July 20, 2006, 8:33PM Rockets likely to sign Lucas next week By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Having reached out thousands of miles to put some size in their backcourt with Vasillis Spanoulis from Greece earlier this week, the Rockets will be staying close to home to add a small guard to their roster. John Lucas III, who played 13 games for the team last season, likely will be signed to a three-year contract by early next week. "We like him. We've had preliminary talks, and we'll just try to get together on the terms," said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. Lucas, who starred at Bellaire High School, is coming off a stellar performance in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he led the Rockets' team to a 5-0 record. He averaged 23.4 points and 7.6 assists, playing with poise and confidence. "There were definitely five or six teams that offered him contracts after that," said his father, John Lucas Jr. "But John definitely has developed a closeness with the Rockets. They gave him a chance last season, and he wasn't really close then. "I think he can be a solid third guard in the league and the situation with the Rockets is a perfect fit. He can bring a dimension that they really don't have — a young, fast guard who can come in and change the tempo and make things happen." The Rockets originally signed Lucas to a contract last December, then waived him and resigned him to 10-day contract in January. Though he finished the season on the Rockets' bench and played briefly in 13 games — averaging 8.2 minutes, 2.3 points and 0.9 assists — he was never on the court at the same time with the injury-plagued Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Lucas (5-11) struggled to make shots from the perimeter with the Rockets and worked to improve dramatically in that area. "My dad told me I had the ability to play and to just go out there and perform and enjoy myself," Lucas said last week in Las Vegas. "I tried to have fun out there, but I wanted to win, too." Lucas was quite effective running the pick-and-roll, getting all the way to the basket or kicking the ball out to rookie shooters Steve Novak and Pat Carroll or making his own jumpers. "The experience of being with the Rockets for that bit of time last year helped him a lot," said the elder Lucas. "I've always told every kid that I ever coached that the game will slow down for you when you get it. "Well, when John was with the Rockets in the regular season, he looked like he was trying to do everything at warp speed. In the summer league, it all slowed down. He was under control." The Rockets' staff was equally impressed. "I know it's the summer league, and you factor that in," Dawson said. "But there were NBA coaches on the sidelines and a lot of those guys were trying every way in the world to guard him on the pick-and-roll. Nobody could do it. "I told (head coach) Jeff (Van Gundy) that I think Luke has improved tremendously. Confidence-wise, he was supreme." Since they see him as project, the Rockets would like to use some of the money they have from their mid-level exception to get a third year onto a contract. "I think that's all they're waiting on, to get that straightened out," Lucas Jr. said. "He's been offered two-year deals. And I know there are probably other teams that would fit his style more. A team like Denver runs more than the Rockets. But this is where John feels comfortable. And hey, let's face it, the kid grew up always wanting to be a Rocket." fran.blinebury@chron.com --------------------------- i think this makes it pretty clear luther head is on his way out. hopefully we get a starting 2 guard with some size in return.
Since the question was asked about where V-Span would have gone in this past draft, I think the question now needs to be asked, especially given his outstanding performance in Vegas: Where would JL3 have gone in this year's draft? Assuming that his Vegas performance would have been something that all the teams would have known about BEFORE the draft, I think the guy goes mid-first, no doubt about it. Won't it be amusing that we DIDN'T get Memphis' #24, and DIDN'T get the PG they selected at that spot, but we DO get JL3, and our guy turns out to be better than their guy? That would be sweet in its own subtle way.
A 3-year contract? Why? I like Lucas too and all, but he's still technically a scrub. Why would we want to make such a long commitment to him? And, if I'm reading this right, we're signing him with MLE money instead of player minimum (or what have you) so that we'll be able to give him that third year. How much of the MLE do we have left? Is it enough to be useful?
IMO, JL3 will not fare that well in the draft due one simple thing, that is, his height. A lot of GMs have soft spot on short player. It will have to take more than his performance in Vegas.
Judging by his summer-league performance, his cup of coffee last year with the Rockets, and his stint at OK State, I think he's clearly better than Nate Robinson. Nate was picked #21 in 2005, but if his performance so far were known, he'd probably been picked lower. Definitely behind Jarrett Jack and Luther Head. Nothing wrong with Nate, but it's becoming obvious that Washington's success had more to do with Roy. I'm guessing that Lucas, even if he'd had some tournament like the Summer Leagues, would probably have been at best an end of the 1st round pick.
Not a bad decision. But don't look forward to it until it's official. The Logo might strike again with a S&T deal of Lucas and Yao Ming for Bryant Reeves.
Signing him to a 3 year deal gives the Rockets his Bird rights so in 3 years from now if he blows up with mad skills they can pretty much out bid anyone for his services. A 2 year contract would mean they would have to use future MLE money to keep him. I don't think that he'll take up much of the MLE probably less than 1 mil a year. Also there were 5 other teams that wanted his services and this separates us from them and in addition the fact that 5 teams wanted him means he probably already has some trade value and with a 3 year deal with Bird rights at less than 1 million dollars a year, he will be very appealing to alot of teams if he turns out to be a player.
Thanks. Now a 3-year deal makes sense. If the final year is a team option, does that still count toward the Bird rights scenario?
Yes. To qualify for Bird rights, a player must play 3 years continuously without being cut or changing teams as a Free Agent. http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#25
OMR, everything you say makes plenty of sense. However, the chances that he'll blow up and be worth more than what we can pay with Early Bird Rights are not that high. For the extra safety, we're surrendering extra cap space, a roster spot (not a big deal, I know), and part of the MLE this year that could potentially be used on a backup center or power forward. I suppose CD has already thought of all this and decided that wouldn't hurt us much. But, it still makes me do a double-take. Will we also be giving Novak a 3-year deal?
That's agood question and might be why they haven't signed Novak yet. I know most will disagree but I like the 3 year deal scenario. Of course there are some stipulations, number 1 being you must really feel confident that you have a player who is going to develop in the league. And 2 being you are not wasting MLE money that could be used to sign a free agent you need. But if that is the case the 3 year deal sounds like mostly a win win situation to me. You don't have to worry about anyone stealing your player from you because you used up your MLE and can only offer the league minimum. It gives you a great edge on resigning your player in the future because teams know you can outbid them so they are less inclined to start a biding war which keeps the price of your player down. Also a team is more likely to request a sign and trade if the really want your guy. Which also means you don't lose your player for nothing. The only drawbacks are you overpay a bit initially and if he turns out to be s#!it you are stuck with him for 3 years instead of 2 or even 1.
Is it me or has the Chron been on top of things lately, actual quotes from JL3 and KillBill in the last week, breaking the Snyder deal? JL3 will be a solid signing IMO. Like his pops put it, it seemed like JL3 tried to do everything "warp speed" last season with the Rockets. With more confidence and an improved jumper, JL3 could turn into a very good spark off the bench ala Boykins.
I heard Calvin Murphy interviewed on the radio a couple weeks ago and he commented on Lucas III game. Murphy said that he was able to guard bigger guys in his day, in spite of his small size, by using his hands. He said with the new NBA rules, (against hand checking, etc.) that he wouldn't have the same success today. So while he liked Lucas' game, he wondered if he'd be able to have success in NBA on defensive end. I didn't watch basketball back then. Seems like some smaller guards are still able to play with some success in today's NBA. I'm hoping Lucas can help the Rockets with those penetrating PGs that gave them problems last year. If he can stay in front of them / move quickly, can't he help with team's defense? Won't that help keep Yao and other big guys guarding the paint out of foul trouble?
Rockets best bet would be to give a 2 year deal with a "team option" on a 3rd year. That way if the player stinks he is gone in 2 years. If he is doing well they pick up the 3rd year and then have his "bird rights." Hopefully that's the route they went with Vspan and will go with JL3, Novak etc.
I posted about this in another thread but basically this is a Classic Risk Management scenario. That extra year not only provides the ability to gain full bird rights but also delays a potential raise for Lucas back another year. Say if he has some success the next two years, even if he just develops into a good backup, he could be up for a raise to maybe 3-5 million a year. By locking him up for another year, the Rockets are able to delay that for a year, and potentially save money on their cap for the same player. It could be a minor point, or it may keep them out of the luxury tax that year, either way I guess the Rockets (and I'm guessing mainly Morey) think it's worth the extra commitment.
Lucas is a great signing. He will be a very good defender because he will be able to stay infront and match the quickness and speed aspect of guys like Jason Terry, Tony Parker, Steve Nash and Mike James. That alone makes him a very good signing.
if we sign him for minimum salary, the most we can give him is 2 years now we are trying to sign him for 3 years, so we need to use part of MLE (believe it's still going to be minimum amount)
