[Feigen] Andre Iguodala, JaVale McGee up next on Rockets' wish list

I don't disagree …. but someone always shakes loose. Players don't fit , teams change course …. good players become available. Why not be in position to take advantage of that and be significantly better for it than you could have been?

One thing we have to realize - The hard cap scenario was likely only in play if they got Butler. No reason to submit yourself to that cap if you didn't get a hell of a lot better.

Butler +NT-MLE+BAE is great.

NT-MLE+BAE and no Butler …. not so much when you can use Shumpert and avoid the hard cap.

Shump S&T + T-MLE is probably better than NT-MLE+BAE.

And don't forget about EG …. if you cant extend him , you have to move him. Would suck to be limited by the hard cap in that situation.

 

WASHED? Lolololololol

 

very well put. I see your argument as equal to mine but the opposite side of the same coin. it all depends on things we don't know lol. who could we have signed for the NTMLE and BAE, or who could we get in a S&T for shumpert? I LEAN to signing FAs rather than relying on trades because trades are way less common and they cost picks. but like I said it all depends on who you get in each scenario.

 

That is just simply an exaggeration and not true, both are still very serviceable off the bench as 7th men at worst and could even make spot starts for injuries.

 

Picks is another issue …. What good are they really as far out of the lottery as the Rockets have been for the last several seasons ? Picking 20+ ...

Lotto picks are one thing and they don't always work out …. anything outside the lottery is a total crapshoot and you are waiting 2-3 years for a player to develop into a contributor.

I kinda see picks as being for teams on the outside looking in as they have time to develop them and don't care about the record in the mean time …. contenders want proven players who can help them now , picks are just currency to them.

 

Having Ennis on the court instead of Green in game 6 against GS could’ve been the difference between winning and losing. There was a series of plays where Green forgot what jersey he was wearing. The point is, you don’t neglect to use all the bullets in your chamber and then claim you’re going all in. GSW was without Durant and Cousins but at least we avoided the repeater tax. Awesome.

 

James Ennis was not the difference between winning and losing in game 6. He regularly got lost in our switching scheme when he was with us. We all b****ed about him until the day he was traded away.

We could’ve used our 2019 1st to get a rotation piece instead of shedding Knight’s deal at the deadline. Maybe that person would’ve been the difference for us. But not James fkin Ennis lol

 

all this is true, but why spend that currency on trading shumpert rather than just signing a FA (assuming equal talent acquired either way)?

for example, we can S&T shumpert and a pick for Iguodala and his $17M contract.

or we could've signed a player of equal talent (albeit none with his championship pedigree) for the MLE and save our pick for future trading.

its also important to consider the chance of making that kind of shumpert trade is much less likely than signing a rotation player for the MLE. there is a chance that going with that shumpert idea leads to nothing but overpaying Shumpert for a year.

 

That's fair in a vacuum. But again, with the limited amount of teams that have paid the repeater tax, not sure why we should hold them to a different standard than any other NBA team. It's obviously a major deterrent to owners and ownership groups well beyond this one.

Now, there's a huge difference between the repeater tax and the luxury tax. If they don't pay it this coming season, I agree -- there are no excuses. That's a failure on the part of ownership. And same goes for the remainder of Chris Paul's contract. This just feels like a bizarre thread in which to play that card, since they're talking about adding $17M in payroll and going well into the tax.

P.S. Fertitta and Morey have definitely made media missteps (i.e. the "all in" reference). We agree there. I wish they would have just owned what they were doing.

 

They talked about adding players all last year too until they pivoted and didn’t. Kinda like they talked big about this summer and.....did nothing. Talk is cheap at some point.

Either way, use the available salary slots to upgrade the team. Not talk about it. Do it.

 

Is that really true? Did the rockets know on July 1st that Iggy was going to be traded? Thus deciding not to make the full or near it, NT MLE offer to Reddick, Lamb, Curry, Morris etc? Instead they immediately split their MLE apart to resign daniel house, to a contract starting at the same amount as the BAE. If thats not about saving money right off the bat... what is it?

you've referenced the Butler trade several times now, incorrectly claiming that it would have "added significant money." The trade was 4 1st plus + Marques/Knight for Butler. The combine salaries of Knight and Marques was around 18 million while Butler's was close to 20. At worst, the trade only added 2 million to the Rockets salary. Furthermore both Knight and Marques were negative salary dump, leading most to not take the offer seriously... especially compared to Miami's & Phillys offer.

GS is not merely attempting to do anything regarding spending. Despite Durant spurning their max offer, the Warriors managed to NOT avoid the luxury/repeater tax by taking on DLO's max via sign ad trade. Unlike the Rockets which hurriedly dodged when faced with the mere prospect of the repeater tax 4 years into the future, the Warriors instead took on 38+ million more in salary after Durant left. When it comes to spending/trying... they aren't attempting, they are doing.

Are the Rockets really attempting to take on salary/IGGY via trade? No clue... but if I had to bet, just like with Butler last year and just recently, I betting against it.

The Rockets over the start of the past two free agency period has indisputably decline to spend. They held onto their mle both year, last year they let Ariza and LMM go primarily due to financial concerns. This year they sepnd half their tax payer MLE to resign House, completely taking them out of contention for any of the other free agents like Reddick, Green, Morriss, Jymachl... Perhaps most damning? They did that the very first few hours.

 

didn't look washed 2 weeks ago or throughout the playoffs for that matter

 

Serious question, how often in the past 5 years has something "shaken loose" that was acquired midway through the season that made an NBA team significantly better?

Adding NT-MLE + BAE to the current Rockets sounds a lot better to hoping for something that might be available later on. Imagine going after Reddick, Morris, Hood, Hill, Curry, Bullock, Carroll, lamb, Aminu, etc. right at the start of FA.

I don't understand the concern over the Hard cap... The Hard cap is set at 7+ million over the luxury tax threshold... In the past decade or heck since the invention of the luxury tax, how many times has the Rockets spent 5% OVER of the tax? ZERO? Maybe Once?

The Hard cap wont tie the Rocket's hands. It isn't a constraint, because the reality is, they'll never or rarely ever.. even voluntarily approach that figure.

 

as a most recent example, picking up rivers/faried made houston significantly better. both of which shook loose. if the rockets continued the entire season with the offseason pickups from a year ago that were a big part of the 11-14 start, they may not even have made the playoffs.

 

Add mcgee, tilman is is unlikely to get luxury tax profit.

McGee is 2.6 million vet min.

WCS is 1.7 million vet min it is published.

 

My question is if we do t get McGee because say the Lakers throw money at him after failing to land Khawhi, who do we sign?

 

Only two big man left for vet min or 3.6 mil.
Nene
Pau Gasol.

 

Thanks for answering! Not sure I'd agree that Rivers/Faried was the reason the Rockets became significantly better from their 11-14 start though. Furthermore more, since both were added on the Vets minimum, both would have been available had the Rockets used their full MLE, resigned Ariza & LMM from the very start. Which is the real point of it all.

Lastly, I'm guessing/betting that Harden & the Rockets would have made the playoffs without Rivers/Faried lol.

 

Kosta koufos

 

You are right, he has to take minimum, it’s too late.