Even if the Rockets can't get LeBron, the point is the Quarterman signing is basically setting up the "salary matching" for summer moves. Chess.
Wasn't he one of the non-guaranteed contracts we were hoping to use for Melo last summer? The name seems familiar. Seems like we have favorites for using certain players as salary filler for big fish.
Okay, I love chess. Don’t understand this series of moves though. I hear it set things up and space, etc. I just don't quite see the math.
it it just extra salary to dump and get 150% or 125% in return without losing a key piece of the roster.
This guy has potential. Seems to have good handles with left and right, seems like he can finish well with left and right, has a high, consistent release on his shot, has good length, good court cision (good passer, always keeps head up).
My guess is that the second year is non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed. Note that the NBA changed their rules so that only GUARANTEED salary counts toward salary-matching in a trade. As Pincus pointed out in his article, we need to send out $26.4 MM in salary to deal for James before July 1st, and $28.4 MM to deal for him before July 1st. My hunch is that if we make a move for James, it would be easier to do so in the 17-18 fiscal year (i.e. before July 1st). This allows us to use both Quartermann and Nene as salary-matching pieces. Gordon, Tucker, Qi, Onuaku, Quartermann, and Nene gets us to that $26.5 MM number. Of course it takes two to tango here. CLE is deep in the luxury tax, so if their priority is to take on as little salary as possible, HOU is in a unique position to deal with them. Gordon, Nene, and Tucker are valuable pieces that could be routed to other contenders in exchange for picks/assets. They could wait til July 1st and cut Quarterman. The only salary that would stay on CLE's books would be Qi and Onuaku, who make $2 MM collectively (and in theory could also be routed to other teams - add a 2nd round pick to make it worth their while). Doing the deal in the 18-19 fiscal year is also possible, but HOU would have to guarantee Quartermann's contract before commencing with the deal. Not a deal-breaker per se, but since CLE is so deep in the luxury tax, every dollar matters. CLE would leave the LeBron era with a boatload of picks and minimal additional obligations, while HOU would be primed to be the next great dynasty in the NBA.
This is a FA lebron move. Nothing to see here. We need his salary and non guaranteed deal to make that opt in trade for king JAmes this summer
I’m on the LeBron train but some of you are focusing too much on that scenario. This contract can help us make smaller moves too!
Wouldn't it be great to get a two year deal just so you can be packaged in a trade and then released by another team and still collect two years of pay? I mean, anyone of us could be in this deal with the same net result.
