Ioannis Bourousis and Fran Vasquez are probably the best European big men out there. I could see Morey being interested in Vasquez. Bourousis I'm not sure. No.
I was thinking about Vasquez. The more logical answer here is Sam Dalembert. Don't you think Sacramento will try to buy him out at some point? They're lottery bound. He's an expiring. Once they figure out they can't trade him for anything, I think he's let go. Would love to pick him up at vet minimum for a playoff push. He is your Mutombo off the bench.
Incorrect. Both Yao and the player signed/traded for with the DPE count against the cap and the luxury tax. Hence, there being some reluctance to use the DPE unless it nets the Rockets a quality player. I wish. Kanter is not yet 21-years-old and undrafted. I believe a foreign player becomes automatically draft eligible once he turns 21 or 22 (depends on time of year of his DOB). If that player is draft eligible and then goes undrafted, he becomes a free agent, able to sign with any team. Milos Teodosic is a recent example. Vasquez is property of the Orlando Magic. You'd have to trade for his draft rights to get him. But Bourousis is a VERY interesting option. I don't know his current contract situation, but he is widely considered the best "NBA prospect" big man playing in Europe who is also a free agent. I think the Spurs flirted with signing him the past two summers, but his contract demands were too high. With Miller and Hill, though, I don't know where he'd play. And to take a huge payroll AND tax hit to add a third-string center this year, I'm not sure Les would be willing to do that. But, who knows? If Bourousis is viewed as a good center, maybe Les takes the hit.
Phili wanted him out of there not just because they thought the world of Spencer Hawes and his contract... apparently he's a mess in the locker room. I still believe Gortat is on the map for Morey and could be had for the price price. He was just part of the bargain for getting JRich and Hedo off the book. That trade was a cost cutting move, and Gortat was a trade piece for them more than anything.
The rule says if Yao's injury happened before Nov 30, they have 45 days to use the exception. If it happened after Nov 30, they have until next October 1 to use it. I wonder if there is any argument that the injury happened after Nov 30, during the rehab for the sprained ankle, rather than on the day of the WAS game when he went down with the sprained ankle.
Yeah. I know. I intended to add that, but for whatever reason it slipt my mind Anyways, Bourousis is signed through 2012 and makes €5.1mil/season, which equals $6.7mil. Vasquez's contract on the hand ends this upcoming summer. Barcelona already made him an offer (which is said to be "a very good offer" and one that would enable him to retire with the club). According to this article Vasquez and his agent are waiting for a counter offer from the Magic. Now due the fact that the Magic traded away Gortat and currently are desperatly searching for a big man, they may or may not be open to trading Fran Vasquez, depending on who they'll trade for (short/long term option).
I believe the rule is that the day the player got disabled is terminated by when the team reasonably knows that the player's injury could potentially be season-ending, which would be December 15th/16th in Yao's case.
Sorry for bumping this thread, but I just wanted to clarify that the Rockets indeed would have until October 1 2011 if they get granted the DPE: http://twitter.com/LarryCoon/status/18045199225716740 http://twitter.com/LarryCoon/status/18045356910579712 http://twitter.com/LarryCoon/status/18045472010674177
Interesting. I wonder if they found the stress fracture earlier but manipulated the date of the MRI so that they'd have the DPE longer.
Interesting theory, but wasn't Yao rehabbing during December? The Rockets wouldn't want him doing anything if they knew he had a stress fracture.
Bingo. They shut him down completely once the stress fracture in his foot was found. They'd do the same thing this time, unless they no longer care about Yao's future.
