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[ClutchFans] BimaThug: Houston Rockets Salary Cap Update

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Jul 19, 2010.

  1. Clutch

    Clutch Administrator
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  2. leebigez

    leebigez Contributing Member

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    Good writing Bima, but i will be surprised big time if les pays the lux tax. The rockets have jeffries,battier,and hayes along with some young players that can be packaged up to get under the lt befoe the dealine. Battier,Andersen,and hayes being traded would get the team under the lt. If they just ok and barely in the playoff bubbles, guys will be traded for exceptions. If they're playing great, then he might or they might a big move.
     
  3. Commodore

    Commodore Contributing Member

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    This is an insult to the Chuckwagon.
     
  4. raleigh

    raleigh Member

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    I believe it's likely that Jeffries will be moved with $3M no later than at the trade deadline to lessen *some* of the burden of the tax.

    I also think it's fair to consider the impending lockout as major factors in the deals for Lowry and Miller.
     
    1 person likes this.
  5. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    Thanks, leebigez. However, there is basically no way whatsoever that the Rockets can avoid the tax this season. Sure, it's one thing to dump Steve Francis's $2.7M contract to an under-the-cap team by bribing it with a second round pick. But $11.34M?!?!?! Not going to happen.

    To put into perspective what it would cost to dump Jeffries, the Jazz had to give up Eric Maynor (their recently drafted first round pick who had already proven to be a good young player) in order to dump Matt Harpring's contract on the Thunder. Harpring's deal was a little less than Jeffries's salary AND was covered by insurance. It would basically cost the Rockets one of the Knicks picks--as a STARTING POINT--to get an under-the-cap team to eat Jeffries's salary.

    And even then, the Rockets would STILL be above the luxury tax threshold by a greater amount than they ever have before this season.
     
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  6. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Great job Bima.

    These are the type of contract that have afforded the Mavs and Spurs ability to make those "OMG" trades that send partially guaranteed contracts for very good players.

    I know it more than likely means more money up front but it is also a valuable asset because of the last year.
     
  7. jopatmc

    jopatmc Contributing Member

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    We are not going to be giving away players at the deadline to save money. To give away players to save money, you have to give away a draft pick or another asset. Les is very clearly going for it. Instead of giving away players, look for Morey to make a trade that may actually add salary and luxury tax if the right deal is available. Can you say, "Chris Paul"?
     
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  8. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Great job Bima!

    One thing I noticed though, seems like DM's negotiating skills are "gone".


    $ Ball may mean different things to different people, but to my mind its all about efficiency-what you want to get are players who vastly outperform their pay. That's why it's so shocking to see DM pay:

    1. 6M for Kyle Lowry-should have been signed for 5M.

    2. 9M for Scola-Around what I thought he would get but should have been signed for 7M.

    3. 5M for Miller-Our first overpaid player in DM's reign. Should not have gotten more than 3M.

    Gone were the days when the Rox rolled around with a 3M Scola, a vet min. Deke, and an NBA minimum Mandry. DM didn't even try to nickle and dime his players (like what happened with Landry), in fact he signed on an amount that's pushing their true value, or in the case of Miller, totally overpaying him.

    So why did DM do this? Did he suddenly lose his bargaining mojo? Did Landry's totally indifferent attitude towards leaving the Rox shake him to the core? My crazy theory is DM's signing guys these guys to larger than expected contract so he can use them as trade pieces later.

    Think about it, DM has been too great at signing players for his own good. Back when we had Scolandry playing for pennies, it was hard to engineer a trade simply because giving outgoing salary means losing multiple good players. A trade of 7M, for example would mean giving up Scola, Landry and Brooks already. Now though since the pieces have a bigger salary, its easier to create trades that are in our favor.

    Couple the contracts with the partial guarantee, and you have a huge asset down the road. For example, Miller's contract allows the team who acquires him to save 4M just like that. On the other hand if we just gave him the LLE the 1M they save doesn't seem that big.

    So IMHO this offseason is just another step to DM's quest to land us a star. We'll see what magic the wizard can create this deadline.
     
  9. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    Pretty obvious why 2011-12 isn't being considered.

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us
     
  10. txppratt

    txppratt Contributing Member

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    i think this was all part of one of morey's 6 off-season plans.

    this team is now re-loaded and deep. now for morey to work his magic at the trade deadline...
     
  11. s land balla

    s land balla Contributing Member

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    Who exactly is BimaThug?
     
  12. BamBam

    BamBam Contributing Member

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    "Never under estimated the heart of a Morey!"
    Just kidding...I agree Alexander deserves kudos for steping up to the plate
    but I have a hunch there is something brewing behind the scenes....
     
  13. HorryForThree

    HorryForThree Member

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    Great article BimaThug. Thanks for the info.

    I can see the logic behind avoiding free agency 2011 in hopes for a big name guy. The problem is the effort that goes into courting a guy, clearing out the requisite cap space, and then trying to get the right guy at the right price.

    I wonder if this years free agency has soured Morey & Co. to the idea of building through free agency.
     
  14. HowsMyDriving

    HowsMyDriving Member

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    yes and no. players that outperform their contracts are always of more interest in trades than players that perform at their contracts.

    my personal belief is that morey never intended to bring back some of the guys on the roster, because he thought he would have made a consolidation trade by now. i think what we are seeing is kind of "worst case" financially - as he was unable to consolidate the roster and hence we have 17 guys to pay, leaving the team with an inflated tab for player salaries.

    the big thing that is different about this team compared to many others is that morey isn't in the lux tax from overpaying in the strict sense, he's in the lux tax because the rockets have so many good players. the 10-15 players on this roster are of better quality than the 7-11 players on most rosters and there's an expense associated with that.


     
  15. sbyang

    sbyang Member

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    I guess the Rockets are a tax team, although they could still get under with lots of moves.

    They sit at 81 mil. You can bet the team is trying to unload Andersen's 2.5 mil to get to 78.5. The luxury tax is 70.3 so they would still be 8.2 over. The team could theoretically get under or very close to under by dumping Battier (7.3) + Budinger and Taylor (0.8). This might be the move if Yao gets injured again or the team is underachieving by the trade deadline.

    If the team is doing well I expect them to pay the tax but dump Jefferies' contract at the deadline, saving themselves ~7 mil in taxes.

    The first hint that the Rox were prepared to pay the tax was during the draft when the team did not make any moves to purchase picks. Sure the roster is pretty loaded, but Morey loves to stash 2nd rounders in Europe for future development.
     
  16. BamBam

    BamBam Contributing Member

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    Or maybe Morey looked at the "Mayan Calendar"... :eek: .... :grin:
     
  17. Raven

    Raven Member

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    At this point, a deadline trade isn't optional, it's mandatory. The Rockets need a second star to have a legitimate chance to go deep in the playoffs.

    There will be lots of second guessing on these various off season moves, but I'll always wonder just how much it would have cost to move up and draft Cousins.
     
  18. NIKEstrad

    NIKEstrad Contributing Member
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    Uh, no choice. He was a RFA who signed an offer sheet. You want to tell him his market value is lower when he clearly had an offer otherwise (and possibly several others?)?

    Al Harrington signed for just under 7M a year. Seems like market value to me.

    Maybe, but we know at least half a dozen teams were after him.

    Scola was signed from overseas, and panned out. David Andersen was signed to a similar contract, and hasn't. Deke was on his last legs, and Landry was being paid as a rookie, a la Budinger. Landry then went to the open market and signed an offer sheet, just like Lowry.

    Landry wasn't nickled and dimed -- he just was a 25 year old 2nd year player who was undersized with a history of gimpy knees. He went to the open market, and got what he could. No different than Lowry.
    He added the non-guaranteed parts to use them as trade pieces. The larger than expected did him no good.
    Didn't hurt the Kevin Martin trade. If you really needed the extra dollars, we had Battier and Ariza in that window, and D. Andersen at $2.5M.

    Miller represents a major team need at backup 5. These savings don't come into play until several years down the line. Perhaps he overpaid in the near term to gain flexibility down the line, but we're talking 3-5 year time horizons. 3-5 years ago, we thought TMac would lead us to the title.

    There's no ulterior motive to acquire a star in the near term using these contracts. Instead, the depth we've created by signing these players can allow us to trade 2-3 contributors for a star without becoming too thin.
     
  19. worzel gummidge

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    With only the LLE or vet min to offer.
     
  20. HowsMyDriving

    HowsMyDriving Member

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    and if you're gonna overpay someone, better Brad Miller at $15(11)/3 as opposed to the magic giving rashard lewis the entire GDP of the western hemisphere.
     

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