The Silver Lining to the Dolans’ Debt
By VISHESH KUMAR

Cablevision Systems Corp.’s debt load has made some investors skittish. But it may be a reason for comfort.

Having to focus on meeting $1.7 billion in near-term maturities — due by the middle of next year — ensures the company’s controlling shareholder, the Dolan family, will focus on the core business and maximize cash flow.

There is less room for the Dolans to spend money on businesses far afield from the company’s core cable operation, such as Newsday, a practice that helped create the so-called “Dolan discount” in the stock.

Already there are signs the Dolans are hunkering down. Cablevision’s announcement last week it would shutter its money-losing domestic Voom HD network will save the company $50 million a year, some analysts estimate.

A trade that could happen at the deadline: Curry and Lee to Charlotte for Bell and Diaw (and hopefully a draft pick or young player.)
Also look for a 3 team swap involving:
Golden State (A. Randolph, Maggette, Belinelli, Turiaf)
Charlotte (G. Wallace, A. Morrison, Ray Felton, Diaw, Bell, M. Carrol)
Knicks (Lee, Curry, Jeffries, Q Rich)

Who gets who for the 3 way deal?

Also look for a 3 team swap involving:
Golden State (A. Randolph, Maggette, Belinelli, Turiaf)
Charlotte (G. Wallace, A. Morrison, Ray Felton, Diaw, Bell, M. Carrol)
Knicks (Lee, Curry, Jeffries, Q Rich)

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q73

You re-sign him because it makes sense at the time (like now). However, if in 2010 you bring in some players that make him less critical, you can always play him off the bench or trade him later. It doesn’t have to be mid season the next year or at any other specific time. As long as you don’t overpay for a player that can contribute, he doesn’t hurt the team’s flexibilty or quality to have him and he can always be traded at a later date. No problemo.

I don’t think his stats from this year are going to matter all that much because it’s becoming more common knowledge that D’Antoni’s faster pace system pads stats. Plus it is well known that Lee is the only rebounder on the Knicks right now. No one is going to pay an All STAR quality salary for a guy that is universally considered to be just a solid role everywhere on the planet except NYC and a couple of advanced stats blogs.

He’s going to get 8M +/- a little and it won’t be an issue as long as Curry gets traded before 2010.

jon – do you doubt someone will offer lee a contract averaging eight digits or more this off season?

I do. $60M is overpaying for Lee, and I can’t see any GM in the league offering that much. David West is making about $9M per, and from the debates we had here a majority of NBA fans think West is superior to Lee.
But if a team does make that kind of offer, can’t the Knicks can match it and still turn around and trade him midseason? Or they can pull a sign & trade over the summer of 2010. A team that has resigned to losing their All Star, might be more willing to do a sign & trade if they’re getting back David Lee. (And maybe oddly enough David Lee is seen as worth more around the league if another owner wants him at $10M a year.)

First of all David would be a base year compensation player which is nearly impossible to trade. And what kind of sense does it make to sign/commit to a 60mm contract with any player with the intentions of trading him half way through the season the following year–I’ll answer–none. Any team that wants David merely has to front load the first two years of his contract—forcing the Knicks into a precarious situation of having to pay him 11-12 mm in 2010 basing it on a contract that would range from 55-65mm$ team almost always overpay on the FA market–so expect the 65$ figure to be more accurate. A team DOES not have to do a deal with the Knicks for Lee–and they all know it.

trading Lee mid season after the extension will be tough. Lee will be a Base Year Player and only half his year one comp will count for salary matching purposes.