locks is a bit unrealistic because you're improving one team, but not taking into account the moves other teams will make. Ultimately no one knows what the nba landscape will be next year so Kaman would shore up a huge hole Miami making them better because of it.