So according to Calvin Watkins the Rockets want the March 1st date moved into the summer. Perhaps DMo will accommodate that if he gets his bonus money added back to the contact.
Yeah looks like this is a show conveniently when next CBA is about to be made. Forcing bargainers to consider more favorable free agent rules
That's no longer a "big if." Bobby Marks who read the offer sheet and wrote the details article for The Vertical confirmed that the bonuses are not part of Principal Terms, thus do not need to be matched. I wrote this yesterday in the Original No-Show thread ------------------------------------------------- Individual Achievements, whether Likely or Not, are not included in Principal Terms. Only Team Performance and Generally Recognized League Honors are. Plus, this is from an ex-NBA Asst GM who has actually read the offer sheet and wrote The Verticle article detailing the offer sheet terms I'm going to guess the "League Honors" that Bobby Marks read are not considered Likely ... probably because DMo hasn't come close to any. So, those are probably the $2m in Unlikely bonuses. Here's the CBA section the Nets fan quoted. (Article XI, Section 5(d)) -- The Principal Terms of an Offer Sheet are only: (i) term (lenght) of the contract (ii) fixed and specified compensation ... blah blah (ii) Incentive Compensation; provided, however, that the only elements of such Incentive Compensation that shall be included in the Principal Terms are the following: (A) bonuses that qualify as Likely Bonuses based upon the performance of the Team extending the Offer Sheet and he ROFR Team; and (B) Generally Recognized League Honors; and (iv) Any allowable amendments to the terms contained in the Uniform Player Contract (e.g., Base Compensation protection, a trade bonus, etc)
BJ blew it. That's the only explanation here. He should have known and informed DMo of the implications of a matched offer sheet.
Nest and Rockets must have been aware. I thought the deal could have been structured like others such that the next year number will be based on previous year performance. In effect, that could be very much like those bonus terms and also will be considered as base terms. For odd reasons, BJ failed to see so and that's not excusable for he is a professional agent getting paid by millions on the deal. Nor should he pin the blame on Morey and Rockets. Yes, we could have matched Nets offer sheet, but we didn't because we didn't value DMO as much and we are perfectly ok to do that per CBA rules.
This is so ironic. BJ and DMo waited half a year to find a contract they wanted. They finally signed one and immediately regretted. I'm sure there's a Chinese saying about this kind of sad idiocy.
Finally finishing the whole thread. As my understanding, the Rockets do not have the right to decide which part of the incentives belong to Principal Terms. It is the league office job to do that. Sending the First Right of Refusal Notice is just simply as "I match whatever terms on the offer sheet" Am I correct?
That is where I see this headed - it is a bit dirty of the Rockets - and it is a 9m hit to DMo......so IMHO, they will have to give a little bit of a guarantee in year 2 and we are good. DD
I liked Yao's better: How does a single blade of grass thank the sun? Lol, this is how Dmo grass thank the Rockets Sun.
How not to handle RFA, as shown by Donatas Motiejunas Spoiler Restricted free agency is rarely settled after the start of the season and that’s because most players and agents comprehend their shortage of leverage within the construct that leaves them with limited options that favors teams from the outset and becomes even more punitive as time progresses. The new collective bargaining agreement will contain a few fixes to help the players, but Donatas Motiejunas is testing the limits of the current system as its final restricted free agent. Motiejunas agreed upon an NFL-style contract in restricted free agency more than a month into the season, signing an offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets worth $37 million deal over four years. For Motiejunas, the deal presented a number of significant issues when it was matched by the Houston Rockets: 1. Regardless of whether the Rockets matched, the deal was exceedingly short on guaranteed money. With non-guarantees for Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4, Motiejunas gave up guaranteed money while not getting player options in return. Motiejunas can’t get back onto the market until 2020 if he stays healthy and outperforms the value of the contract. The structure of the deal is rare for players on their second NBA contract and more closely resembles the type of contracts NFL players sign that limit the injury risk for teams. Players will typically exchange freedom for guaranteed money or guaranteed money for freedom; Motiejunas gave up both. 2. With Motiejunas presumably wanting to leave the Rockets after a long stalemate, he signed an offer sheet with the Nets that didn’t do nearly enough to disincentivize them from matching. Motiejunas was likely more concerned in making himself less tradeable in the short-term, something of long acknowledged importance to Daryl Morey, than the actual monetary value of the deal. Motiejunas’ signed a four-year deal with $31 million as the base salary plus $4 million in likely bonuses and $2 million in unlikely bonuses. The Rockets were not required to match any of Motiejunas’ bonuses as they weren’t a principal term and that gave Morey a veto power to basically wipe away more than 15 percent of the potential value of the contract B.J. Armstrong and Motiejunas signed with the Nets. It can be presumed that Motiejunas and Armstrong didn’t realize they would only be receiving $31 million compared to $37 million if the Rockets matched, as Motiejunas previously stated he would happy if he returned to Houston on this deal prior to his current position being established. 3. By signing a uniform player contract with the Nets, Motiejunas has given nearly entire control of the situation to the Rockets. Motiejunas can’t go to Europe now that he’s signed an NBA contract because FIBA likely won’t grant a clearance. Motiejunas could be subject to fines on top of the missed salary. The Rockets matching the deal was something that had to be accounted for and not reporting isn’t a viable option. 4. Motiejunas perhaps erred most significantly in not signing the $4.4 million offer sheet by Oct. 2nd that would have allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017. Motiejunas would have been forced to play for less than his true worth for this season but he would have entered the 2017 offseason as an unrestricted free agent and one of the best centers on the market. Once he let that deadline pass, Motiejunas was forced to decide between a multi-year deal with the Rockets he didn’t like, sign an offer sheet with a rival team the Rockets could match or sit out the year and reenter restricted free agency again in 2017. ---- The Rockets can allow Motiejunas to go back onto the open market to find a new deal even though one is unlikely to materialize since only the 76ers and Jazz have meaningful cap space. Houston would be creating an unwanted precedent in letting Motiejunas out of the offer sheet he signed, especially since the deal is team friendly. Players will often begrudgingly remain with their incumbent teams when offer sheets are matched and if the Rockets allow Motiejunas to rip up the offer sheet, it could embolden players in the future to threaten to not report. Rival teams are surely putting pressure on the Rockets to not let Motiejunas out of the deal. The NBA has a more rigid structure in place than the NFL, which prevents holdouts and renegotiated contracts from even happening and that ultimately benefits both the perception of the league as well as the working relationships between players and teams. The only risk for the Rockets is that he injures himself after the March 1st guarantee date when they won’t be able to get out from under his contract to use his money in cap space.
