Assuming we duck the tax again which seems to be reality and not an assumption, how many vet min contracts can we hand out still and still avoid the tax? 2 or 3? I was thinking maybe we sign 2 more vet min guys before the season starts. I would go with Simmons and Noah. Does that leave us another roster spot available during the season to sign one more vet min (from a buyout) and still avoid the tax again? I assume we have a finite number of vet min contracts we can handout so we have to be selective as we don't want to paint ourselves into a corner when Grizzlies/Wizards, etc. start waiving vets.
Apparently we are 190K under now so don’t expect any more moves in reality. Dumping the Ryno contract with 2 picks and getting no talent back was their permanent way of avoiding the tax. It should be fairly easy year after year to skirt it. This summer was the test and TF gave us his answer.
since harty and clark are partially guaranteed, I think tilman will insist on keeping them instead of paying them for no reason. I also don't see other FA centers or stretch 4's that would replace them. I think Noah, Faried, and Gortat want regular minutes and wouldn't sign to be the 3rd string. and clark my be better than remaining stretch 4's like Jerebko/cunningham/dekker/Lance Thomas. I also think Clemons has a strong shot at making the roster, but if need be he can be converted to 2-way deal to open a spot. Bennet also has a strong shot at making the team since there are no other stretch 4's on the market that are definitely better than him (again, Jerebko? Cunningham?) therefore I see our current roster like this: capela-chandler-harty tucker-clark-bennet gordon-house harden-green rus-rivers I assume we save 1 spot for a buyout candidate. its likely the lakers and clippers will be the top 2 destinations for buyouts. the warriors will also have spots to fill and be attractive. I don't think we will be in a position like last year where we signed 2 top buyout guys. we'll be lucky to land 1 this time around. judging by this depth chart I think we can target 2 more FAs with an emphasis on the wing, and maybe a 3rd string PG. I'd look at these guys: SG/SF - Sefolosha, Shumpert, McCaw, vince, Simmons, Crawford, PG - burke, grant, Bayless, payne, mack I would love two way, versatile, guys like Sefolosha and grant. I'd also like younger guys who can get better here like McCaw and Payne. however I bet we resign shumpert, give the last spot to Clemons, and call it an offseason. that would leave me worried about PG depth, and overall depth at the 4/5.
If they re-sign Shump that will be outstanding. My expectation is that they keep Hart/Clark, sign Clemons with MLE money, Harden, Westbrook, Capela, Tucker, House, Gordon, Rivers, Chandler, Green, Clark, Hartenstein, Clemons... That leaves two roster spots.
they may sign him with MLE money so they don't get "housed" next summer. of course there is some advantages to leaving him on a 2-way deal. however, I agree with your prediction that he takes the 3rd string PG spot. that does leave 2 roster spots, but I really believe Bennet takes a spot. clark is unproven, and so is Bennet, but its better to have both stretch 4's and see which one shoots and plays D more consistently. there aren't any other FA 4's that are guaranteed to be better than them. plus I like that they add some youth to the team. that leaves 1 for potential buyouts. as I said I think this year we are 4th in line for buyout targets. the LA teams and the warriors will all precede us. I don't expect signing more than 1 if any. ideally I'd love to add a vet center to play when chandler rests. he only played 55 games last year, and we will need someone to pickup those minutes. I'm not sure harty is ready. there are still some quality centers available. I would love to add Sefolosha, Livingston, or shumpert just to have some proven bench players. I hate going into the season relying on clark, harty, maybe Bennet for regular minutes. even house is relatively unproven. we only have rivers who is a proven NBA rotation guy. we need at least 2 more of those just in case. if clark/house/harty pan out that's great depth, but I don't want to count on all of them panning out.
Do they not understand we are desperately lacking a perimeter defender with length? We had the same issue last year, no? Shump might be the best available player now.
we might even be 5th in line for buyouts b/c philly has a weak bench and is going to be at the top of the east
Not necessarily, if we’re talking about WING players who get bought out. Both LA teams already have good depth at the wing positions: Clippers: Kawhi PG13 Lou Will Harkless Lakers: LeBron D.Green KCP Bradley Dudley We just saw some buyout guys (such as Wes Mathews) pass on “better” contenders to go somewhere they could actually play real playoff minutes. The Rockets may offer a better opportunity for those top buyout wing guys to play. As for the Warriors, while they would certainly offer opportunities for playing time on the wing (they are VERY thin at the small forward spot), they are SOOOOO close to the hard cap right now. They will need to make some trades just to open up enough room to sign someone to the prorated vet minimum! That said, I think they’ll probably make those necessary moves. But they’re in a real crunch right now.
I’ve been looking for players that the Rockets could use their trade exceptions on but I haven’t been able to find a good fit. Guess I better turn my attention to buyout candidates instead.
Our roster is severely lacking at the forward spots. We have no true tested small forwards and one undersized power forward. -Those wanting to see House slide in as a starter are sort of baffling me. Maybe that can work out, but he showed nothing but a string of games when the Rockets were rolling mid season to make us think that there isn’t a likelihood he may not be up for a starting role for a contender. He was rather useless in the playoffs. I’d be very comfortable with back up small forward roles for House and Green with EG considered a shooting guard even though he may officially play as a starter. But one of those two being a go to small forward is not promising. -It really is too bad the Faried situation went so sour. He is the exact type of player I always felt our roster needed; size of an old school Power Forward with athleticism. Montrezz type player but obviously with our cap situation it would be a much more budget version on a minimum contract. We’re just viewers; obviously we may get frustrated at MDA when we want to see a player get more playing time but you have to assume the staff and front office have their reasons. Another huge hole. -Shumpert. Maybe if he re-signs and gets more comfortable and healthy, we can use him as a 4th option guard with Harden Westbrook Rivers and try and snag a solid forward for EG. I just can’t think of anyone that would be a realistic and reliable option at the expense of losing EG. -Jerami Grant. To be honest, of all the moves that were made this off season, I despised this one the most. Really think Houston could have used him off the bench, sometimes throwing PJ at SF too and have them share forward spots. All he cost Denver was a first round pick. That was a huge win for Denver. Not sure how the roster will change come March 1st, but really hope we get a boost for our forward spots one way or another. Really don’t want to hope for break out seasons from guys who’ve never been tested.
This is a fair point about *opportunity.* We have seen in the past that opportunity many times is the #1 reason for a player to join a team. Basically so they can showcase themselves for NEXT free agency. So, we'll see.
Sign Shumpert for the min if he accepts it. We need some capable 3&D guys, not saying Shump is anything special, but he's a vet and has played in this system already. Thabo might be good for 10 minutes a night, but he's definitely lost a step.
Also a very close friend of Harden's. Consecutive Drew League MVP. Problem with Franklin "Frank Nitty" Sessions is that he abhors practice and is already 30 years old. But guy plays big, the bigger the game the bigger he plays. He is also a small guard at 6'2 180. Rockets need wings and back up 4/5. But nice article on this LA legend below. https://sports.yahoo.com/meet-frank...tball-player-youve-never-heard-225102787.html
You missed Deyonta Davis, Chris Chiozza, and Tim Frazier in your depth chart. They currently are under contract (whereas Bennett is not). There is also a small chance that we bring back Shump. I think Shamorie, McD-White and Clemons are also under 1 year contracts (maybe 2 ways).
