The 2010 NBA Salary Cap Could Go Down, Making the LeBron James Sweepstakes More Interesting
It's been assumed that the New York Knicks have been clearing cap space for a run at two of the three prized 2010 free agents — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh. But, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, with the NBA salary cap potentially getting reduced, there's a team in an even better position than the Knicks to make a big free agent signing or two:
With his estimated net worth of $9.5 billion and more room than anyone else no matter where the cap winds up, Russia's Mikhail Prokhorov is all set to make a huge splash in his first summer as an NBA owner … barring his unlikely failure to be approved by the league. Throw in the two quality building blocks (Devin Harris and Brook Lopez) New Jersey already has, Jay-Z's presence as a minority owner and the increasing likelihood that the Nets' move to Brooklyn will actually (finally) happen in a couple of years and you can understand why the Nets have been restored to the short list of teams that have Cleveland legitimately freaked about the possibility of stealing away LeBron James.
The Knicks, with a reduced cap, would have just over $19 million to spend while New Jersey would have $21 million. As Stein points out, the Nets have Harris and Lopez, but also young Terrance Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts, which is a slightly more intriguing core than the Eddy Curry/Jared Jeffries/Jordan Hill/Danilo Gallinari combo the Knicks could offer.
Follow Technorati