Let me preface this question, by saying that I really like Howard & believe he's an integral part of this team's chemistry. However, he is 32 years old & has 4 years left on his contract, for approximately $26.55 million. Other than T-Mac, Swift, Head, & Yao's (pending) contracts (all cornerstones of the future), Howard's contract is the only one that currently extends beyond 2 years. Howard will not be the starter this year (assuming Swift works out) & his salary of $5.9 million this year increases to $7.375 million in his last year. That's an awful lot of money to be spending on a backup. I'd prefer to see the team trade him for an upgrade at the PG position, but Monday is the deadline for using the Amnesty clause & we're just running out of time. There are several free agent PF's still available that would make a solid backup. Players such as: Rodney Rogers (UFA) Matt Bonner (RFA) Othella Harrington (UFA) Robert Traylor (UFA) Dale Davis (UFA) Marcus Fizer (UFA) Malik Allen (UFA) Reggie Evans (RFA) Vitaly Potapenko (UFA) Brian Grant (UFA) Darius Songaila (RFA) Alan Henderson (UFA) With the exception of Grant & Evans, we should be able to pick up one of these guys for pretty close to the minimum. And, that list doesn't even take into account the PF's we could trade an expiring contract for, or that might be waived under the Amnesty rule. Oh well, just some food for thought.
His contract will still count against the cap though. As long as we are going to be paying him, we might as well have him backup Swift, in which I think he will do a fine job. I don't like the idea of paying him for another 3 years, but waiving him would just help our LT situation (if any). I don't think the Rockets will be waiving anyone. Our bad contracts (Spoon, Baker, Mooch) are all expiring anyways. They could prove to be very, very valuable come the trade deadline.
No. Keep in mind, anyone that gets amnestied we will STILL keep their contract "on the books" for the remaining years of the deal. So it makes NO SENSE to cut Howard when he is still productive to the team. IMO the logical choice to be amnestied is Spoon. His deal this year is 6.5M and he doesnt provide much to the team. You cut him and move on. I think the Rockets ARE in LT territory with the signings of Barry, Mutombo, Bowen, Head and Swift. So I would bet on Monday we see Spoon cut unless we can make a trade before then.
I think it would be Baker, Spoon's contract has value b/c he might be able to give someone 7-10 mins a night and it expires this year Baker is just garbage
Given what Doc Rocket was saying about the Rockets actively trying to trade Spoon, you may be right about that. However, in regards to waiving Howard. While his salary will still count towards the team's salary cap, the removal of his salary from Luxury Tax calculations over the next 4 years could give us more flexibility to go over the cap. When we add Yao's max deal to the team's cap, we'll most likely be over the cap for several years to come. Spoon's contract will come off the books at the end of the year, regardless. But, by dropping Howard, we get an extra $5.9 million escalating to $7.375 million per year in cap flexibility over the next 4 years.
I was just about to start a topic on the Amnesty Cut myself. But to answer your question on Howard - No. http://www.geocities.com/micah1j/ I think they will cut Spoon. If the cut Spoon they can sign Deke to 3M this year no problem and still sign a vet to the minimum and not pay any Luxury tax. From what I understand a team losses about 3-4M in escrow distributions if they are $1 over the lux tax.
Everybody keeps assuming Howard is the automatic backup. JVG likes his vets because they don't make mistakes. JVG trusts Howard and Stro will have to earn the starting position. So no, we won't waive Howard. We'll waive Moochie or Baker. Spoon is servicable as a 3rd string PF and/or is a tradable asset.
Howard is critical to this teams success. His contract sucks but he isn't a bad basketball player. He is very professional and very consistant with what he does. Keep Howard and bite the bullet unless you can package him in a trade. Remember Swift is still all "potential."
I've been saying this all along as well..... I am still holding out for a Spoon +(Moochie/Wesley/draft pick) for Kidd at the mid season... Baker will be the most likely to get cut IF we cut anybody. Its going to be funny to watch all the pissed off people when JVG starts Howard at the PF spot and brings Swfit off the bench. I could be wrong but thats how I see that position playing out, at least in the beginning.
I'd be pretty suprised if anyone got cut, to be honest. But if we do, I think it'll probably be Mooch or Baker. You never know which big name player on a team looking to trim payroll may be available at midseason. Paul Pierce comes to mind.
I want us to put the best team on the floor and waiving a contributor like JH instead of Baker or Spoon doesn't accomplish that. Swift is not a proven commodity and we need JH as depth. With those two together we are solid at PF; with Swift alone we have no depth at all, just like last year. He only played 60 games last year so we can't be too hasty.
If Les is willing to pay lux tax, then the expiring contracts should be kept for trade value. Cutting one of the expiring contracts is not worth much.
I dont think anyone with one yr left gets cut. Maybe they will try to parlay those expiring contracts into a player. Spoon contract has good value because its close to 7m and there are players availible with longer contracts at that salary that can be had.
Baker most likely as Spoon can still play. My next guess would be Moochie. But definitely not Howard.
Someone made a very interesting thread earlier this summer, whether it made more sense to cut Howard (given the length of his contract and his health issues) or Spoon (given that he isn't a contributor but his contract may have value mid-season). My only question would be, how often do you get a solid contributor for an expiring contract. Sac got one in Mobley. We got one in James. So I guess it can happen. I like what Howard has brought to the team, he really isn't overpaid that much if he can give you 12 and 7 a night. He's arguably the third best player on the team. But I think its fairly obvious his health is declining and 3 more years of solid play after this season doesn't seem viable. We'll see.
I may be wrong, but the lux tax thresh hold is 61 million. We are at 53 million Pay roll now. With the expiring contracts of Spoon, Baker? ( team option at end of season), and Ward, we should be able to afford Yao at Max contract cost without going over the luxury tax thresh hold. I agree in keeping Howard. Swift earns his spot, and we have some depth at the 4.
Howard has trade value, team value, and is a valuable part of the team chemistry. I don't see him getting cut. I'd love for us to trade him to CHI for one or two of their younger guys we can use for our future. He'd be valuable there, adding a good guy veteran presence and depth. He's from there, a fan favorite, and is strongly involved in their community and charities. They've been trying to get him for the last few years. If we threw in draft pic(s) and cash, we might pick up a good player to go alongside our core. But, if not, he gives us depth, and is the consumate professional, and for what he provides, his contract is good value. His reputation for a bad contract was for the 100 mil plus one years ago, not this one, although in another couple years, if his health fails, it won't look so good. I'm assuming we might cut Moochie, since his contract is for two years, and brings little value to the team, but based on Micah1j's spreadsheet, I can understand them cutting Spoon instead. But, I bet they are trying to trade 2 of our expiring contracts for 1 other guy, then they could waive him, and save even more ... and have another roster spot to pick up one of the amnesty waiver players, such as Finley.
