Covington makes the team, based on what he showed in summer league and the others go to Rio. Smith looks like the odd man out right now. He didn't show substantial improvement in summer, IMO but should be tradable.
Nobody makes a team based on summer league performance. The team is allowed to, and will, see what people do in preseason before making cuts.
This is what we're looking at: 1. Dwight Howard $20,513,178 2. James Harden 13,668,750 3. Chandler Parsons 926,500 4. Jeremy Lin 8,374,646 5. Omer Asik 8,374,646 6. Terrence Jones 1,551,840 7. Donatas Montiejunas 1,422,720 8. Patrick Beverley 788,872 9. Greg Smith 884,293 (unguaranteed) 10. Francisco Garcia 1,265,977 11. Omri Casspi 947,907 12. Isaiah Canaan 570,515 13. Aaron Brooks 884,293 14. Marcus Camby 1,399,507 15. Reggie Williams 947,907 (50% guaranteed) 16. Robert Covington 490,180 (first year guaranteed) 17. BJ Young 490,180 (40k guaranteed) 18. Jordan Henriquez 490,180 (unguaranteed) Three will have to be gone by the start of the season... It would actually be cheaper to cut Reggie Williams than it would Rob Cov by about 20k. We won't know how it all turns out until training camp though, should make for some pretty fierce competition.
Young and Henriquez are a given to be cut. If Smith isn't traded for a 2nd rounder, then Covington or Williams. Williams has the advantage being a 2 guard with NBA experience.
All of this (plus the 100k from Honeycutt) puts us at $64,092,091 total salaries, which is $5,413,091 over the cap. When it's time to cut, look for us to cut enough ($1,413,091) to get under that tax line. I know Les said he's willing to be a tax payer but I don't see us doing that for a rookie or nonguaranteed contract. We still have a $2,652,000 RMLE that we'd probably use for the right vet or after some minor moves have been made to give us some more space.
And of course now my numbers are a little off, per BimaThug, while Camby gets $1,399,507 the Rockets are only paying him $884,293 and the league picks up the rest. This means he only hits our cap for the $884,293 we're paying him. All my numbers above can now be adjusted by $515,214. Thanks Bima.
I agree 100%. But, with the Camby addition, someone has to go. If no trade happens, my guess is Williams. If Morey makes a trade happen, my guess my be Smith.
Young may turn some heads in camp. He'll have an opportunity to do what he does best in McHale's system -- run the floor and finish. He's an exceptional athlete, and when hungry and confident, he's a fringe lottery talent. He's certainly a long shot to make the club, but don't be surprised to see him make some noise in the coming months.
I hope they keep Covington. I didn't see him this summer but I liked him a good amount when I saw him play in college.
Smith did well in the first half of last season. He is inconsistent, but a capable roll man and finisher with good hands. I am not sure if we can get something for him so let's wait till trade deadline.
