(02-13-2023, 12:00 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: Pretty sure that's the quickest way for the Mavs to get into a load of trouble for circumventing the cap.
Larry Coon's CBA Faq point 106.
It's a nice idea in theory, but the Mavs can't just manipulate their balance sheets like that using Powell.
You're right, but you're not. The rule about circumventing is basically about team and player having an off-the-books obligation - especially one put in writing (therefore, one that's binding), or there's side money changing hands -- in all cases, where someone could sue someone else.
Their objection is for there to be a possibility for anyone to come back later and say that X was promised, and it didn't happen, and now you owe me.
With this rule, no one who does a deal can say to the other party that you have to do another deal later, and we just didn't write it down. The NBA says no, that second agreement wasn't legal or allowed, so it didn't ever exist.
Other than that, NBA is fairly lax. Especially if team-player do a CBA-legal move, and then are planning a different one next time around that's CBA legal, and neither player nor team have a claim to be legally obligated to do the 2nd.
In fact, from time to time we see jinky deal situations happen, and it's fairly obvious the team and player are doing multiple deals together. But if each step is allowed within the rules, they don't stop it. Although, they may add a new rule in the next CBA to keep it from happening again. Such as (how I remember them) The Boomerang Rule, The Keith Van Horn Rule, the Buyout-and Re-sign (to save tax) Rule, the Stretch-Waive and Re-sign Rule (to save tax), and more.
The bigger issue is trust, because both sides have to be able to trust the other to do step 2, when they have no obligation, since 1 side benefits from step 1 and the other will benefit from step 2.
One other issue with the Powell idea is that the benefit to this is to manufacture cap room in certain years by sliding cap hits from one year to the next -- almost 0 one year, and then 2 year's worth the next. But Powell's shouldn't be big enough to be that much of a difference maker. And do you want to have a double hit in a year when you are in the tax, maybe? And with giant contracts for both Luka and Kyrie, will you ever really have cap room years?