check out the little details that show the tricks and schemes used to pick up free agents:
the Heat and agent David Falk are believed to have constructed the offer sheet in a way to make it particularly unpalatable to notoriously tightfisted Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling.
Foremost, the Heat can make Brand's expected $10.96 million 2003-04 salary payable immediately and can advance additional funds into that lump-sum payment through accelerated signing bonuses. In addition, a maximum trade kicker is expected to be written into the offer, automatically accelerating remaining payments by 15 percent should Brand be dealt.
For the Heat, it means if Brand accepts the offer, as expected, that until July 30, Riley's team will be out of the free-agent market. It also means if the offer to Brand is not matched by the Clippers, the Heat would have to fill out the balance of its roster with minimum-salary players.
With Brand, 24, the Heat could field a lineup of Grant at center, Caron Butler and Brand at forward, and Jones and rookie Dwyane Wade in the backcourt.
More likely in the scenario of Brand being added would be a trade of a veteran, perhaps Jones, in a bid to either bolster needed depth at center and point guard, or to lessen the Heat's overall salary burden, with an eye toward adding another prime free agent next summer.
The addition of Brand would more than offset the free-agent loss of Mourning, who today will join the New Jersey Nets. The expiration of Mourning's $105 million contract created the space for the potential addition of Brand.
While the built-in incentives in the offer sheet would allow Brand to realize a financial windfall by the end of the month, a decision to accept the Heat's offer sheet would display a faith in Riley's ability to rebuild a franchise that dropped to 25-57 last season and has not won a playoff game in three years.
Because NBA rules sharply favor incumbent teams when it comes to free agents, Brand is eligible for a far greater deal from the Clippers, one that could max out at $105.5 million over seven years. Under NBA rules, outside teams may only offer 10-percent annual raises in offer sheets, while incumbent teams may offer 12.5-percent raises. In addition, outside teams may only offer six-year contracts, while incumbent teams may offer a maximum of seven years.
Once Brand signs the offer sheet, it means Brand would be property of the Heat or Clippers by the end of the month. No other team is allowed to negotiate with the 6-foot-8 power forward once the offer sheet is executed.
While Brand is, by far, the Clippers' most productive player, he also has toiled for an owner reluctant to pay the going rate for productive talent. The largest deal previously approved by Sterling, a Los Angeles real estate magnate, was a five-year, $15 million package to guard Eric Piatkowski in 1998.
As much as anything, the Heat's gambit is based on timing. The Clippers are expected today to also receive offer sheets from the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, respectively, for guards Corey Maggette and Andre Miller, worth about $100 million combined.
To further give Sterling pause is the reality that if the offer for Brand is matched, the Heat is expected to immediately extend an offer sheet to Clippers forward Lamar Odom, a player Riley has coveted since the 1999 NBA Draft, when he offered valued forward P.J. Brown in a trade.
The Heat likely has made its intentions with Odom already known. One agent said Tuesday that Odom may stand as the ultimate goal, with Sterling unable to quickly recover from the haymaker of the Brand offer sheet.
the Heat and agent David Falk are believed to have constructed the offer sheet in a way to make it particularly unpalatable to notoriously tightfisted Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling.
Foremost, the Heat can make Brand's expected $10.96 million 2003-04 salary payable immediately and can advance additional funds into that lump-sum payment through accelerated signing bonuses. In addition, a maximum trade kicker is expected to be written into the offer, automatically accelerating remaining payments by 15 percent should Brand be dealt.
For the Heat, it means if Brand accepts the offer, as expected, that until July 30, Riley's team will be out of the free-agent market. It also means if the offer to Brand is not matched by the Clippers, the Heat would have to fill out the balance of its roster with minimum-salary players.
With Brand, 24, the Heat could field a lineup of Grant at center, Caron Butler and Brand at forward, and Jones and rookie Dwyane Wade in the backcourt.
More likely in the scenario of Brand being added would be a trade of a veteran, perhaps Jones, in a bid to either bolster needed depth at center and point guard, or to lessen the Heat's overall salary burden, with an eye toward adding another prime free agent next summer.
The addition of Brand would more than offset the free-agent loss of Mourning, who today will join the New Jersey Nets. The expiration of Mourning's $105 million contract created the space for the potential addition of Brand.
While the built-in incentives in the offer sheet would allow Brand to realize a financial windfall by the end of the month, a decision to accept the Heat's offer sheet would display a faith in Riley's ability to rebuild a franchise that dropped to 25-57 last season and has not won a playoff game in three years.
Because NBA rules sharply favor incumbent teams when it comes to free agents, Brand is eligible for a far greater deal from the Clippers, one that could max out at $105.5 million over seven years. Under NBA rules, outside teams may only offer 10-percent annual raises in offer sheets, while incumbent teams may offer 12.5-percent raises. In addition, outside teams may only offer six-year contracts, while incumbent teams may offer a maximum of seven years.
Once Brand signs the offer sheet, it means Brand would be property of the Heat or Clippers by the end of the month. No other team is allowed to negotiate with the 6-foot-8 power forward once the offer sheet is executed.
While Brand is, by far, the Clippers' most productive player, he also has toiled for an owner reluctant to pay the going rate for productive talent. The largest deal previously approved by Sterling, a Los Angeles real estate magnate, was a five-year, $15 million package to guard Eric Piatkowski in 1998.
As much as anything, the Heat's gambit is based on timing. The Clippers are expected today to also receive offer sheets from the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, respectively, for guards Corey Maggette and Andre Miller, worth about $100 million combined.
To further give Sterling pause is the reality that if the offer for Brand is matched, the Heat is expected to immediately extend an offer sheet to Clippers forward Lamar Odom, a player Riley has coveted since the 1999 NBA Draft, when he offered valued forward P.J. Brown in a trade.
The Heat likely has made its intentions with Odom already known. One agent said Tuesday that Odom may stand as the ultimate goal, with Sterling unable to quickly recover from the haymaker of the Brand offer sheet.
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