Maybe the NBA bean counters are the same ones advising stock traders these days. How else to explain the cold, sobering reality of the new NBA economy, which has had a direct hit on a number of franchises and has forced players previously used to getting the Nebraska recruiting treatment to scramble for dollars like panhandlers on a street corner?

It's not about the Benjamins any more. It's about the Lincolns.

OK, maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, but three players popped into the limelight this week and they could well be Poster Children 1, 2 and 3 for the Perils of the Luxury Tax, Summer 2002.

All had prominent roles on playoff teams this past season. All had the unfortunate timing to enter free agency at a time when teams are, for the most part, pulling back. All have been told by the previous employer to not let the door hit them on the way out.

	Rodney Rogers would've taken a 62 percent paycut had he re-signed with Boston.

Rodney Rogers must be wondering what happened. After going to the Celtics last February in a win-it-now deal, he merely helped the Celtics to their best postseason finish since 1987. He was, at worst, the fourth-best player on the team -- some might even say third-best -- and both coach Jim O'Brien and general manager Chris Wallace campaigned passionately, eloquently, frequently and, of course, futilely for ownership to bring him back.

The Celtics offered Rogers a veteran minimum contract, which consitutes a 62 percent pay cut from last year. Thanks for all the good work, kid. The offer was one the Celtics knew Rogers wouldn't accept, one they knew he couldn't accept. And, of course, he didn't. Then, the team, which wouldn't offer Rogers anything close to the $2.6 million he made last year, turned around and took on Vin Baker and his cumbersome, $50-something million contract. Go figure.

The reason is that Celtics owner Paul Gaston, one of the fiscal Attilas in the league, drew the line on free-agent spending. But not, apparently, on huge contracts. The Baker deal actually saved the Celtics $1 million this season. Beyond that? Don't ask. They now have three players at the maximum, and one of them -- Baker -- has some serious work ahead of him.

The Celtics will carry only 12 players this season. A lot of teams are expected to do the same thing. (Utah has been a 12- or 13-player team for years, regarding the injured list as some sort of Communist conspiracy.) Let's say each team averages 13 players. Most had 15 last year. That's 58 players who will be either off to Turkey sometime soon or be happy to call themselves a member of the Greenville Groove next season.

"There are going to be a lot of guys walking the streets looking for work in the league," offered Celtics personnel director Leo Papile. "After the boat leaves for Europe on Sept. 1, a lot of these guys are still going to be available."

That's the New Reasoning talking. The Celtics have 10 players. The 11th could well be second-round pick Darius Songaila, who comes cheap at the NBA minimum. The 12th will be A Desperate Point Guard Who Will Settle For The Veteran Minimum. There you have your defending Eastern Conference champion runners-up.

But the Celtics are, by far, not alone. Gaston has plenty of company in his desire to stay below, or close to, the perceived luxury tax threshold. The Milwaukee Bucks, who overspent last year and somehow managed to do a Chernobyl and not make the playoffs, are probably going to carry four rookies, three of them second-round picks.

Then there's the case of Toronto and Keon Clark. Last season, Clark was one of the better players on the Raptors. He was their fifth-leading scorer, second-leading rebounder and top shot-blocker. Toronto did the reflex action move to keep Clark's rights, making him a restricted free agent and allowing the Raptors to match any offer. Until, that is, they realized that even their own offer was more than Clark was likely to fetch. Bye-bye.

You don't want the luxury tax to force you to lose players you'd like to re-sign. The Celtics would have gladly sacrificed Joe Forte to bring back Rogers. Think Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald wouldn't kill to get rid of either Michael Stewart or Hakeem Olajuwon, both of whom are eating money and doing not a lot else? But Grunwald can't.

"We feel Keon deserves a fair contract," he said. "But a fair contract for Keon would be an unfair contract for us."

In other words, good luck.

The Sixers had to do the same thing with Matt Harpring. All he did was start 81 games for them last season. Like Clark, he was a member of the 1998 rookie class, which meant that he had to be given an offer for the Sixers to retain matching rights. The Sixers, by rote, did just that. Then it dawned on Sixers' GM Billy King: "my God, what if he actually accepts it?"

Presto, the offer, which by league rules was about a 50 percent raise over what Harpring earned last year, was withdrawn. Harping, like Clark, is now an unrestricted free agent.

The Sixers called it a timing issue, but what it really was was a realization that they could not bring back Harpring, even at the tender offer, and still pursue free agents without incurring the dreaded luxury tax. So Harping will be one of those Street Corner Guys, while the Sixers moved towards Greg Buckner and, perhaps, Rogers. Oh, and they also signed veteran Monty Williams, who has played for Orlando the past few seasons. Why? Because the Magic can't afford to bring him back, even at the veteran minimum.

	(The money crunch) is not all bad. There is too much dilution in the league. And, next year, you're likely adding a 30th team, which, as Minnesota boss Kevin McHale noted, 'Great, there's 15 more guys who shouldn't be in the league.'

It's happening in a lot of places and, for a change, it's not all bad. There is too much dilution in the league. And, next year, you're likely adding a 30th team, which, as Minnesota boss Kevin McHale noted, "Great, there's 15 more guys who shouldn't be in the league."

But is it so onerous that Harpring, or Erick Strickland, or even Rogers himself has to do what most people have done when job searching? They'll eventually get jobs and will be paid slightly more than the per capita income in Brunei. Rogers had a chance to opt out of his contract prior to this summer -- and decided not to do so. He's now paying for it. Strickland opted out of a guaranteed deal last year with the Grizzlies (around $2.5 million) and then had to settle for $2 million less to play with Boston. He was hoping to recoup that this summer. Good luck.

We can't in all honesty say that the days of outlandish salaries to mediocre players are coming to an end. Jerome James just hustled $15 million from Seattle, which, in turn, riled Rashard Lewis to the point where he might just "settle" for a $4.5 million deal from Dallas and join the Cuban Country Club. The Knicks, some $40 million over the tax threshold, are still looking at players to sign for their mid-level exception, which will add another $4.5 million to payroll. Portland presumably could do the same thing, although Paul Allen's portfolio may have dropped a few billion in the past couple of weeks.

But, looking backward, we sensed this might be a tough summer for free agents, even without the luxury tax. That's because the free agency class was less than appealing (Lewis, Clark and Rogers are probably the best) and teams were expected to save their money with the intent of seriously exploring free agency next summer, when the likes of Jason Kidd, Tim Duncan and Jermaine O'Neal might be available.

Then came the news that the cap went down and that the luxury threshold would likely drop as well. The Celtics, Sixers and Raptors made tough choices regarding players who made significant contributions last year. Those players are now feeling the pinch, as are countless others (Orlando signed Jacque Vaughn to essentially say sayonara to Troy Hudson.)

I believe it was Scar in "The Lion King" who said, "Life's not fair." A few years ago, free agency for a decent player meant getting several flattering calls and visits. We can still remember Boston GM Wallace wearing a Celtics jersey with the name "Croshere" stitched on the back in a ridiculous bid to get Austin Croshere. If you were a decent player back then -- and even Croshere qualified in that sense -- you sorted through the offers. If you were a team, you opened the checkbook and said, "How much will it take?"

All of that is gone this summer. Now it's more like, "We'd really like to sign you. And do you know if there's a Wal-Mart nearby?"

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.