Rockets luxury tax watch 2019: What we are doing and why it matters

Nate Duncan....

 

To quote a plastic surgery nightmare of an old white dude, "You've got to know when to hold em, and know when to fold 'em."

Morey just folded and is positioning himself for the next hand that's dealt while the team plays the string out.

Do people really think this team is one role player away from taking out the Warriors?

Disapointing, but that pretty much was this season from the start, minus James Harden superhero impressions.

 

Is Tilman cheap, or did he just not want to pay LT for a team filled with scrubs? Of course he’s gonna tell Morey to eject these scrubs from the roster and lower payroll. It’s not like they were gonna bring back a really good player anyways.

 

Nate Duncan just ******** all over the Rockets today.

 

No, ******** on TF

And he is right too.

 

And how is that you can avoid the tax for a year when you have been over it for the majority of time and just managed to get under it by the ASW?

 

Someone please explain how all these financial moves affect our options in the buyout market. I’ve been going on the theory that Morey’s game is to pay for the core (Harden, Paul, and now Capela) and trade away picks based on a bet. The bet is that, based on the attractiveness of playing with that core, he can find the right complementary players in the buyout market. Is that true? Is it sound? Is it working? Do this week’s moves help us in that regard, enough to justify the picks and possible pickups we’ve forgone?

 

uh...he's cheap. Per Forbes, Rockets had an EBITDA of $103 million last year, fourth highest in the league. Which means he could have afforded to pay luxury tax and still make money...and even pay repeater tax and still make money...

 

He gives me headaches.

 

Don't why we would spend 3 picks to get under the tax line only to get right back above it by signing guys off the waiver wire.

 

I think last year it did not work out that well.

Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright did nothing.

Last year we had a better record.

This year is the opposite so those players from the buyout market could be more useful.

 

Pay LT for a team filled with scrubs that has regressed from last season? Why?

 

We have a cheap owner and it's going to seriously affect our chances of winning championships. As a fan, the latter is what I care about.

```Here it should be pointed out that there’s no real prize for a team getting under the luxury tax, much less for reducing without erasing an anticipated luxury tax bill. It doesn’t mean more or better players, or happier players, or better coaches, or cheaper tickets—it doesn’t accrue in any way to the benefit of the team on the court or its fans. It’s just a thing general managers have to do to appease their bosses. These two teams made themselves actively worse in order to save their billionaire owners some money. Teams that resist spending over the luxury tax threshold do so because their owners are cheap, and for no credible basketball reasons. Don’t celebrate it!```

https://deadspin.com/there-is-no-prize-for-getting-under-the-luxury-tax-1832412062

 

didn't know you felt so strongly about chriss/knight/ennis. it was going to take picks attached to them bc they were that worthless. you don't pay LT for those type of guys.

the rockets have 3 open spots. They're going to go back into the LT for better players off the buyout market

 

Why did Bima leave off the $1m bonus for making the WCF (with 2k minutes played).

Did he not mention that as some sort of @DreamShook jinx protocol...#forsafety #fortheculture

 

For a team that's everyone seems to be predicting will be the Warrior's bi**h in the playoffs, they haven't lost to them yet this year. No Boogie or Curry in the first game, but no Paul in the second game. And yet the Rockets beat them both times. Once at Oracle.

No, I don't think the Rockets are a role player away. But, my point has been that an owner not so concerned about the luxury tax, might've taken the leash off a GM as talented as Morey. A Morey with instructions to not go nuts, yet take back extra salary if Morey felt the trade target provided good value, and filled a need, might have yielded a roster by now to where you might think it'd be an even shot vs the Warriors.

Instead of what we have now.

 

I don't care about those players, I care about those picks.

I have serious doubts they will go back into the luxury tax.

 

Are the Rockets not interested in guys like Wes and others in the buyout market? Is Tilman gonna say no to them? He’s not paying LT for a team with guys like Knight, Chriss, and other scrubs just wasting away on the roster. Get rid of those dudes and then we can talk about dipping into LT territory by adding guys that are good or can contribute.

 

You have to remember that Tilman issued corporate bonds to raise cash that he is using to buy the Rockets. We can do some back-of-the-envelope calculations to estimate what he is paying in interest expense each year on those bonds. The cash situation is not as good as it seems, at least until 2024.

$745 million at 6.75% maturing in 2024. Annual interest expense: $50,287,500
$670 million at 8.75% maturing in 2025. Annual interest expense: $58,625,000
Combined interest cost per year: $108,912,500

 

Its crazy this really what knicks fans and all the others mustve been feeling like with a hopeless owner. ***** sad

Funny how many people are still in denial over it