Rule will complicate any Okafor trade

As if this Emeka Okafor situation won’t get complicated enough already, I’m told by front-office folk from two other NBA franchises that an NBA salary-cap rule – base-year compensation – makes it challenging to trade a restricted free agent for fair value.

    Base-year compensation hasn’t been much of an issue here because both of Charlotte’s NBA franchises – the Hornets, then the Bobcats – tend to be frugal, which means they’re often under the salary cap. That typically reduces the impact of base-year comp.

    Here’s the deal, in as simple a way as I can explain this: When a player signs a contract that dramatically raises his salary (as Okafor seemingly would in any sign-and-trade), he can’t be traded for at least the next six months for a player of comparable salary.

    Essentially a team acquiring Okafor would need the cap room to absorb his entire new salary, while sending back roughly half that to the Bobcats.

    Of course, there are ways around this: Teams can add other players into a trade to balance the salaries. Or Okafor could sign that one-year qualifying offer to facilitate a trade (although that creates other issues).

    Bottom line: Both these front-office guys say base-year comp can only add to the complications of getting fair value, should the Okafor-Bobcats relationship end in a trade.