Hakeem retirement salary FACTS

Davo,

That is very interesting. Kudo's to you. Is Barkley's salary really that high? I thought he took a pay cut to make room for Pippen.

It looks like between Barkley and the Dream, the Rockets will free up a lot of Cap room. It would be nice to have at least some of Hakeem's cap room available for next season. With Hakeem struggling, it would enable the team to go for some free agents to help support the rookies. He's contributed a lot to the team, and has been a great role model and mentor, but we deffinitely haven't gotten $14 million worth of play from him lately. I don't think anyone would argue that we can't expect $16 million worth of play next year.

I wonder if he would take a voluntary pay cut for the good of the team if they showed their appreciation in other ways. Make him a player / coach. Guarantee him a place with the team when he retires -- like Director of Player operations? Or perhaps a 5 year advertising contract with Gallery Furniture?

------------------


[This message has been edited by dc sports (edited March 16, 2000).]

 

Ahhhh. Thank's Davo. I didn't realize that Barkley was at the end of a contract and had signed successive one year contracts.

So, the only real way to get under the cap is if Hakeem retires. It seems like that $5 million could help a lot. It would be enough to get another Cato type player, and/or "upgrade" some of our other players through trades. We would still have the exceptions to get work around the cap for a few good players (Larry Byrd exception, trade, etc.).

This may not be enough to catapult the Rockets to the top of the league, but it would take us a long way toward rebuilding the team. We would be much better off than we would struggling another year. It's real easy to explain one or two struggling years, but put too many together and the team could put itself in a long term slump.

I appreciate all Hakeem has done, but I would much rather see him go out closer to the top of his game, after one struggling, injury prone year, than see him risk being remembered for dragging the team down after two. That's not the legacy he wants to leave behind.

------------------

 

davo,

What about that $4.5 mil trade exemption we supposedly had? Is that still an option?

------------------
I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.

 

Davo,

Would getting rid of Drew, Williams, Cato, Bullard, Gray, and Massenburg, along with Barkley's salary (next year), get us under the cap?

------------------
I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.

 

I may not be the cappologist Davo is, but I am knowledgeable, soo...

DREAMer-

4.5 million trade option is still in effect. What that means is that the Rocks can TRADE one player for a player 4.5 miillion dollars higher despite the fact that they are over the cap. The exception has nothing to do with signing free agents.

dc sports-

if Hakeem retires, his contract still counts against the cap for the length of his contract, which ends at the end of NEXT year. So having hiim retire would NOT free up cap space.

Davo-

I really appreciate you trying to stop the spread of misinformation. You and Aelliot are a great boon to this BBS to keep its speculation grounded on reasonable foudation. Even I, the master of manteca, am a little wiser because of ya'll, and that's saying a lot.

------------------
Not only am I president of the WaltWizFanClub, I'm also the member.

 

If he retires, he is effectively ending his contract early. I'm no expert on sports contracts, but it would seem that the Rockets wouldn't pay him, since he won't be working. So why does this count against the salary cap?

Of course, especially considering Hakeem's real estate business and the fact he is financing his brother's ventures, that $16 million is probably looking pretty good to Hakeem, and he may not be willing to give up that last paycheck, even if it means struggling one more year.

Thank you for the insight.

------------------

 

I know that I would not give up a penny of my pay, so I think to my elf, why would Hakeem. If Hakeem knew people here were even mentioning it , he would probably laugh.

------------------

 

Houston Rocks,


Seems to have been posted by a reliable source on this BBS several months ago.

Supposedly last summer, the Rockets and Dream had talks about buying out his contract . The talks were not started by the Rockets.
Dream was surprised by the willingness of the Rockets to negotiate an early termination of his contract. Terms weren't agreed upon, so Dream came back this season.

If Dream's desire to collect the full amount due him by hanging around for another season is greater than settling for maybe 75 cents on the dollar and saving his diginity this summer, then I pity him.

Mango

------------------
It could be worse ....... you could have been born a Jazz fan!!!!

 

That's a good point, and I agree if it is true, but I personally don't think that it ever happened. It sounds like one of those rumours that anti-dream people start.

------------------

 

If he retires, he is effectively ending his contract early. I'm no expert on sports contracts, but it would seem that the Rockets wouldn't pay him, since he won't be working. So why does this count against the salary cap?

The salary still counts against the cap regardless of whether or not the team is still paying the player. Here's the explanation from the Salary Cap FAQ:

"With one exception, retired players continue to count against the team's cap as long as their contract is in effect. An example is James Worthy, who retired in 1994,
two years before the end of his contract. His $7.25 million salary for 94-95 and $5.15 million salary for 95-96 counted against the Lakers' cap in those years. Note
that a retired player may or may not actually be paid for those seasons (Worthy -was- paid), but the salary counts against the cap regardless. "

I'm guessing that this rule is to prevent a team from negotiating an under the table deal where a player agrees to retire and the team or team sponsors hire the player in another capacity.

If Dream's desire to collect the full amount due him by hanging around for another season is greater than settling for maybe 75 cents on the dollar and saving his diginity this summer, then I pity him.

It's a minor point, but a contract buy out cannot exceed 50% of the remaining value of the contract.


------------------


[This message has been edited by aelliott (edited March 17, 2000).]

 

Hakeem will not get a farewell tour as some other great players get because Hakeem has little fan base outside of Houston. Because Hakeem has been a quiet man, and does not have any national endorsement contracts (I think that the uncle ben commercials only ran in Houston), he is just not well appreciated outside of Houston.

Hakeem might get some polite applause, but if he thinks that he is going to get the type of response like Jabbar got, or Jordan got, (or Barkley would have gotten had he not been injured) it aint gonna happen.

------------------
Maybe Pippen's problem last year was that he was spending too much time looking at Barkley's Butt -- Just a thought

 

aelliott,

Thanks for the clarification on the buyout percentage.

I don't know if he values his dignity that much to settle for a 7 to 8 million buyout this summer.

Mango

------------------
It could be worse ....... you could have been born a Jazz fan!!!!

 

The Rockets do not have to not pay Olajuwon if he retires. The CBA FAQ points out that Worthy (I think it was Worthy) continued to be paid another 3 years after he retired. If Alexander is serious about appreciating Olajuwon's past efforts, he'd pay that last year whether Dream plays or not.

------------------

 

Houston Rocks-- That contract buyout story was reported in the Chronicle earlier this year. It's not just a rumor.

------------------

 

davo,

If the Rockets and Dream had exploratory talks about a buyout last summer, it seems that the contract provison must have been there.

Mango

------------------
It could be worse ....... you could have been born a Jazz fan!!!!