[Stein] Rockets Latest DMo offer "multiyear starts at a fully guaranteed $7m in Yr 1"

Doesn't trust them to what?

I don't get what the trust issue is for him. He doesn't trust them not to trade him? Why should they even think about promising not to trade him?

The rockets haven't done anything wrong here. Dmo is a RFA and he knows what that means. This isn't new.

 

No one has "done anything wrong" really. It's just a case of Morey trying to lowball a player and the player not accepting the bad deal. It hasn't gone anywhere since then because both parties likely expected the other to cave. We'll see how it plays out, if Nene and Anderson remain healthy, this is only a little bit bad for the Rockets.

 

What is the trust issue? I'm serious you Lee saying he shouldn't trust them and I'm wondering what they would be doing that's untrustworthy?

 

He doesn't trust Morey not to trade him to a bad situation, and he shouldn't. When you are on the Rockets, given Morey's history, the ONLY thing you can trust is guaranteed dollars and no trade clauses.

On top of that, DMo was visited by the coach right before FA opened and was told that he'd be the primary PF right before Morey embarrassed himself by throwing 80 mil at an injury prone bench quality PF in Ryan Anderson, after that would you take a lowball offer short on guarantees? Ryan Anderson's contract is one of the worst in basketball, why play for peanuts when the piggie bank is open for guys like that?

 

So the trust thing is about being traded like I said. Why is he special in the NBA that he should be untradeable?

Also, he isn't an unrestricted free agent. He can't try to use someone else's contract as his baseline all he wants but he isn't in the same situation. That's not morey being untrustworthy. Do you believe morey should give him 20 million? Even if you believe the Anderson contract is bad, why should he repeat that?

 

Well, he's a free agent, if you want to sign him, you have to give concessions. If you don't, you'll remain at an impasse and potentially your team will suffer as a result.

Him not being an unrestricted FA is the ONLY reason he's even talking to Morey in the first place.

Do I think he should give DMo 20 mil a year? Hell no, but if he gave him 3/30 with the first 2 seasons guaranteed then this would have been done before camp. 3/24 might even work, but it would have to come with guarantees.....like I said, that's the ONLY thing you can trust. When you are handing out huge contracts to injury prone guys like Goron and Anderson and then try to lowball another player, it's gonna piss them off.

 

Are all these negotiations leading up to any actual resentment between the Rockets and I DMo? Or is this just strictly business?

If DMo is actually harboring feelings of "I don't respect the Rockets organization because of how I feel they've low-balled me" does that somewhat change the definition of "restricted" FA here? Would other teams believe that the Rockets are less likely to match an other-wise reasonable contract because one team is paying for a guy who wants to play for them, and the other not?

 

As much as I like Dmo...I feel like Daryl Morey is right. Reguardless of what the issues are between both sides. We are rockets fans and we should support the organization a bit more here. I feel like if Dmo gets away with something we will look bad as an organization and other players might want to follow Dmo's foot steps.

 

i was all for selling high when he had his 2 months of lithsanity a couple seasons ago. we missed that boat, then waited till the very last minute last season only to get burned with DET, and now have this ridiculous ongoing soap opera. at this point we should just cut ties altogether and move on. his production simply isn't worth the hassle.

 

Read more closely. I was quoting someone saying his agent BJ was moronic. And it was a joke. Obviously.

What I believe regarding D-Mo is that his agent isn't doing him any favors. I also believe it's foolish to try to increase your value by sitting out. If he believes in himself he can prove his value on a one-year deal (which I agree with Watkins/Stein he should have signed) or with a two year deal with team option. Of course the team will pick up the option, and likely give a raise, if he shows he's worth it.

Les and Morey have shown time and again they are not cheap. This isn't about an unwillingness to pay a player what he's worth. It's a case of not knowing what he's worth and only being willing to go so far until he's proven himself. And no, he has not proven himself. He certainly has not proven he's recovered from his last surgery.

If he's worth more, the only way to show that is on the court. If he wants more money he has to play first (not in Europe, in the NBA) so we know he can still play and is better, not worse, than the last time we saw him play. Because the last time we saw him play he was disappointing, likely because he was still recovering.

We have not seen D-Mo prove his value over these five years or whatever it's been. He has been just like Terrence Jones, an inconsistent contributor that seemed to regularly take two steps forward and then one step back. We held onto both of those guys not because what they were doing was great, but because the team saw potential in them.

After back surgery, and a disappointing return to the court, after four years (or whatever) of inconsistent play, with only about 4 months where he looked greatly promising, HE NEEDS TO PLAY to get paid.

Maybe you know someone in BJ's camp or D-Mo's. That wouldn't be so surprising. If you do, you and they would be better served if you forwarded my posts and ones like them to your sources instead of repeating the same old tired Yule C junk.

The Rockets still have all the leverage. And I am certain they are very willing to give him a very big payday if he proves himself. That he won't agree to these offers tells me one thing and one thing only: He doesn't believe in his ability to get his value up by playing and is negotiating this contract as if it might be his last. His/his agent's behavior makes me considerably less convinced he's healthy and can play than I would have been otherwise. They have no hand and they still don't budge. A negotiation happens when two parties are talking. BJ's stubborn stance tells me he doesn't know if D-Mo will get another contract after this one and that makes me less eager (not more) to give him a raise.

 

Kick rocks, DMo.

 

My feeling is that DMo questions his ability to stay healthy and perform well this season. Maybe he can pass a physical. maybe the doctors have told him he's good to go. But, no one knows how DMo's back feels except DMo.

If DMo signs a relatively small contract, but then isn't able to stay on the court, or he doesn't perform well, then DMo might not even be able to get a minimum offer in the future. I think he may be thinking that it's too much of a risk to sign a small contract if he isn't 100% convinced he'll be healthy enough to perform well.

I think DMo himself has real doubts about his health.

 

I hope that isn't true, but it would make a whole lot of sense.

 

Batman,

When you look at the deals that were handed out to inferior players, there's no way you can say that $7 million guaranteed is fair value. Even coming off an injury.

They played DMo, telling him he had a key role on this team, so they would not have to deal with an offer sheet until after they had done their free agent business.

BJ isn't a village idiot. They are doing the best thing for DMo's career and future earnings potential.

 

These narratives people are dreaming up are hysterical.

This is a mediocre player, injury history to boot, in restricted free agency.

Nobody is screwing over anybody.

This is the Rockets protecting themselves, based on the rules of the CBA.

 

I'd rather sign a euro free agent Center than this broke back Euro RFA

 

DMo should have done what other players in his position have done like Tristan Thompson. Sign and play out the contract. Then you hold all the cards the following year IF you play well. You bet on yourself. To a lesser extent that is what T. Jones did. The Pels signed Solomon Hill to a big contract and signed TJ for peanuts, but Hill has been garbage and Jones has been playing very well and if he keeps it up he will get a much better contract next year more along the lines of what he feels he would deserve. DMo screwed this up big time.

 

TJones has had a couple good games here and there then disappears. Nothing new.