Quixotic wrote:
Matt52 is right; JoePanini is wrong; JabberWocky is on the right track but with incorrect reasoning. $2.3 mil of the $14.5 mil Bosh TPE was used to absorb Bayless not because he couldn't be traded as part of a package, but because one or both teams didn't want to add another contract to the deal. For instance, David Andersen could have been traded straight-up for Bayless without affecting our Bosh TPE, but then we'd have to add another David Andersen or larger salary to take on Stojakovic (e.g. Evans).
@Apollo: "If the Raptors are acquiring Peja it can only be for one reason, cutting cap."
Only one reason? Really? Why limit yourself? The $14.5 mil TPE meant the max possible salary we could absorb outright was $14.5 mil. Whether Bayless was the reason or the bonus for the trade, acquiring Stojakovic's salary gives us a different kind of flexibility, albeit with a more immediate deadline.
At the slight risk of losing out on a $12.3-$14.5 mil player because his team wants immediate cap/tax relief, we can now more easily obtain a player whose salary is in the $14.5-~$19 mil range. A completely expiring offer of Evans+Banks+Andersen would only net us a player on the lower end of that range, and Evans+Banks+Jack would require the receiving team to take on a non-expiring contract. And don't forget, you can't accept a 1 for 3 trade and then waive Evans and Banks to make the 15 player roster limit; the receiving team would have to first shave down to 13 players, or barring that, find a 3rd team willing to take on the additional bodies. Not difficult perhaps, but yet another obstacle to getting a deal done.
Why limit ourselves to a single albatross deal? We could even trade Stojakovic (and filler if necessary) to take on two deals each worth about $10 mil, while using the $12.2 mil TPE to take on yet more salary, without needing to convince anyone to take on a long-term contract like Calderon's, while perhaps receiving first round picks or prospects to help teams dump salary. Golden State goes on a 20 game losing streak? Perhaps they'd be interested in a fire sale, taking on the expirings of Stojakvoic and Evans for Ellis and Biedrins. Yes, maybe a bit unreasonable, but it's two players I keep seeing Raptors fans drool over, and if it takes Miami's 1st rounder to make it work, so be it (tongue in cheek)!
Either way, it's an improvement in terms of what the Raptors can offer in trade (without dealing the likes of DeRozan, Weems, Johnson, Davis and now Bayless). Now, we just need a couple teams with potentially undesirable contracts to have bad seasons.
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