[ClutchFans] Trading Space: Cap Room a Commodity For Rockets as Deadline Nears

According to Hoopshype the Rox are at around $39,565,022 in guaranteed salary for next year if they don't pick up options on:

Garcia - $6,400,000
Delfino - $3,000,000
Honeycutt - $884,293
Smith - $884,293
Anderson - $916,099
Beverley - $788,872

I'm assuming they pick up the option on Parsons of course. So if they cut everyone else and assuming the cap is somewhere around $60-61 Million that could leave us with just over $20,000,000 in cap space.

IF DM signed Howard, I'd imagine he'd package Asik and one of Jones/DMo/TRob sending out $10,000,000+ for an upgrade at PF.

 

You mean a sign and trade with Atlanta for Josh Smith at 12 million per year? I could live with that...

 

Btw, I went to hoopsworld to get the Asik/Lin salary breakdown and they didn't have Scola's contract accounted for either.

 

It doesn't count against the salary cap so it shouldn't be counted

 

This is the most important piece of information to give to everyone in Dallas. I live in Dallas I feel the need to work this into every conversation I have with people.

Rox>Mavs

 

Yes true, I was just mentioning it in case people were confused as to why it was listed in Hoopshype.

 

Lol I sure will

 

Don't forget to account for roster charges. Add $490,180 for each roster spot below 12 not occupied by a player. That'll knock about $2 million off your available cap space figure. Your math seems generally right otherwise.

 

Thanks Bima, didn't know that. Always the constant educator...much appreciated.

 

You're welcome. There's another wrinkle to an increased cap that won't increase the Rockets' available cap room at a 1:1 ratio.

More on that in my next cap update. Will try to work on it this weekend.

 

Difficult to imagine that the Rockets won't exercise the team option on Carlos Delfino, right? Although I was suggesting that they might not exercise it less than a month ago. I was totally wrong. He'll be back.

I think all of the team options get picked up except for the options for Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt. You are getting serious bang for your buck from Greg Smith and Patrick Beverly at less than $1 mil per player. Any time you can pay a guy less than $1 mil to be a solid rotation guy, you do it. James Anderson is also potentially a solid rotation guy, also for less than $1 mil.

For all of the Dwight Howard/Chris Paul/Josh Smith talk... I think this Rockets roster that we're looking at right now is pretty close to what it's going to look like when the 2013-14 regular season gets underway in late October/early November 2013, with the following changes:

1) Minus Garcia and Honeycutt.

2) Add to the roster whoever you draft with this second round pick you've picked up from Phoenix.

That's 13 roster spots. There is a minimum team payroll under the current CBA, as well. So Houston is going to need to add spend a total of $3-$4 mil total on the 14th and 15th men, per CBA rules. So:

3) My guess is that Morey signs next year's Carlos Delfino (i.e., grossly undervalued veteran who inexplicably is the odd man out after all of the big spenders blow their wads, which allows Houston to scoop him up very cheaply) to a Carlos Delfino-esque contract ($3 mil guaranteed in 2013-14, $3 mil team option for 2014-15) and signs next year's Patrick Beverly/Greg Smith (i.e., grossly undervalued young diamond-in-the-rough) for around $800K-$850K for 2013-14 with a team option for 2014-15.

Might I suggest the following grossly undervalued player who will be a free agent in 2013-14 and who I suspect could be signed for $3 mil in 2013-14 (again, with a $3 mil team option for 2014-15):

Brandan Wright

Projected 2013-14 roster

Starting lineup

PG Jeremy Lin
SG James Harden
SF Chandler Parsons
PF Thomas Robinson
C Omer Asik

Key reserves (rotation guys)

Carlos Delfino
Patrick Beverly
Brandan Wright (i.e., next year's Delfino)
Donatas Motiejunas

End of the bench/developmental league:

Terrence Jones
Royce White
Greg Smith
James Anderson
2013 Suns second round pick
$800K-$850K mystery free agent (i.e., next year's Smith/Beverly)

Another option would be for Houston to absorb a very useful but undervalued veteran (i.e., next year's Delfino) from a team looking to either a) avoid the luxury tax or b) create cap space. In other words, next year's Delfino may be acquired via trade (in exchange for nothing at all) rather than via free agency.

And, to reiterate what I have argued for at various points over the past several weeks: I believe that Morey wants to make sure that he has $20 mil (or so) in 2014 cap space so he can hopefully sign Lebron James, who will be a free agent that summer. Which he will have if the Rockets' upcoming offseason plays out as I have outlined above. I don't think it's Dwight Howard or Chris Paul he's after. I think it's Lebron.

 

I think Morey will offer the max to Howard and perhaps throw offers at CP3 and Iggy as well, but none of those are terribly likely pickups. Morey will not overpay for Smith, and since he's the only big name free agent who is likely to move he's going to get lots of better offers thrown at him. So I agree it's likely Morey will continue to nurture and treasure our cap space until 2014.