I'm very intrigued by the possibility of a trade with the Heat but I'm just not really sure why they'd do it unless they're going into rebuild mode. They are a playoff team in the terrible East and I can't see how trading for Ryan Anderson helps them there. Are they that far into the luxury tax?
You kick the can until you find the right can that works. But you have to have cans to kick to find that can. Right now, I want to kick the Anderson can right off my front porch.
I honestly believe the earliest chance of a Ryan Anderson trade is at the February 19 deadline. He will have to be pretty good basketball in order for that to happen.
Because if I am gonna take back 3 years of contracts totaling 25 million, I'd rather have Batum who is a true Small Forward and fits a glaring need on our team, than a SG who can't shoot and undersized PF. I would still take Waiters and Johnson over Ryno, but I think we can do better.
There are tools to unlock that are usuable when even ~$30m above the cap. Morey's game will surely involve calculating whether he can ever achieve the full, NT-MLE again (or pull a SnT), not to mention avoiding repeater tax. So, his thinking won't be just cap vs T-MLE, whereby it's either a cap world or a T-MLE tax world, no in between. Thus, it is only prudent to factor in the Apron line each year, to see if he can unlock significant tools. Look at it this way, if somehow/some way Morey was able to, in the course if JH/CP3's contract, get $10m below the Apron to barely unlock and use the full-MLE (like he did with Tucker), you would be wow'd and we'd all have further reason to call him a genius, no? Same with pulling a SnT once, which wouldn't require being $10m below Apron to use, just that we don't end up over. I certainly don't think Morey has given up on that scenario, and thinks about it when he calculates the future. So, even if he doesn't reap a $20m windfall in 2yrs via Ryan expiring or the contracts he trades for expiring, it is only prudent for him to think about it, and weigh it in trades. And even if his only driver moving forward is limiting taxes (as you suggest), and he is resigned to the fact he'll never see the full MLE again (or ever be able to receive a player in SnT); to maximize biggest savings, he needs to avoid repeated tax during CP3's contact, and that means getting below taxline once.
Ryno has no value for us in the playoffs. Would D'antoni have any faith left to put him in the rotation after these past two years? He can be useful for other teams who don't plan on facing the Warriors, but since we're focused on that team in particular his salary is currently dead space. Our rotation against them shrunk because they went small. It wasn't just Ryno that was unplayable, so I'm not picking on him in particular. Just saying that him returning to form won't solve his defensive issues.
I disagree with this. Millions would be saved no doubt, but I don’t think the Rockets want dead money on the cap for years to come. Just my opinion of course. I think a deal of some kind happens soon-ish, but at the deadline at the latest. I just think the Rockets have more options through trade using Anderson’s contract than they would if they were to stretch him. I’m not so sure Anderson is as difficult to trade as it would seem. I just think Morey is being patient and wanting a deal that makes the most sense.
The Heat apparently lol It could happen though depending on what Heat are trying to do Anderson, couple picks and a young player Will see, we need a back up PF and Johnson fits it for the most part
We all agree that Johnson is more valuable than Ryno, both on our team and across the league. I'm more confident in Waiters being able to rebuild his value here than Ryno. Waiters has (sometimes misplaced) confidence, while Ryan is too scared to even shoot the damn ball. Plus, breaking Ryno's deal into two chunks is better from a future trade liquidity standpoint. We had to throw in every non-essential piece in the CP3 trade for salary-matching purposes. Having a few $10-15 MM deals on our books makes it easier to match salary in future deals (i.e. Waiters can be traded for anywhere from $9 MM to $16 MM in salary).
Sacremento receives: Ryan Anderson 1st round pick from Houston Washington receives: Zach Randolph 2nd round pick from Houston Houston Receives: Kelly Oubre Jr Ian Mahimi Sac absorbs some salary for an extra year but rewarded a first round pick. Washington gets a contributor and expiring contract in Zack Randolph and sheds cap space. They no longer have to pay luxury tax. They get rid of Mahimi's contract which is similar to Ryno's but less. Perhaps they don't want to pay KO next summer since they have Otto Porter. 2nd round pick bonus. We get a younger upgraded version of Ariza. KO can handle, is athletic, young, and has a 7'3 wingspan. He is a good defender. I think better than Ariza. Also Mahimi is a great backup for Capela. Better defender and lob threat than Nene. This trade makes out rotation younger as well.
Alright I'll say it, at this point Johnson will contribute way more to our team than Batum, the guy gets injured way too much and Johnson brings about everything you can ask for except 3 pt shooting. Waiters honestly is just a bonus.
