[The Athletic] Leroux: Rockets’ Repeater Tax fear more excuse than reality

I am starting to wonder if I'll renew my season tickets again if Tilman is going to be cheap. It's going to be upsetting wasting Harden's prime years. The Rockets aren't exactly floating in assets.

 

Saying we can dump Paul's contract the final year is a different argument that neither the author nor justtxyank were making it. Also, that year Harden will still be in his prime and dumping our second best player for nothing probably isn't the best way to keep Harden happy.

Shump's deal would only expire because we made the trade. The author is arguing even without the trade we can easily get under the tax. In that case we would have Knight and Gordon expiring, so yes we could trade them for nothing. But then we would be losing Gordon(or Tucker or whoever we decide to dump). If we use their expiring for an upgrade or star player, we won't be under the tax.

 

What team with cap space is going to eat 45 million dollars for a guy in his late 30's.

 

What would be nice is if Tilman and Morey would sit down and just explain to everyone exactly what their thinking was behind the decisions they made. Maybe some reporters could ask some questions. I know Tilman said they needed to get under the luxury cap in 1 of the next 3 years, but maybe they could elaborate. Doubt that will happen, but it would be interesting.

 

A team that wants to try and attract one or two max-contract eligible free agents the following year. A team that would trade back to the Rockets longer-term contracts totalling slightly more than 4/5 of 45 million. The Rockets could conceivably cut up to 9 million by such a move. How many teams this year were desperate for expirings so they could go after the free agents du jour in Summer 2019?

I have serious doubts a 36 year old Paul will be our second best player in 2021-2022. If he is, we're not winning anything, anyway.

 

I've never ever in my life seen an owner or GM do this and I see no reason why they should start doing it now.


Fact is, the warriors will be breaking up after this year and I believe Tillman and Morey have already decided next year is their best chance and they want to be financially ready to do that. The Cousins deal to the warriors is a joke.

 

Are you prepared to wager that the rockets go over the tax the next 3 years?

 

What does that have to do with it? If we didn't get out of the tax this year, then in year 4 the team will have cp3's 44m on the books. Yes or no? If yes then you're interpretation of the author is wrong. Indeed he didn't even suggest that. To your credit, without making that point I'm not sure what the author is getting at then, which was my question.

I never said anything about them being over the tax the next 3 years. They certainly have the flexibility to be now that the repeater tax isn't in the picture, and I would like them to be to upgrade the team. But they shouldn't do it just for the sake of it unless it makes the team better.

 

basically article calls Morey and Tilman out on rather saving money than getting better players with concrete proof


but you can believe whatever you want. Most people here just don't want to admit we're not in it to win it all.


People here that defend Tilman keeps saying we'll go over the tax next 2 years. Yea, lets waste another year of an already aging CP3 and PJ Tucker, along with the rest of the team and Harden's prime. Another 2 years, if the Warriors disband, it won't be them we have to worry about. It'll be all the other 3-4 star superteams that have climbed onto of us. Meanwhile, we'll still be stuck with CP3's 40+ mil/year contract. Better start praying Clint turned into Wilt by then to carry us.

 

Yes cause people are just tripping over themselves to spend billions on teams... if anybody else was interested they didn’t put their money where their mouth is.

 

Honest opinion: The discussion of this issue is absolutely ridiculous. We dumped guys that aren't playing, or no one could stop complaining about. House is still on the hook to play for us in the playoffs, and we got a solid championship experienced rotation player. If they don't resign House at some point for at least this year, then maybe I'll entertain this argument. That still won't make this discussion valid, because its too early to determine what's happening behind the scenes.

Silver lining: This issue is like a smart bomb for my ignore list. I've never had to use less energy filling it.

 

Anybody think that this might be more on Morey then Tillman? I mean Tilman said in the off-season if we are paying the tax and barely competing in first round series then he would get a new GM. So if Morey doesn’t think that these moves that would put us over the tax we’re going to make us legit contenders maybe he wanted to play it safe so he doesn’t lose his job.

You can say that’s being cheap but I agree with Tilman, it doesn’t make sense to be maxed out on cap space and over the tax if we aren’t really competing for the title. And from the looks of the early season maybe Morey doesn’t think this is the year we can compete.

 

I won’t get too much into other than from what I was told, I am confident Tilman would have paid the repeater tax for Butler. However keep in mind Butler is a star, is from the area and filed a need.

 

"... you don’t want to be in the luxury tax and not be getting to the Finals, so if you don’t have a team that can get to the Finals, you shouldn’t be paying the luxury tax." -Tilman Fertitta

https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-tilman-fertitta-luxury-tax-only-capable-reaching-finals/

 

I kept reading this trying to figure out your point and I realize I said in my first post that Paul contact will be off when it was gordon that is off (which I’ve said correctly in subsequent posts.)

His point is that he sees it as plausible that they won’t be a tax team the next three years because of Gordon and nene coming off and being replaced by smaller salaries.

My point in asking is that the author thinks they likely won’t be one in one of the next three years which in his mind makes going under this year simply a savings tool.

My own position is different than his but that is his point

 

I would agree with you, however you do realize the only way the Rockets would have the ability to add a large salary in the future was the Anderson/Knight contract. That chip is gone now.

I don’t even care that much about the #1 gone or the players lost. We are better now than a week ago. It is that contract missing that hurts flexibility.

 

Well if we got under this year to deal for butler than we might not be repeaters because Paul would come off the books that fourth year.

 

Sounds eerily similar to what I've been posting recently , particularly the part about converting Knight (and assets) into a contributing player next year.

 

Lets not forget that without salary to move out , they cant make those intermediate moves …. With Knight (or a resigned Shumpert) , you had a contract you could move and not negatively affect the potential … Now , where's the movable salary ?

 

In any normal period of time in the NBA , I'd agree with you …. but I think , assuming Durant leaves GSW in the offseason , I'd rather push all the chips in the middle next season over this year. The odds of beating them are so slim having two League MVP's and a roster full of AllStars. Minus Durant , your odds went up exponentially …. Maybe that's the thinking with management ?