What is your Realistic Target for a taxpayer MLE free agent this offseason.

I think @TheGoldenGreek is talking about giving Shumpert $10m per season, which would not cause any BYC issues. I'm thinking they explore something along these lines, although I think it would be for a little less. Maybe $6-8m per season. Yes, they'd have to add a second non-guaranteed year in order to avoid Shumpert having veto rights as a One-Year Bird player.

 

I was just clarifying since he put 20-30m and anything over that $13.2 number triggers BYC.

I agree … its highly likely the retain him. They aren't likely to get a better player with the minimum or the T-MLE.

Only question is at what number … $11m last year which I don't think he played up to. 6-8 seems reasonable to me but there's so much cap space across the league (420m+?) , it could inflate salaries.

 

In the Amick article, he mentioned the following as possible targets: Danny Green, Jeremy Lamb, Aminu, DeAndre Jordan, Brook Lopez & Kevon Looney.

Here's what I find interesting, although not surprising: 3 of those are 3&D wings, and 3 are centers.

If I'm Houston, and Capela is gone, I'd absolutely make a run at Kevon Looney.

 

I’m surprised there is zero discussion of Taj Gibson. He could play a small ball 5 here.

 

Just for fun.

Let's assume Houston does a SnT for Butler, with Capela, Gordon and Nene going out. Hard cap is $139 million.

Team uses a portion of it's MLE to sign Kevon Looney as it's full time center (3 years $18 million). Another portion to sign House (2 years $4 million, fully guaranteed).

Then sign Gerald Green, Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Thabo Sefolosha, Austin Rivers and a Euro to vet min contracts.

1) 38.5 CP3
2) 38.2 Harden
3) 32.7 Butler
4) 8.3 PJ
5) 5.7 Looney
6) 2 House
7) 1.6 Gerald Green vet min
8) 1.6 Tyson Chandler vet min
9) 1.6 Jared Dudley vet min
10) 1.6 Thabo Sefolosha vet min
11) 1.6 Austin Rivers vet min (unlikely, but who knows)
12) 1.6 Euro vet min
13) 1.6 Gary Clark
14) 1.4 Hartenstein
0.1 Troy Williams Dead Cap

$138.1, or $0.9 under the apron...which I think would be just enough room to sign someone to an end of season deal after the deadline.

CP3 / Rivers
Harden / Green
Butler / House or Sefolosha
Tucker / Dudley or Clark
Looney / Chandler or Hartenstein

 

Looney is good target, younger than Aminu. GSW cant pay all their young PF: Looney, Bell, Paschall

 

Phoenix has extended qualifying offer to Kelly Oubre Jr., which will make him a restricted free agent, league sources tell ESPN. Oubre is a target for significant offer sheets in the market, especially with cap space teams who miss out on high-profile unrestricted free agents. - Woj

 

oh boo, he's going to get paid.

 

yup

 

Nerlens Noel cold be had cheaply.
poor mans Capela.
Dewayne Dedmon I think will be too expensive.
Kevin Looney would be perfect but GSW wont let him go especially to HOU.

 

I'd personally spend it on DAJ (if he'd take it) with Ariza as my second option. I have no doubt that we will go into next season with some option at the 5 that can be more impactful than PJ on the offensive end. I personally would love to see the first 30 games with Hartenstein playing major minutes and see what happens.

 

Starters
Paul
Harden
Jimmy Butler - 6'8"
Taj Gibson (MLE) - 6'9"
Mike Muscala (vet min) - 6'11"

Bench
Jamal Crawford (vet min again)
House
Hartenstein
Anthony Tolliver (vet min)
Vince Carter (vet min again)
G. Green (vet min again)
Clark

Taj Gibson and Mike Muscala both have a history of playing well with Jimmy Butler.

Jamal Crawford's final 3 games last season: 50 pts, 27 pts, & 28 pts. He is old, but he gets BUCKETS.

Anthony Tolliver, Vince Carter, and Gerald Green are vets that excel in corner threes.

 

Wow, Stanley should be another guy on our list, if we can somehow get one of this guys like him, Rondae for cheap, that would be nice.

 

[...]

Houston will likely have the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception available to them at about $5.7 million. This should be enough to add some additional depth in terms of one player, or it could be split up among two players. After that, it’s going to have to be minimum exception contracts for the Rockets, or trades of the players mentioned above.

The good news for Houston is that this is a summer where plenty of players should be available to sign to veteran minimum deals. Around 200 players will be free agents this summer, or nearly 40% of the NBA. Half the league has cap space, but that money will go very quickly. After the first couple of tiers of free agents are signed, most teams will be capped out and working with exceptions. Because the Rockets are positioned as contenders, they should be able to land productive players for at least the coming season.

Houston has needs up and down their bench, so they’ll be active with all positions. Players like Kyle O’Quinn, Kosta Koufos, or Richaun Holmes would be solid fits behind Capela. The Rockets could also take a chance on reclamation projects like Dragan Bender or Trey Lyles for some frontcourt depth.

On the wing, don’t count out a return for Gerald Green. He’s fit in well in Mike D’Antoni’s system the last couple of years. They could also take a chance on Mario Hezonja, Darius Miller or Thabo Sefolosha for additional depth.

Finally, it seems more imperative than usual to find a quality backup to Paul, given his age and injury history. Harden can be the primary ballhandler, so that makes finding a backup point guard more of a defensive issues than an offensive one. While bringing back Patrick Beverley would be the ideal fit, he’s going to be far too expensive and is unlikely to return to Houston. Someone like T.J. McConnell could fit in well, or the team could see if they can sign someone like Cory Joseph.

One other thing Houston should consider is re-signing Iman Shumpert to a bigger contract than it might seem like he is worth on its face. Because Shumpert is one of the few free agents that the Rockets have Bird rights for, they could re-sign him for $12 million to $15 million for the upcoming season and, in effect, make him a living traded player exception. This would allow Houston to package his salary in a deal down the line to help bring in additional help. They could also use Shumpert as part of a sign-and-trade, should the opportunity present itself. This situation is far less about Shumpert’s ability as a player, than making him into a salary-matching asset. That’s harsh in a way, but something Houston has to consider and would obviously benefit Shumpert financially.

 

Diallo at vet min ... YES PLEASE!!!!