Going down? NBA salary cap appears to be

Also: Boozer's boast, Przybilla's game, Pritchard's strategy, and more ...

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Dec 24, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

The Trail Blazers are thriving, thanks in part to the hustle and skill of Brandon Roy ... and Shaquille O'Neal of Phoenix has made big money in the NBA, but other players might find their pot of gold less full as the league begins to feel the effects of the world's economic downturn.

L.E. BASKOW / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

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With an average player salary of more than $4 million and some of the richest owners in pro sports, it may seem that the NBA is immune to the downturn in economy.

That’s not the case. In fact, for the first time in history, the salary cap and luxury-tax threshold could go down next season.

The “soft” salary cap — the maximum a team can spend not including exceptions — is $58.68 million this season. The luxury-tax threshold — over which a team must pay a dollar-for-dollar tax to the league — is $71.15 million.

The figures are derived from a percentage of the league’s basketball-related income — revenue produced through game tickets, luxury suites, television rights, parking, concessions, merchandising, etc. The collective-bargaining agreement stipulates the players’ salary cap is 51 percent of BRI; the luxury tax is set at 61 percent.

Sometime before the 2008-09 season, the cap and tax figures will be set based off revenue from this season and projections for next season. An early guess would be that the cap figure might be in the $57 million range, with the tax at about $70 million.

The immediate ramifications are that teams positioning themselves for a run at free agency next summer — including Portland — will have less room with which to work. If the trend continues for more than one year, the problems for each team multiply.

The summer of 2010 is when many major stars are supposed to go on the market, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire. They may get their maximum dollars, but players in the next echelon of free agency might have more trouble getting the kind of money they’re seeking.

The economy is affecting teams at the gate. One source says in Charlotte the turnstile count was 4,003 for a recent game against Minnesota (the announced crowd was 9,285). The Bobcats averaged 14,717 last season and are at 13,443 this year.

Memphis (12,038) and Sacramento (12,185) have the lowest average announced home attendance figures this season. Indiana, the L.A. Clippers, Minnesota and Philadelphia are all under 15,000. Average announced attendance for all teams is 17,036, down from 17,391 last season.

Meanwhile, Portland is on an announced sellout streak of 38 games dating to last season. The Blazers’ home average is 20,516, third in the league behind Detroit and Chicago.

• A little bulletin-board material for the Blazers, courtesy of Utah forward Carlos Boozer, commenting on a three-team race for the Northwest Division championship that includes Denver: “I think we’ll be battling (the Blazers and Nuggets) throughout the season. But when we do get healthy and we’re at full strength, I think we’ll run away with it.”

• After an off year last season, Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace is in the thick of the hunt for his seventh career technicals title. “Mr. T” has eight in his first 23 games this season, trailing only Boston’s Kendrick Perkins, who has nine.

• In the last two games, Blazer center Joel Przybilla has made 5 of 9 shots from the field — and seen his field-goal percentage plummet from .825 to .787.

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