SVG: Tax Line Won’t Hinder Pistons’ Ability To Re-Sign Bradley

After letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk this summer, the Pistons appear to be more optimistic about the odds of a long-term union with newly-acquired guard Avery Bradley. Bradley will be an unrestricted free agent in 2018, but the Pistons are expected to do all they can to lock him up beyond that, and head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy indicates that cap and tax issues won’t get in the way of a deal, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details.

“The finances will not inhibit our ability to re-sign Avery at whatever it takes,” Van Gundy said. “If we’re in a situation where we want Avery back and Avery wants to be here, we’ll be able to bring him back.”

Allowing Caldwell-Pope to become unrestricted and sign elsewhere last month helped the Pistons to avoid going into tax territory for the 2017/18 season. However, Van Gundy suggests that the franchise – led by owner Tom Gores – is willing to cross that threshold when the time is right.

“In the right situation for the right people, Tom’s more than willing to pay the tax,” Van Gundy said. “I think about half the league’s going to be paying the tax this year. Tom’s not opposed to that.”

Van Gundy’s claim that “half the league” will be paying the tax is a bit of an exaggeration, but as we outlined last week, the number of taxpayers is definitely poised to increase exponentially this season after just two teams were hit with tax penalties in 2016/17.

Currently, the Pistons have about $96MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for the 2018/19 season, per Basketball Insiders. That doesn’t include team options for Stanley Johnson or Henry Ellenson, or non-guaranteed salaries for Reggie Bullock and Eric Moreland. The NBA’s latest cap projections for ’18/19 included a tax line of $123MM, so a lucrative new deal for Bradley next summer could push Detroit across that threshold, depending on what other moves the club makes to fill out its roster.