The Brooklyn Nets will be paying out over $197 million in payroll and luxury taxes for the 2013-14 season, according to an unofficial calculation by ESPNNewYork.com.
According to figures from Shamsports.com, Brooklyn’s payroll totaled $102.83 million.
Factor in the $4 million owed to Travis Outlaw because the Nets used their amnesty clause on him, and you get $197.4 million.
The NBA announced Wednesday that the salary cap for 2014-15 has been set at $63.065 million and the tax level has increased to $76.829 million.
The Nets currently have $90.9 million committed to 11 players: Joe Johnson ($23,180,790), Deron Williams ($19,754,465), Brook Lopez ($15,719,063), Kevin Garnett ($12,000,000), Jarrett Jack ($6,300,000), Mirza Teletovic ($3,368,100), Andrei Kirilenko ($3,326,235), Bojan Bogdanovic ($3,278,000), Sergey Karasev ($1,467,840), Mason Plumlee ($1,357,080) and Marcus Teague ($1,120,920).
This, of course, is pending the Bogdanovic signing and three-way trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics becomes official. The NBA moratorium ends Thursday.
That $90.9 million figure does not include Jorge Gutierrez’s non-guaranteed contract ($816,482). The Nets also acquired the rights of three second-round picks: Markel Brown, Cory Jefferson and Xavier Thames. It’s unknown how many of those players will sign. The Nets also owe Outlaw $4 million for the 2014-15 season.
Paul Pierce and Alan Anderson are unrestricted free agents. Pierce, sources say, wants in the neighborhood of $9-10 million, while the Nets would prefer to pay him in the neighborhood of $6-8 million. The sides are currently in negotiations. There’s also the possibility that Pierce could elect to sign elsewhere.
Nothing is finalized regarding their roster -- they could still make more moves -- so we’ll have a better idea what their payroll is going to look like down the road.
But it looks like owner Mikhail Prokhorov is going to be opening up his wallet again -- that’s for sure.
Grantland reported the Nets lost $144 million in basketball-related business last season. Granted, $90.57 million of that was luxury taxes.