Cavs Board

So Bob Finnan had a follow up to the Delonte West signing that included some concrete numbers, but more importantly, it included information about the all-important third year, which previously had been reported as one that included a team option. While that is by and large true, Delonte does have a portion of that third year guaranteed even if the Cavs waive him during the summer of 2010. Finnan reports:

West’s contract starts at $3,850,000 this season, a source said. It’s a three-year deal worth $12,705,000. He will be paid $4,235,000 in 2009-10 and $4,620,000 in 2010-11.

The third year might not be a club option, as once thought, but it’s conditional. West has $500,000 in salary protection in the third year. If he’s on the roster by a certain date — perhaps by July 1, 2010 — his contract will become guaranteed. But the Cavs can waive him and he would be owed $500,000.

Signing West puts the Cavaliers at somewhere between 90 and 91 million dollars of guaranteed salaries. That ranks behind only New York and Dallas for the league’s highest payroll. There’s a reason why the Cavaliers have so many potential trade packages. It’s because their roster is still loaded with highly paid, underachieving players. Ferry is doing all he can to fix that. So what else can we expect to see this year?

The next item we’ll likely see is the release of Lance Allred (who currently sits 7th on the depth chart of Cavalier big men). Billy Thomas was waived last week and has already signed overseas, and those moved together would leave the Cavs with 14 players on the roster. Eric Snow’s situation is still largely unresolved, but the one certainty is that he won’t be suiting up with the Cavs again. Finnan adds some details on his injury settlement situation:

Cavs guard Eric Snow’s knee is shot and he can no longer play in the NBA. He has one more year on his contract worth $7.3 million.

A source said he won’t be on the Cavs this year — as a player or coach. So what gives?

Let’s muddle through this. If he’s waived, his $7.3 million contract will remain on the books.

That’s not what the Cavs want. They can’t petition the league to remove his salary from their payroll until one year after Snow’s last game (last Feb. 22 against Washington) in an injured player exception.

Up until that time, Snow could theoretically be used in a trade. Remember, he still owns an expiring contract, which could come into play near the trade deadline of Feb. 19, 2009. If he’s traded, though, the team that acquires him can’t use the exception.

Let’s hope Gilbert and Ferry keep him around, if for no other reason then to add to their options come trade deadline.