[From Mom's Basement] The Rockets, The Recession and NBA Free Agency 2009

IMO - we should just keep TMAC next year, let him come off the books in 2010, and then go after the prize free agents that year.

TMAC makes 20+ million - so the likely exchange in any trade would be a bunch of average players with long and bad contracts. The Rockets realize this -that is why they are playing nice with TMAC.

Ultimately, I think their long-term target is D-Wade. Signing a player like D-Wade will allow them to keep Yao. If they don't overpay for Scola and Artest next year, they will have enough cap flexibility to make a run at D-Wade. The Alston trade seems to suggest that this is the strategy going forward. By locking up the PG position with young, cheap, and effective talent, the Rockets now do not have to worry about that position for years to come (at least not before 2010). If the trade and switch did not happen, they would have had to look for a PG this upcoming free agency, and might have possibly overpayed.

 

My guess is players like Wade will re-sign with their current teams who are the only ones that can offer 10.5% yearly increases and a sixth year on their contracts.

 

i'd say no to arenas...if morey can magically get martin or granger, i will be one happy man laughing in my dreams every nite...

 

I don't think Morey would put all his eggs in the 2010 prized free agent basket. He is too smart to allow the future of the Rockets to hinge on whether DWade, Lebron, or Bosh want to play in Houston vs all the other cities in the league.

Morey has so far shown that he likes to find players with low value but high ceilings, and if a team is willing to trade its top players away b/c of the economy then it is a low leverage position, and therefore he can take advantage of it to get a star player for very little(tmac's expiring + AB is very little for a star player).

Players the Rockets should definitely look at are Granger, Kevin Martin, and Jason Richardson/Amare. Guys I would stay away from for various reasons are Caron Butler(his age and what would come along with him), anyone GS/Clippers have, and Elton Brand.

The best deal mentioned so far in my mind would be a Granger trade, as multiple people have said so far.

The best thing about this upcoming off season is that the Rox will have money, a huge expiring contract, and a GM who has shown an ability to find great value without giving up too much.

 

Yeah that's what I've been thinking. D-Wade is great, but do you want to be paying close to 20 million a year for 4 or 5 years for a player who has a history of injury? That's recreating the McGrady situation all over again. I think paying stars huge money for huge years is almost always a bad idea. That's how this junk with McGrady happened, and that's whats happened with Arenas. And although Yao has been healthy this year, we have been paying him large money to be injured the two years previous to this one.

Morey will swipe somebody up who will give us bang for our buck. Granger, if the Pacers would bite, would be amazing.

 

I think you're confused. She was quoting a post from "frommomsbasement.com", not something she wrote herself.


EDIT: I just realized I'm pretty late to the party.

 

Newsflash: Luis Scola will be a RESTRICTED free agent in 2010.

No need to rush to re-sign him. Morey can take the same "slow hand" approach in his contract negotiations that he took with Landry. Basically, Daryl Morey is completely in the driver's seat with regard to the Rockets' power forward situation in the summer of 2010:

Luis Scola - restricted free agent (Rockets can match any offer)
Carl Landry - team option @ $3M
Chuck Hayes - team option @ $2.3M
Joey Dorsey - "team option" @ $947k (really just a partially guaranteed year)

 

Beautiful.

 

This was well worth the read...

 

Honestly I'd rather have Granger over Dwade. Dwade has the true heart of a warrior (playing with a hip flexor ftw), but I highly doubt Dwade will enjoy a long and injury free career in this league. Signing him for the max would be like Tmac saga Part 2: Injured franchise star reloaded. Granger on the other hand is younger, and already better defensively than Dwade. I'd take any bad contract Indiana throws my way to make it happen. Get it done Morey

 

1. why do people want Maggette on this team? He jacks up shots, he complains about PT, and he's Ron Artest without the defense. S.Jackson and Artest on the same team? Nah. Only guy i'd want is Randolph.

2. This is actually a good short term deal that I could see the Hornets making. We'd get a good shooter and a more than solid backup C. Not a great deal since Peja has fallen WAY off and is nothing mroe than a role player...but it's a solid deal would help both teams.

3. Clippers are not giving up Gordon. He's like the only bright spot to their season.

4. Idk why the Cats would give up to starters for Tmac and Hayes. Okafor and Wallace? If we got them in this deal this team would be UNSTOPPABLE. Okafor can play the four and our defensive frontcourt would be shut down...then you have Wallace, Battier, Artest on the perimeter along with Lowry...this would talent wise be the best defensive team in years. Not happening though. I can see the Cats trading one of them but not both. Although getting Meka would mean we'd be trading Scola or Landry.

5. I wouldn't want none of those guys on this team.

 

Personally, i rather hope Morey sign him up quick. As after the dust settles, there would be a lot of teams with a lot of money.

 

Why is Luis Scola even an issue? He'll be restricted in 2010.

I can't decide which notion seems more preposterous. That the writer thinks the Pacers would trade Danny Granger or that he thinks Kevin Martin would somehow be a preferable option over the former.

 

do you realize what value an ending contract of that size has in this economy on top of the fact that it also clears space for 2010? tmac will be one of the MOST desirable assets in the entire league next season.

 

T-Mac might be traded next year, remember that expiring contract count as max contracts against the cap for the last team they played.
So unless we trade or resing him fast we will be very limited in 2010, and T-Mac can use that to hold of on any deal and demand a sign n trade.

Rockets would have to renounce his bird rights for him NOT TO count against the cap as a max contract.

On a side note, i think that by the end of next year Scola will command at least 22-25 millions 3 year contract, personally, i´ll make it frontloaded to make him easier to trade if he declines.

Something on the likes of 8.8 - 8 - 7.2 (24 millions total), Or 7.6 - 6.8 - 6 (21.4 millions total) if we got him on the cheap.

Big men are really hard to get in this league.

 

Rockets will definitely keep Scola. He is very high on Morey's value chart. There is zero chance he's not a rocket for the next 5 years.

Agent Zero has zero chance of being here. Definitely not a Morey guy.