If you don't mind, so that I don't have to look it up, can you give us a brief run down of the $ for high draft picks under the new CBA?
And what with the structures of AJ's and Walter's contract, and dead money, and so forth.
Let's say you're the GM, how much money do we have tied up on those contracts (including KMart and Posey) and what can we do going forward?
Please also include the scenario where we may keep Jean and cut Posey (in the economic sense.)
I've never been any good with the business side.
It's all slotted now 76, and this was #1 overall pick Andrew Luck's contract per rotoworld:
7/19/2012: Signed a four-year, $22.1 million contract. The deal is fully guaranteed, including a $14.5 million signing bonus. 2012: $390,000, 2013: $1,394,909, 2014: $2,399,818, 2015: $3,404,727, 2016: Free Agent
This is Whitney Mercilus's contract per rotoworld:
6/13/2012: Signed a four-year, $7,634,088 contract. The deal contains $6.55 million guaranteed, including a $3.99 million signing bonus. 2012: $390,000, 2013: $737,004, 2014: $1,084,008, 2015: $1,431,012, 2016: Free Agent
And for comparison to Luck this is Cam Newton's contract which also fell under the new CBA:
7/29/2011: Signed a four-year, $22,025,498 contract. The deal is fully guaranteed, including a $14,518,544 signing bonus. 2012: $1,376,159, 2013: $2,377,318, 2014: $3,378,477, 2015: Free Agent
EDIT: Posey and K-mart contracts are pretty small and really not that bad if they underperform.
LeStar Jean:
7/28/2011: Signed a three-year, $1.407 million contract. The deal included an $87,000 signing bonus. 2012: $390,000, 2013: $555,000, 2014: Restricted Free Agent
DeVier Posey:
7/23/2012: Signed a four-year, $2.69 million contract. The deal included a $684,092 signing bonus. 2012: $390,000, 2013: $510,000, 2014: $630,000, 2015: $748,000, 2016: Free Agent
Those are pretty much nothing contracts that you probably don't have to worry about cutting unless they are severely underperforming. Drafting a bust in the first round is nowhere near the financial hardship it once was.
EDIT2: draft slotting explained
Contracts for first-round picks would be a fixed four years in length, with teams holding options for the fifth year. If the team chooses to exercise that option a year early, after the contract's third year, the fifth-year option salary is guaranteed to the player.
Each rookie would likely receive a standard slotted salary in the first four seasons, and then the option year's wage would depend on the player's draft slot.
The top 10 picks would receive a salary equal to the average of the top 10 salaries at their respective positions. Picks No. 11 through No. 32 would get the average of the Nos. 3 through 25 salaries at their positions.
Source