[The Athletic] Leroux: Rockets’ Repeater Tax fear more excuse than reality

My biggest issue with the stated "no repeater tax no matter what policy" is that it makes it sound like the repeater tax is just this horrible burden. It's incremental though just like the regular tax.

If we were to go ham for three years and then the fourth year we went into "rebuilding" and were still barely over the tax the repeater would be a small amount.

 

This is the reality.

There are really only a few paths to a third star.

First is we sign Shumpert and then deal Gordon or a couple players for someone that we believe is being under utilized but has star potential. Examples would be Victor Oladipo, Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry. The problem with this model is that there are not a whole lot of players that fit this mold.

Second would require the Rockets to move Capela for a star player. This is very unlikely, as the Rockets would require another center, on a lower salary meeting the Rockets need for a strong defensive center that can rotate. There just are not many players like this available, and it seems unlikely.

The last would be the Rockets cobbling together salary to add a veteran borderline star that has a long contract that is negative value. This could be someone like Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley. The problem with this model is that these tend to be guards and this likely requires the Rockets to take on long term salary.

 

I would think that watching the league's best player on a competitive team would be a heck of an inducement to renew. I understand the frustration, though. Reading this thread is highly frustrating. Most of us expected more at the deadline, but Morey still may find a buyout that's a difference maker. Fingers crossed for that and the team being healthy, being healthy easily the #1 concern. We're a contending team if everyone can keep themselves together throughout the remainder of the season and the playoffs.

Speaking of frustration, I'm frustrated that living in Austin doesn't allow me to go to as many games as I'd like to. I love living here instead of my hometown, but that aspect of it is a definite negative. (In other words, I'm jealous of your season tickets)

 

Les understood assets and liabilities more than most owners care to. I think what Les would have done is let CP3 walk, and would have NOT let draft picks walk out the door for cash savings. That's the type of owner he was for better or worse.

 

At least you get to live in Austin. I'm stuck up here in freaking Dallas for crying out loud. I've gone to exactly ZERO Rockets games this year and feel like my soul is dying lol.

 

DJ and House are needed. Kieff can't play, despite our need at the 4. Beasley seems to be the only option there, despite his imperfections. He does his own thing, but he does look to pass in the paint now. It's too bad that NY isn't giving DJ up, or perhaps he may not want to be bought out.

 

Ownership is one of the most important competitive advantages in the NBA. I cannot believe we are now in the midst of an owner like this. Willingly mitigating Harden’s prime is just deeply sad.

 

not one THE most.
The GM is like the brain of an organisation and the owner is the character. No matter how smart or educated one is, if her character is lazy, cheap or rotten they won't achieve great things.

 

Tilman all but said to Harden at the deadline "we're not interested in giving you the best shot to win". Just a damn shame. I can't believe that happened.

 

Isn’t Gordon now Knight, a modest expiring contract for 2019 ($1.5 mil less)?

 

Hey, any former Houstonian stuck living in Dallas has my heartfelt sympathy. One of our kids went to UTD and then stayed up there, at least for now (romance! but in Dallas??). We've been to Dallas more in the last 5 years than the previous 30. :-(

 

Sure but if you moved Knight for a contributor you upgraded from 0 to whatever the new guy is. If you move Gordon you are upgrading from a much better player.

 

Not sure the NBA would predict that someone who would buy a Western Conference Finals team for over $2B would be a penny pincher. No one here believed that at the time, we were excited for a "home town guy".

 

That’s one thing people seem to have forgotten. They just want to say Les didn’t want to pay the tax either. Yes, Les wanted to be under the luxury tax but he also valued draft picks. You never saw us giving away draft picks like candy in one day. It hurts the team and makes it harder to improve the team in the long run, especially when you already low in assets and operating near and above the cap.

 

Last guy who wants to defend Tilman, but you guys forget that also with Les we made trades like dumping Lin for a 1st, Brewer and 1st for Lou (ok, good player, better than Shumpert, but Knight's contract is also way worse than Brewer's contract). In 2015/16 we also lost a lottery pick (to Denver for the Lawson trade) winning the last game of the regular season just to get out ass kicked by the Warriors in the first round when we had no business in making the playoffs with that disgruntled team...we could've drafted LeVert or Prince with that pick.

 

So what I’m gathering from everyone is our owner doesn’t want to spend money, had no business purchasing this team, and harden is going to waste away his prime and eventually ask for a trade. Cool..

 

Spoiler

 

everyone borrows money to buy teams.

did you not know this?

 

Ty Lawson trade was an attempt to upgrade just because it didn't work out doesn't mean that the mindset wasn't about trying to improve the team .

Same thing with Terrence Williams lol .

Dumping Lin for a first was bad ... BUT we only made that move to shed salary so that we could sign bosh !!

Bosh didn't sign .

We didn't trade our picks for cap space this offseason . It was for luxury tax savings