For some reason they find that perfect mix of youth and experiece. That move would put the West back on notice.

Also, remember that for the last 5 five years, they’ve came back and won the title a year after they didn’t make it back. So they do a solid job of coming back after not getting back to the Finals the previous year. Will the trend continue? I don’t know but it will be interesting to see.

“….Bottom line is even though there is a salary cap, there are seven exceptions that allow you to sign players and exceed the cap. It’s not a hard cap like football and hockey have.

The most commonly used exception is the Free Agent Exception. When one of your players has an expiring contract, you can sign him to a contract and exceed the cap. How much you can sign him for depends on which of the three categories he falls in. There is a) The Bird Exception, b) The Early Bird Exception, and c) The Non-Bird Exception.

(1) Qualifying Veteran Free Agent (“Bird”) Exception. A team may re-sign its own free agent to a first-year salary of up to the maximum player salary if he played for the team for some or all of each of the prior three consecutive seasons (or, if he changed teams, he did so by trade).

(2) Early Qualifying Veteran Free Agent (”Early Bird”) Exception. A team may re-sign its own free agent to a first-year salary of up to the greater of (a) 175% of the player’s salary in the last season of his prior contract, or (b) 108% of the average player salary for the prior season, if he played for the team for some or all of each of the prior two consecutive seasons (or, if he changed teams, he did so by trade). A contract signed using the Early Bird Exception must be for at least two seasons.

(3) Non-Qualifying Veteran Free Agent (”Non-Bird”) Exception. A team may re-sign its own free agent who is neither a “Bird” nor an “Early Bird” player to a first-year salary of up to the greater of (a) 120% of the player’s salary in the last season of his prior contract, (b) 120% of the player’s applicable minimum salary for the current season, or (c) if the player is a Restricted Free Agent, his Qualifying Offer amount.”

Oddly enough, this explanation came from the 76ers website. Good stuff nonetheless.

Can teams still go over the cap to sign their own free agents?

They gave Smith everything but the key to the city yesterday, but he’s gonna get that reception wherever he goes. The 76ers are offering 5 years $67 million from what I’ve heard.

Golden State may go after Iggy if Brand stays in LA. If the 76ers miss out on Brand and Smith, they will go after Childress and Biedrins

If the Sixers sign Josh Smith will they be able to sign Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams? Do they have enough money to make all three of them happy?

Also, keep in mind that the Hawks can match any deal made to Josh Smith. I’m not saying that they will but they have that option and the fans here in ATL are pressuring ownership to sign both Joshs (Smith and Childress). He really wants to stay in Atlanta but it’s also no secret that he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Mike Woodson. It should be interesting to see how this situation pans out.