NBA Lockout Ends: 10 Things You Need to Know and What It Means for Every Team

NBA fans have something to be thankful for—the end of the lockout! Now the questions are rising all over the place in regards to what it means, and more importantly to most fans, what it means to my team. 

While the deal is the same for every team, there are some teams that are going to benefit a lot more than others. There's a salary minimum, a salary cap, luxury taxes, mid-level exceptions, no Carmelo Anthony rule and a host of other things. 

I'll spend the first 10 slides here explaining what is involved in the settlement, and then I'll go through each team in particular and talk about the lockout affects them. 

So first things first, what does the settlement mean in general?

1. Is It Official?

The first thing to mention is that while it's not "official" yet, there are enough positive signs to suggest that it's "close enough." All the key players were there. Apart form David Stern and Billy Hunter, the primary people who carved out the deal, there were some other key people present. 

Derek Fisher was there for the players. Peter Holt, owner of the San Antonio Spurs, was there representing the owners. Everyone involved believes that both sides will agree with the settlement.

While this is not officially a "done deal" until all the names are signed, there is enough in place to accept that this is the end of the lockout. 

2. It's a 50/50 Split—In a Way

In terms of the BRI (Basketball-Related Income) split that surrounded so much of the negotiations, the final figure is 50/50, in a way. It's actually not quite that simple. It's what is called a "banded split." What this means is that the amount the players will get is tied to how much money the NBA is making. 

If all the teams are making money, then the players will get 51 percent. If they are losing money they will get 49 percent. This is probably the fairest way to do it.

It gives the players a reward if they make the NBA profitable, it limits their reward and the owners' risk if it is not. 

3. No Carmelo Anthony Rule

One thing that is important, and a "win" for the players, is what is not in the new settlement (apparently). Specifically it doesn't include a "Carmelo Anthony Rule."

There was some discussion that there might be some restrictions on teams' ability to acquire a player at the end of their contract. This would be to protect the previous teams from being pressed into trading a player in the final year of their contract like the Anthony fiasco from last year. 

There is no rule and so that means that there are some teams, such as Orlando and New Orleans, who will be negatively impacted by it this year. 

4. Mid-Level Exception

For those who don't know what a mid-level exception is, it's a provision that allows a team over the cap to sign a player within limitations.

Per the latest rule agreement, teams will be allowed each year to sign one player to a contract up to four years and $5 million per year. 

While this is a slight reduction from the previous MLE, it's not significant enough to do away with it. There was some discussion of limiting it a lot more. 

There is also one improvement in the MLE. Previously, teams who entered the offseason below the cap were not allowed an MLE. Now they are allowed a "mini" MLE of $2.5 million. 

5. What Other Big Changes Are There for Free Agency?

The way restricted free agency currently works, a team has to first make a "qualifying offer" to an RFA (restricted free agent). Then the player can shop himself around. One of two things can happen. Either another team can make an offer or no other teams will make an offer. 

If another team makes an offer, then the original team has the opportunity to match it. If they do that, they get to keep the player. If no one else makes an offer, then the team is obligated to sign the player to the original qualifying offer. 

If a team doesn't make a qualifying offer, then the player is an unrestricted free agent. 

The qualifying offer is going to be increased "significantly," though the actual number is not mentioned. What that means is that teams like Denver are going to be hobbled a bit.

They have a number of RFAs. IF they extend qualifying offers to everyone, there is a chance they could have trouble keeping under the cap. 

They won't just be able to choose which of their RFAs to match, they'll actually have to decide who is worth keeping. 

6. What the Heck Is the New Cap?

Probably one of the more under-reported things here is the actual cap, the thing around which all other things revolve. Well, folks, meet the new cap, the same as the old cap. 

"

With some movement from the owners on those technical aspects, the players' negotiators believed they could present a deal that the union membership would embrace despite the massive economic concessions, shorter contracts, smaller raises and other restrictions the owners insisted on to address their dual problems of $300 million in annual losses and competitive imbalance.

Under the paradigm previously agreed to, the players retained guaranteed contracts; fought off the owners' efforts to impose a hard team salary cap; withstood their attempt to shrink max salaries and roll back existing contracts; and kept the existing salary cap (about $58 million) and luxury tax level ($70 million) in place for the first two years of the 10-year agreement. 

"

I underlined the most important part. At least it makes the math easy. 

7. When Does the Season Start?

In case you haven't heard or figured it out yet, there's a subtle hint as to when the season will begin in the picture above. If you still haven't figured it out, Dec. 25, 2011. 

There is a reason we can't just start the season tomorrow. The agreement needs to be finalized. There needs to be a free agency period, and there needs to be a minimal preseason. The soonest the season can realistically begin is late December and the Holiday gives for an excellent start date. 

Proposed matchups involve many of the biggest teams in the game. Boston will play at Madison Square Garden to start the season.  Miami will play at Dallas in a Finals rematch. Then Chicago will play the Lakers in the third game of the tripleheader. 

8. What Is Amnesty?

Amnesty is a new rule that will allow every team a one-time buyout. They can buy a player's contract out, and only 25 percent of that contract will go toward the cap.

That will allow teams that have players with contracts bigger than their play (that's the nice way of saying it) to get rid of the bad contracts (that's the not nice way of saying it).

There are a number of projected amnesty players, but some of them include Rashard Lewis, Rip Hamilton and Gilbert Arenas. 

9. When Does Free Agency Start?

David West wants to know, when does free agency officially start? Well, Mr. West, you can start looking for new work starting on Dec. 9. That's just 10 days away until we can start what will be a whirl-wind of an offseason and one of the most exciting ones ever. 

With players being bought out in amnesty, there is no shortage of players that will be moving from team to team. Come on, Dec. 9! That's also the projected start of training camps. 

It will be an interesting time of year. 

10. Who Won?

We did! There's going to be a season, and the NBA fans are the big winners.

Whether the millionaires or billionaires are getting more millions or billions does not affect my daily life. Not getting basketball has me wondering what to do.

I need my BULLS and I need them NOW! We have a season, folks!

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks keep wanting to insist that Marvin Williams is going to work out. They drafted him second overall in 2005, ahead of such "nobodies" as Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Then they signed him to a contract he hadn't earned. 

He made $7.5 million last year and scored 10.4 points and grabbed 4.8 boards. That kind of production is just marginally below say, Chris Paul or Deron Williams, wouldn't you agree?

Now they can get rid of him once and for all via amnesty. The question is, will they?

Boston Celtics

For the Boston Celtics it's the best of both worlds. They'll have about half a season to play and decide if they have enough to contend for a title this year.

If they aren't in the running, they can make a real run at the Dwight Howard Sweeps. They are one of the teams with the assets and cap space in 2012 to make an effort for him.

It's not unrealistic to think that Howard could end the year in Celtic Green. If he doesn't, then it's probably good news for Boston because it means they are in the title hunt. 

Charlotte Bobcats

How do you make a person go from being pro-player to pro-owner? Sell an ex-player a team!

The Bobcats fans are going to be happy about the new deal for one simple reason. They are virtually guaranteed the Bobcats will be adding some reasonably high-caliber players. The new cap requires a new minimum of 85 percent of the cap to be spent on salaries. 

The Bobcats are slightly below that this year, and way below that next year. In fact, they need to come up with $29 million in players next season! The Bobcats will be looking to sign some free agents this summer and next. 

Chicago Bulls

It's hard to imagine how this could have gone better for the Bulls. It seems like there's a perfect storm of things that benefit the Bulls.

First, the RFA changes mean they have a real shot at Arron Afflalo. Second, because of the amnesty clause they can get Rip Hamilton if they can't sign Afflalo. Third, because the MLE survived, they can afford it. 

The best thing of all is that they have a chance at signing Wilson Chandler when he finishes up in China this March. 

The bottom line is this: the Bulls will add a new starting shooting guard who can shoot and guard. Really, that's all that Bulls fans want for Christmas.

Cleveland Cavaliers

For Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the agreement means that they can take the next step into fulfilling his Comic-Sans Guarantee.

In fact, what he'll be able to do in an incredibly short amount of time in terms of getting Cleveland back to the elite level of play in a relatively short time frame, is amazing.

This year, Gilbert can buy out Baron Davis' contract, which it is believed he will do. Next season, he'll be able to shed Antwan Jamison's $15 million salary. That's $28 million—almost half the cap—in just two years that he'll be able to get rid of. 

Between the litany of young players he's adding through the draft and the amnesty from this year, the Cavs will almost be able to rebuild completely in two seasons, something previously unimaginable. 

Dallas Mavericks

For the Dallas Mavericks and their leader Dirk Nowitzki, it means they get to do something they've never done in franchise history, defend their NBA title. 

The Mavericks will be interesting to watch because they are a team that has never been all that concerned with how much money they spend. Their billionaire owner doesn't really seem to care if the Mavs are making money or losing it; he just wants to win. 

How far will he extend that attitude, though? A lot will be known by what the Mavericks do with Tyson Chandler. If they do, it'll mean they are threats to repeat, and it'll mean that Mark Cuban will laugh at the luxury tax. 

Denver Nuggets

For the Nuggets, it's decision time. In fact, they may as well change their name to the Denver Free Agents, as they have more players not under contract next year than actually under contract. 

They played great after the trade last year, but so many of those players have decided to go to China, or else indicated they want to go elsewhere, that it looks like it's impossible to keep that group together. 

Furthermore, while it's possible to play very well with a team of solid, but not great payers, it's hard to build a team around them. Are Arron Afflalo and Nene enough to build around? With the new RFA rules, it looks like Denver is going need to figure out what they are going to do right now. 

Denver is one of the teams hit hardest by the new CBA. They have a ton of decisions to make, and almost no time to make them. 

Detroit Pistons

Simply put, for the Detroit Pistons, it means it's time to move on. They tried to move Rip Hamilton at the trade deadline this year. More than likely, they are going to buy him out this year via the amnesty clause. 

Last year's mutineers, Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Tracy McGrady will all be gone. The Pistons will focus on rebuilding, and former NBA champs Prince and Hamilton will be taking their talents elsewhere.

Pretty much, this is an "everyone is happier" kind of deal. 

Golden State Warriors

The rumors have been rampant concerning Monta Ellis and where he might end up going.

Golden State fans have him going any number of places, and the returns range from completely unrealistic (Dwight Howard) to less than realistic (Joakim Noah) for the most part. 

Ellis has his strength. He can score. He averaged 24.1 points on .451 shooting last year. He's an underrated passer, dishing 5.6 assists last year.

He doesn't offer much in the way of defense, though. Some of that might be the product of his system, but the concern is that the same might be said of his offense. Would he be able to produce at the same level somewhere else?

The main thing for the Warriors is that things are about to open up. They can start shopping Ellis in earnest and start getting tangible offers on the table to give Warriors fans a realistic idea of what he's worth. 

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are about to enter their first year sans Yao Ming in a decade. They have almost $10 million to spend on a new center. There are two good names that are at the top of the free agency list: Nene (no last name) Hilario and Tyson Chandler. 

The agreement for Houston means they get to start their Christmas shopping. 

It's a relative certainty they will be able to sign someone. Houston could be a real threat next year. With the heroically performing Chuck Hayes at the five, they nearly made the playoffs. Imagine if they had a quality NBA center. 

Along those lines, look for Kevin Martin to have a real breakout year if Houston is among the league's leaders. He's one of the more under-the-radar scorers in the NBA.

If the Rockets go off for a big season, Martin's name will have a "Roseian" meteoric rise to the top next year. 

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers played the Chicago Bulls really well. The picture above is a good indication of how they played the Bulls in the series. 

After finishing the season strong to make it into the postseason, they did far better than anyone expected. Now they have a $39 million payroll; they need to add $13 million to get to the minimum. 

So who do the Pacers grab? Why not make a bid for starting point guard Nick Collison's old teammate? He would be a perfect fit for the team. Adding an 18-and-8 player who scores inside to their payroll sure would make things easier for Collison and Granger. 

The Pacers could help themselves the most now that free agency is going to begin. 

Los Angeles Clippers

The new salary cap minimum might end up getting called the "Donald Sterling Rule" due to Sterling's chronic cheapness. Sterling is the worst owner in all of sports, but the fact remains he has to figure out how to acquire some serious payroll by next year. 

The 2013 Clippers are slated to spend $26 million on salary. 

This is a team that's already on their way to being a greatly improved team. They have a couple of fantastic young players in Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. They also have a number of draft picks as trade assets. 

So, here's the strange but true possibility. The Clippers are a long shot to do it, but they are one of the few teams that has a realistic shot at acquiring Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. If they were any team but the Clippers, they'd almost be shoo-ins. 

To an extent, the new agreement helps this cause, because it's going to force Sterling's hand to do something. 

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers were absolutely clobbered by the new CBA. Anyone who thought they were going to get some sort of reprieve because they are the Lakers needs to look again. 

With the new luxury-tax rules being even more stringent, the fact is the Lakers are going to be hit hard. Just their top three players, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum put them over the cap. 

While there are going to be rumors concerning trading Bynum, players who make $15 million and get injured are going to be hard to move in light of the new cap rules. The Lakers have an aging team, and they are going to be restricted in what they can do.

Apart from minor tweaks, and as much as Lakers fans would like to see it be otherwise, the Lakers are what they are for at least another couple of seasons.  

Memphis Grizzlies

Them Memphis Grizzlies are another team that scores a big win with the new CBA.

They inked Zach Randolph to a new deal before last season ended. Because it's not a hard cap, they will be able to secure the future services of the "other Gasol" for another contract. 

They will be able to keep their young core of Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol together with veteran Zach Randolph for the next four years. They also have defensive starter Tony Allen under contract for two more years. 

In short, they are set for years to come, and the franchise that won their its first postseason game ever, and then rode that to their first season series will be a fixture in the postseason over the next four years. 

Miami Heat

For the Miami Heat, the new CBA means they get two things.

First, they get an MLE. Second, they get a shot at an amnesty player, perhaps like Baron Davis. That could be enough to get them over the top. 

The Heat could also try and add a new starting center. 

Furthermore they may or may not amnesty Mike Miller. 

Whatever they do, they aren't far away at all from being the next NBA Champions. It's not five, not six, not seven, but it's a start. 

Milwaukee Bucks

For the Milwaukee Bucks, this deal comes a day late and a dollar short, or should I say a "buck" short? There's the obligatory bad pun for the article. 

Seriously, though, the Bucks could have used this a year or two ago when Michael Redd was doing nothing but soak up salary-cap space for them. Now that they don't need an amnesty, they have one. Oh well. 

In a sense, the deal means almost nothing to the Bucks. They are under the cap but over the minimum. They have players to amnesty. Essentially, it just means they get to play basketball. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

If there was ever a picture that needed a caption contest, this is it. You can either go the "happy" route and pretend Kevin Love is saying, "Yeah, I made the shot" or you could go the "not happy" route and imagine he's saying something like, "MOUSE!"

Either way, Minnesotans can be happy with the new CBA because what it means for them is that they are probably going to keep the second greatest T-Wolf in history in the Twin Cities because the Larry Bird rules are left in effect. 

And by the way, Mr. Love. The Muppet Movie? Really?

New Jersey Nets

For the New Jersey Nets, it could mean good things or it could mean bad things. Mostly though, it means good things.

Namely, they get to spend lots of money. They are presently $20 million below the cap, and they aren't going to be afraid to spend that. In fact, they'll be able to spend more than that. 

They could burn that money on players like David West, who would be a valuable asset to Deron Williams. That brings up the other "good things" it could mean.

Adding weapons and showing their newly acquired point guard they are serious about winning could be a huge boon to keeping him. 

On the downside, if they don't make Williams happy and he wants a trade, then the lack of having a Carmelo Anthony deal in place will hurt them. 

The bottom line here though is this. If they spend the money, there is a great chance of keep Williams. 

New Orleans Hornets

For the New Orleans Hornets, there's one big piece of very big news. We're talking about a seven letter word, "contract" and not a 10-letter word, "contraction." The Hornets get to continue to exist, which makes everything else pale in comparison. 

Better to not have David West or Chris Paul than not to have an NBA team at all. Still, they might not have either, and they may not be able to get anything or at least not enough for either either. Now, say that five times fast. 

The lack of a Carmelo Anthony rule really hurts the Hornets in their bargaining position for Chris Paul. There's no telling whether he'll go, but he'll probably go somewhere, and New Orleans isn't likely to get nearly as much for him as they should. 

New York Knicks

For the New York Knicks, it's a good news, bad news kind of situation.

First, here's the bad news. It's hard to conceive of a scenario where Chris Paul goes there. Next year, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are going to be making a total of $41 million. That leaves just $18 million for the rest of the team. 

Now granted, there's some room to go over the cap, but adding another high-cost player is probably going to be counter-productive.

They might be able to extend that to $60 million-$65 million depending on how things shook out, but that would still leave about a million a player after the big three, which is just an insufficient roster for the rest of it. 

On the plus side, they don't need him. They can add a player like Baron Davis because of the amnesty rule. Now "B-Diddy" isn't going to give you what Paul would, but he's going to give you a lot and for a lot less. That frees up a lot of money to sign a supporting cast. 

In a strange sort of way the Knicks might be better not getting Paul. 

Oklahoma City Thunder

Pretty much the new CBA only means getting to basketball sooner for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Perhaps you can add that it increases their chances of getting a title in the next few years if only because it hamstrings the Lakers from being able to pull off some kind of ridiculous deal that keeps them from trading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for Dwight Howard. 

The Lakers have used big-man theft to stay in the Championship picture for the last four decades, but it's hard to see how they'll manage to use that trick again with a massive roster value and zero trade assets. Between the Lakers and the Spurs, there's room at the top of the West. 

The Thunder could be the new Best in the West for a number of years to come, and the new CBA assures them of that. 

Orlando Magic

Things get a lot better for the Magic after the new CBA. First, they can buy out Gilbert Arenas' contract, and there's somewhere between zero and negative-10 percent doubt that this will happen. Arenas has played his last game in a Magic uniform. 

How bad is Arenas' contract? The Magic traded away the Rashard Lewis contract and got the worse end of the deal. 

But more importantly, what this means is that the Magic will be able to add one quality player to the roster. On top of that, they'll be able to offer Dwight Howard a max-contract. 

Their chances of keeping their superstar went from none to slim and that's probably enough to at least give you hope if you live in Orlando. Now all you need is a little magic. 

Philadelphia 76ers

For the life of me, I can never figure out why there are so many 76er fans ready to chase Andre Iguodala out of town. He is a versatile player who can pass, score, shoot, rebound and play defense. He makes a reasonable sum of money for his services. So what if he's not an elite scorer!

So how does the new agreement affect the 76ers? Probably not much. They are in that "sweet spot" of not over the cap but not under the minimum. They have their roster more or less secured.

The one thing that could happen is the cost of Thaddeus Young, their young and rapidly maturing combo forward, should draw a lot of interest in the free-agent market.

The cost of keeping him could go up, but any offer he is made is one the 76ers could, and should, be able to match. 

Interestingly, from what I'm seeing their obvious amnesty candidate, Elton Brand is not likely to be bought out. Apparently Doug Collins is just too big a fan of Brand's. 

Phoenix Suns

Let me caution you of something. There will be somewhere between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion articles written over the next 72 hours about how this means that Steve Nash will be heading somewhere. He will not be going anywhere. 

Steve. Nash. Stays. That's it. Nash says he wants to stay, and the Suns have said they want to keep him. This has been said somewhere between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion times, but it never curtails the rumors. 

What the new agreement does mean is that there is a chance he'll get someone to pass the ball to. I'm going to go on the wild assumption that the Suns don't exercise the option on the underachieving Vince Carter. After Carter, they drop down to $31 million in payroll. 

That's means there's about $30 million in payroll the Suns can add. It's a fact they will add at least $18 million because they are required to. Giving Nash weapons to use would make the Suns a contender immediately. 

Add Phoenix to the potential landing spots for David West. 

Why would Nash want to go somewhere and contend when he can stay at home and do so?

Portland Trail Blazers

For some reason beyond my comprehension, Henry Abbot of ESPN has Portland listed as "losers" with the new CBA. He begins his explanation, "The Blazers carry high salaries with a mediocre team..." It's hard for me to fathom which statement is more wrong. 

A. They don't have high salaries. B. They don't have a mediocre team. In fact, they have pretty goshed-darned good team, and their highest salary is under $15 million and they are likely to buy that one out via amnesty. They are also probably not going to exercise their option on Greg "The Injury" Oden. 

Badda-bing, badda-boom. They've saved $23 million in salary.

So now, with a starting five that includes Ray Felton, Wesley Matthews, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby, they can add $17 million in salary. 

And that's losing? Egads! I'm pretty sure a lot of teams wish they were in such horrible shape!

Sacramento Kings

If you're like me, and the majority of the basketball world, after Marcus Thornton absolutely shredded the league when he was traded to the Kings, your response was "I did NOT see that coming!"

With Sacramento, Thornton was huge, scoring 21.3 points with a .543 true shooting percentage. He added 4.7 boards and 3.4 dimes. 

He certainly increased whatever he's going to get offered this year now that he's a restricted free agent. There are two questions, how much will he get offered based on a half season of work, and will the Kings match?

The answer to both questions is pretty easy. The answer to the first question is, it won't matter and the answer to the second question is yes. The Kings are going to keep Thornton and with just $29 million in salary owed, it won't matter how much it is. In fact, the Kings will be needing to figure out where to spend money. 

There's no question that when the Kings were competitive the citizens of Sacramento came out and supported them.

The Corsican...erp Maloof brothers should go ahead do what they should have been doing before, spending money and putting a good team on the court.

The fans of the team deserve it! The new CBA literally demands it!

San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio fans, look to your left. See the rock? Now look to the right. See the hard place? Now look back at me. You are between a rock and a hard place. 

The Spurs' salaries right now are at $73 million, which is over the luxury tax already. That's obviously not a good thing, especially with the new CBA.

Then they have this $21 million dollar team option in Tim Duncan. It would have been so easy to delay on exercising that option. Fortunately though, they didn't. 

The sports world is too often a place where they talk about loyalties of a player to a team, but not often enough of a team to a player. A lot of owners might not exercise that option, as Duncan is no longer giving them $21 million worth of production. 

He has brought them every NBA Championship they've ever had, though. So it's nice to see the Spurs doing the right thing. 

What it may mean for the Spurs, though, is that they can buy Richard Jefferson's contract and then replace him via an MLE player and still stay under $70 million. A possible replacement is Rashard Lewis, who might also be a buyout player. 

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors aren't the cheapest team in the league. They are below the minimum right now, but only marginally. They are $13 million under the cap, though, and that's a pretty significant amount. 

When you factor in they could easily free up another $9 million-$10 million by exercising their amnesty clause on either Andrea Bargnani or Jose Calderon, then there is considerable reason to believe that the Raptors could upgrade their team through the new CBA. 

This is a side of the agreement that fans should really be a fan of. Having the new minimum is going to force teams to be competitive. This is actually good for players and teams, too. Toronto will benefit, and so will their fans. 

Utah Jazz

Things sure can change quickly in the NBA. A year and a few months ago, the Utah Jazz were a completely different team.

Carlos Boozer was the first to take hiatus. Then coach Jerry Sloan followed. After that, superstar point guard Deron Williams was traded out. Andrei Kirilenko will be a free agent this year. Now Mehmet Okur will probably be bought via the amnesty clause. 

That's a lot of change. All the key components of the Western Conference finals will be gone and the Jazz will be doing something next year they haven't done much of in the last 20 years. Lose. 

I wish I could find some kind of positive spin for the Jazz fans, but the best I can come up with is this. You'll have a chance to keep that $10 million on the court, instead of getting injured throughout the year. 

Washington Wizards

Do you want to hear an absolutely crazy number? How about $23 million? That's what the Wizards cap space would be if they buy out Rashard Lewis's contract, which they are expected to do. If you want to know who can add players, look for Washington. 

If you want to look for a team who has to add players, look to Washington. They can and must add a bunch of them. 

This is a team that was one of the most ineffective on the road in NBA history last year, winning just three games away from home. However, they were only a a game under .500, 20-21 at home. This indicates a team that already has a lot of the players it needs, it just lacks maturity. 

I'll tell you one thing. You can buy a lot of maturity with $26 million-$38 million. I will probably be laughed off the Internets—all of them—for saying this, but the Wizards are a great pick to be a surprise team this year.