Chuck Hayes' days as Rockets starting center might be over, but his place on the roster is expected to soon be secured in a move that might indicate the Rockets' plans with a variety of players. The Rockets plan to pick up the option on the final season of Hayes' contract, a person with knowledge of the decision said Friday, keeping Hayes, 26, from becoming a free agent. The move indicates as much about the Rockets' thinking in general as about Hayes and the one season and $2.334 million remaining on his contract. The Rockets' decision to keep Hayes in the final season of his contract is consistent with their recent strategy of not extending the contracts of signed veteran players beyond the next collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement expires after the 2010-11 season. By picking up the final season of Hayes' contract, the Rockets would not be in position to sign him to a contract that would extend into the next collective bargaining agreement. Last season, the Rockets chose to have guard Kyle Lowry and forward Luis Scola complete their contracts, rather than seek long-term agreements, allowing both to become free agents this July. This season, they could seek long-term deals with key rotation players Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, and with Yao Ming if Yao as expected opts in for the final season of his contract. General manager Daryl Morey declined to comment about the team's decision-making but had said he was confident Hayes would be back. But the decision to pick up the option on the final season of Hayes' contract indicates the Rockets will continue to limit the number of players signed beyond the collective bargaining agreement. That is not expected to affect decisions on free agents, including Scola and Lowry. In keeping with the team's policy, the Rockets are not expected to make the move with Hayes official until the deadline June 30. Hayes started all 82 games this season, averaging 4.4 points on 48.9 percent shooting and 5.7 rebounds. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6995858.html
Good news about Hayes, but this part of the article seems inconsistent - I doubt Lowry and Scola would sign just a one-year deal, so the Rockets would have to extend their contracts into the next collective bargaining agreement anyway.
I was just coming to post this! I'm glad that they are planning to keep his contract... because I want him on the team... probably not as good for his pocketbook though. Edit: glad Feigen finally got a chance to ask Daryl... he forgot at the end of the season presser.
C'mon, we love Chuck but if Chris Bosh is coming back Chuck would even trade himself to Toronto. It's like if he's a hotdog and he's hungry for a Rockets championship he'd definitely have to eat himself. <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://zappinternet.com/v/QoTtFetHaq" height="331" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://zappinternet.com/v/QoTtFetHaq" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></object><br /><a href="http://www.zappinternet.com/video/QoTtFetHaq/If-you-were-a-hot-dog">If you were a hot dog...</a>
"This season, they could seek long-term deals with key rotation players Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, and with Yao Ming if Yao as expected opts in for the final season of his contract. " Is he talking about next season? Why would Houston seek a long term deal with battier? And since when is Yao expected to opt out?
We don't really need him to match Bosh's contract. But probably will need to if Bosh and crap contract(Calderon/Turk) coming... Signs of things to come?
Does this mean that Jeffries is out? Can't see us keeping both under contract this upcoming season. Maybe we are really going to take back a bad contract from Toronto?
That's great news about Chuck. We're keeping a key part of the rotation that could very well have been cut loose. Totally groovy. Gives me hope for future moves. May sanity prevail!
If there is confusion, Feigen is somewhere in the vicinity. I think he inhales nitrous while writing his articles.
