[ClutchFans] Houston Rockets Salary Cap Update: "Total Rebuild" Edition

ROXTXIA · Aug 7, 2012

BimaThug said: ↑

You should use shamsports.com for your player salary information. It is far, far superior to hoopshype.
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It is very good info, but they're running a little behind and need to update.

Maybe BSPN's trade checker gives more up-to-date info, even if just to substitute the numbers for players we don't have with those we do.

Of course, now I have to go check and see if they've updated their info.

EDIT: Yeah, still got Scola, Bud, Dalembert, et al on the list.

jopatmc · Aug 7, 2012

BimaThug said: ↑

You should use shamsports.com for your player salary information. It is far, far superior to hoopshype.

Also, I think you are getting a little confused by the 105% rule and Larry Coon's use of the phrase "never less than" in his FAQs. Larry is saying that the MAXIMUM salary is never less than 105% of a player's prior salary. It is still the MAXIMUM salary, though. The point of that sentence is that a player is eligible to exceed the league-mandated maximum player salary (based on years of experience) in order to hit that 105% amount.

As far as CH's player option idea, that's a distinct possibility. The downside for Dwight is that his 2017-18 salary would go down; but that would pail in comparison to being able to lock in a new five-year deal (through 2022) a year early and avoid being subjected to the Over-36 Rule.

That said, I'm not exactly sure that the Rockets (or any team, for that matter) would be willing to hand out a contract of that size to a 31-year-old Dwight Howard.
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I'm thinking that is probably our greatest leverage in a Dwight trade. Morey tells him as long as he is healthy at 31 that Morey will re-up him another super max deal. A lot of jack, yes. But the greatest advantage to re-signing him. And frankly, unless he suffers some sort of serious injury that diminishes him physically, then he will be in his prime-prime at 31 with loads of experience to go along with the best defensive instinct and interior play in the NBA. Barring injury, I expect that he will be totally dominant by then.

The other scenario you didn't cover is signing a new birds rights 5-year deal next summer and then signing extensions. You ought to touch on that idea.

Also, if I understand it right, that fifth season in a second birds-rights contract that causes the prorating into the other 4 seasons can be readjusted out if Dwight is still playing for a couple years into that second birds rights contract. I haven't analyzed it to the degree you have. My instincts from reading it are that there is much more latitude for money difference with a second 5 year contract than what you are projecting above.

It doesn't make sense that the team with birds rights will have to carve out extra space on their current salary cap to re-sign a birds rights free agent to a super max deal just because he is 36 in the last year of that deal. Just doesn't add up to me. You can debate the logic of any team committing to a Kobe-style contract with the new CBA. But I am questioning the validity of a team with birds rights having to clear cap to re-sign their own free agent who is already on a max deal simply because he will be 36 in the last year of the new deal. I don't think that's right. If it is, then they need to further adjust the over-36 rule on the next CBA.

BimaThug · Aug 7, 2012

jopatmc said: ↑

The other scenario you didn't cover is signing a new birds rights 5-year deal next summer and then signing extensions. You ought to touch on that idea.

Also, if I understand it right, that fifth season in a second birds-rights contract that causes the prorating into the other 4 seasons can be readjusted out if Dwight is still playing for a couple years into that second birds rights contract. I haven't analyzed it to the degree you have. My instincts from reading it are that there is much more latitude for money difference with a second 5 year contract than what you are projecting above.

It doesn't make sense that the team with birds rights will have to carve out extra space on their current salary cap to re-sign a birds rights free agent to a super max deal just because he is 36 in the last year of that deal. Just doesn't add up to me. You can debate the logic of any team committing to a Kobe-style contract with the new CBA. But I am questioning the validity of a team with birds rights having to clear cap to re-sign their own free agent who is already on a max deal simply because he will be 36 in the last year of the new deal. I don't think that's right. If it is, then they need to further adjust the over-36 rule on the next CBA.
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1) Yeah, I could have talked about going the extension route; however, (a) I didn't have the time or the inclination and (b) there is some doubt that Howard would agree to extensions, instead choosing to lord his free agency over his team's head in order to make sure they are constantly "building a contender" around him (whatever he may view that as being).

2) The Over-36 Rule is not something that is disadvantageous to Howard's Bird rights team but not to another team. It is simply the product of when his prior deal would be ending. Also, I don't think there is any latitude in "spreading/re-allocating" salary for a super-max contract. The CBA would not allow a team to allocate a single player's salary on team salary in excess of the maximum player salary. In other words, if Dwight's max salary for a given year is $26 million, his team could not allocate more than $26 million to team salary for him in that season. Hence, any super-max contract would necessitate just signing a four-year deal. He could always sign ANOTHER contract at age 36 that pays him the super-max if he has shown that he is still capable of playing.

Confusing stuff (and probably written in a convoluted manner by me). Hope this explanation helps.

jopatmc · Aug 7, 2012

Bima,

just to simplify

are you saying that if Dwight signs a 5-year birds rights deal at age 31, that the team will have to be far enough under the salary cap to be able to offset that last year salary into the remaining 4 years?

BimaThug · Aug 7, 2012

jopatmc said: ↑

Bima,

just to simplify

are you saying that if Dwight signs a 5-year birds rights deal at age 31, that the team will have to be far enough under the salary cap to be able to offset that last year salary into the remaining 4 years?
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No. 31-year-olds are not subject to the Over-36 Rule.

However, if Dwight signs a five-year deal in 2013 and plays all five years under that contract, he'll be 32 years old when he comes up for his next deal in 2018. At THAT point, if he's going to sign a super-max contract, I do not believe his team--REGARDLESS of its cap situation--could give him more than a four-year deal at super-max dollars.

This (presumaably) works much like how trade kickers become null and void to the extent that they would carry a player's salary over the league-mandated max player salary (i.e., had Pau Gasol been traded to the Rockets last year, his trade kicker would have been invalid, since he already made above the league-mandated max player salary).

In order to fit a five-year deal into four years for a 32-year-old Dwight, he'd have to be enough below the super-max in order to allocate the fifth year salary to bump up the first four years to exactly the super-max amount. Well, there would be no point to that, since Dwight would essentially be playing for free in Year 5, plus with a deferred payment schedule.

Take a look at the last table on Larry Coon's FAQs #56. It's a handy dandy reference tool on at what ages and to what length of contracts the Over-36 Rule applies.

jopatmc · Aug 7, 2012

So then extensions are most likely going tip come in to play with Dwight after 2013.

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[ClutchFans] Houston Rockets Salary Cap Update: "Total Rebuild" Edition

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[ClutchFans] Houston Rockets Salary Cap Update: "Total Rebuild" Edition

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