| Could Turkoglu Be Taxed Out Of Orlando? Authored by Howard Mass - December 29, 2008 - 1:40 am
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However, new head coach Stan Van Gundy decided he wanted to go with a smaller lineup after Tony Battie went down for the season. The move paid off and Hedo Turkoglu had a career year in which he just missed getting voted on the Eastern Conference All-Star team by the coaches. Turkoglu was even considered by some to be the team’s MVP over All-Star center Dwight Howard.
One year later after a career year, The Magic are 24-6 and Turkoglu is putting up slightly lower numbers and entering the final season of his contract as he will most likely opt out of the final year of his deal at season’s end.
Unfortunately, Turkoglu re-signing is not a done deal by any means.
As everyone knows and I mentioned in my last piece a few months ago, keeping Hedo Turkoglu will not be easy due to the NBA’s Luxury Tax.
For the 2009-2010 Season, the Magic have nine players under contract.
Under Contract
Dwight Howard
Rashard Lewis
Jameer Nelson
Tony Battie
Mickael Pietrus
Courtney Lee
J.J. Redick
Brian Cook (Player Option)
Anthony Johnson (Player Option)
Total: Around $62 million
Free Agents
Hedo Turkoglu
Marcin Gortat
Keith Bogans
Adonal Foyle
Jeremy Richardson
Mike Wilks
The projected Luxury Tax Threshold for the 2009-2010 Season is around $74 million but that could change. However, assuming we use that number, that is about a $12 million gap to sign Turkoglu and five other players. The Magic have made it clear they do not want to exceed this threshold because they already lose money and do not want to have further losses by going over the threshold.
This gap could mean the Magic will look to move J.J. Redick and is near $3 million salary in 2009-2010 for an expiring deal around The NBA’s Trading Deadline. While Redick could be a good player in the right situation, it is obviously not going to happen here with 3 guards Mickael Pietrus, Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee ahead of him.
It is also possible they could try and move Brian Cook and his $3.5 million contract for 2009-2010. The year is actually a player option for Cook but it is highly unlikely he would opt out. Do not be surprised if The Magic package a future first-round pick to dump Redick or Cook’s contract in a potential deal.
The key here though is the guys the Magic are paying over the minimum, need to be playing and if they are not, they simply become contracts that inch the Magic closer to that Luxury Tax.
Some observers assume Turkoglu will get a deal for about five years and $50 million. Let’s say that is the deal and he gets $10 million a season straight through the contract, He would be making $8 million less than Rashard Lewis next season.
I am not saying Hedo Turkoglu is going to base his decision on that. However, this is what broke up Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota many years ago. Now, Dwight Howard is obviously the KG on this team but it is worth considering that factor.
Another obstacle in the equation is those European teams who are now going after NBA talent. Their big score this summer was Josh Childress. They will definitely want to make a bigger one next summer. Could Turkoglu and his agent start a bidding war using them as leverage? It is possible.
Another option is moving Turkoglu at the NBA Trading Deadline but given the great season this team is having, that option is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Turkoglu will be 30 years old in March and this is going to be his last big contract. The Magic can manage the luxury tax and the oversized deal of Rashard Lewis after the end of next season by getting Brian Cook off the books and perhaps bringing back Tony Battie at a cheaper rate. They are going to have to be careful here as well because they can easily get tightened up against this tax which cost this team Keyon Dooling this summer.
The Luxury Tax is something The Magic are going to have to deal with all of the long-term deals they have in place. It is critical that they find a way to move some salary so they can keep Hedo Turkoglu and afford to fill out their remaining roster spots with minimum salary players next season.
FS Florida Nightmare Starts Again?
We are less then a week away from the first 2009 FS Florida game January 2nd against Miami and there is still no deal between Bright House Networks of Central Florida and FS Florida. Bright House customers did not have much to worry about during the first two months of the season. The announcement that 27 of the first 32 games would be available on Sun Sports, ESPN or TNT gave us all a little bit of breathing room not only in the sense that all of us were able to see most of the early games but the fact the Magic are really involved this time by getting the schedule frontloaded on Sun Sports..
The hope was the extra two months would give the two sides more time to get a deal done. Unfortunately, this dispute which has gone on for nearly 20 years when FS Florida was Sports Channel, might continue into January causing Bright House Orlando customers to really have a fit during the January-March swing where Magic fans could miss up to 26 games.
The worst stretch will be a month long stretch from February 11 until March 13 barring an ESPN, ABC or TNT pickup. During this stretch, Magic fans who do not have FS Florida will only get to see 3 of 15 games. That to me is a nightmare in what has been a very good season so far.
If you look at the TV schedule, there are other bad stretches but not one as bad as that one.
The Magic clearly have added some fuel to the fire with their 24-6 start. However, all is quiet now and none of my sources or people I have asked has heard anything.
If no deal is reached, cable customers who do not have FS Florida will be in for a rough couple of months.
This is not something ANY fan should have to go through and a deal needs to get done real soon. The Magic owe it to all of us with systems that do not have FS Florida or have a deal that does not include those 35 Magic games. \It was a pain to miss those 5 games on FS Florida over the first two months and come the end of the week, we all deserve better than to have to think about if we are going to be able to watch the next game on TV. Let’s all hope that some deal will be reached before myself and many of you lose their sanity.
If you have any questions or comments about this article, please send Howard an e-mail -- Howard.Mass@RealGM.com. |
