They couldn't. His player option was for like 6 million. Would have kept them from pursuing Dwight. He could conceivably be re-signed later on. Just depends what offers he gets.
Simple question for the capologists, the Rockets organization can contribute 550kish for a euro buyout, and can exceed said contributions by eating into their cap this year, yes? I still don't think Llull comes over till we have the full MLE and he accomplishes his EL goal, but are we able to eat into our cap to soak some of his B/O then offer him whatever salary is left over (this assumes Lin would get traded with little to nothing in return, to both make room for Dwight's full contract, and add another player)?
We are able to give him a contract with cap space, yes. He has to pay his own buyout out of that salary...anything over the $550k we are allowed to give for a buyout that is not included in salary. The contract still has to conform to the terms of the CBA however. Max 4 year deal. Signing bonus available but has to fit into cap, etc. This is not a very likely scenario for acquiring Llull at this time. In my opinion, the only chance we have to bring over Llull this year is if we stay above the cap and have the full MLE, or at least a good chunk of the full MLE, to give to him. We did discuss Llull's Euro contract and buyout in a couple previous threads. No one seems to be able to verify what his buyout is.
As always, thanks everyone for the kind remarks and (while I haven't seen anything negative yet) constructive criticism. Probably not. I was simply including the waiving of Beverley within the example of how the Rockets could UNILATERALLY create "Dwight Max Room". I'm pretty sure that Morey and company can find other ways (via trade) to create more room. I'd be shocked if they actually waive Beverley. Thanks, Dave. FYI, everyone, Clutch was busting his bump last night getting content out for the site. Not only was he working on other projects, he also had to help edit and add photos/captions/etc. to my piece since I'm technologically ignorant. These pieces certainly wouldn't be quite as good without Clutch's touch! Sadly, no. Second round picks (unlike first rounders) don't get their own cap exceptions. In order to sign a second rounder to anything above the league minimum, a team must either have cap space or a cap exception (usually the MLE) to do so. Someone like Aldemir would likely be signed either to the rookie minimum or using a small amount of cap space (similar to what Parsons did). But a player the level of Llull would likely require a higher salary. Given that the Rockets need to spend (almost) all their cap room on Dwight, it is unlikely that the Rockets could afford Llull until next summer, when they get to use the full MLE again. Yeah, I intentionally left out the (remote) possibility of the Rockets electing to remain above the cap. While I won't completely rule out this possibility, I think it not only is unlikely but would only have confused 95% of the readership of the article. While the potential to have the full Nontaxpayer MLE at their disposal is nice, I think the Rockets have enough cap room that they can create that they don't need to jump through the hoops necessary to get the MLE. The cap room is easier and better (i.e., doesn't impose a hard cap at the apron, etc.). Still, valid point. I think Larry Coon is doing just fine in that role, thank you very much. Mirri3000, I agree with basketballholic's response. He pretty much covered it. Now, THERE's a thought! :grin:
I don't think Morey has any intention of playing above the apron....at least for this season. I do think Morey is considering his options to stay above the cap and below the tax and he will make a decision to stay above the cap or below the cap in acquiring Dwight (and others) based on what gives him the best opportunities going forward to upgrade through trades and free agent signings....keeping in mind the luxury tax and apron. It's very reasonable to think we could play above the cap this season but below the luxury tax. And then it's even more reasonable to think we could play into the luxury tax next season. And then possibly the apron after that. However, in spite of Les and Morey saying they are willing to pay the tax, I think they both understand and won't go above the apron UNLESS they feel like it's the final piece to a championship winner. And then again, I really expect Morey to be able to put together a championship winner without getting above the apron and not very far into the luxury tax. The great thing about Morey is he has set this roster up perfectly to have all these options going forward. My point in continuing to raise the possibility of staying over the cap is recent history has told us that the Heat had to basically wait a season to get their shooters coming off the bench and win a ring. They lost in their first season together, in my opinion not because they were new to one another but because they were locked in with no ability to improve the team beyond league minimum deals. They had to wait a season to add Battier with their MLE and then they only had the taxpayer MLE last year to add Ray and those two were barely enough along with getting other minimum salary guys. I think the full MLE along with the bi-annual exception are imortant pieces to have to be able to add to your team if you are going to run for a championship. I suspect Morey knows this as well and is considering his options to stay over the cap.
Hitting bullseyes on 2nd round draft picks and on foreign talent certainly will be huge for the Rockets moving forward as many of those types of players will be able to fit cheaply into the Rockets cap. The T-Rob for two 2nd rounders and 2 foreign prospects is a perfect example. Bullseye with Parsons and with finding Beverley. I happen to think Canaan will be another bullseye.
For international players drafted in second, I expect the Rockets will try to let them stay in the Euroleague to develop instead of using a roster spot for them. It means the player's first contract will be over better years of the player's career, but will most likely cost more than if they signed them in the first year. The plus is that players that bust would not get any salary from Rockets and it would only cost a second round pick.
Had this question earlier...I am still wondering about this..... "My numbers might be a bit off, but I think they actually have 6 million left over...weren't Lin and Asik's contracts backloaded? I believe they are making a bit less than what you list in the article this coming season, I might have read that wrong though."
Lin and Asik's contracts are backloaded on what players' actually receive in money, but count against cap the same 8.3 million each season.
Sorry I'm a newbie regarding cap issues, but rather than using stretch provision on Royce White can they trade him to another team that has extra cap space plus money to cover next years contract $1.72 M? They are going to have to pay him that money anyway but at least wouldn't be taking up cap space.
I think Rockets are trying this, but other teams seem unwilling to do it without sweetener from the Rockets. Rockets may want to just eat mistake than give other team something to take Royce off the Rockets hands. I expect Rockets tried to give some team 2 million dollars to take him, but were unsuccessful.
We already wasted a 1st round pick on the guy. I cant see spending add'l assets on his behave to get rid of him. If dividing his 1.72M over 3 years (573K x3) via the stretch provision, then we gain 1.2M in cap space (if it works this way).
Not quite. You also have to add back in an incomplete roster charge ($490,180), since you have reduced the number of players/cap holds on the roster by waiving White. I have (I think) the precise amount of cap savings from waiving White in my article.
