edit: and with the upcoming spike in cap do any of these deals surprise anyone with the lateral thinking ability to look ahead to a certainty?
If all healthy, no question. Could be an all time great. I know that's crazy but imagine a line up of peak... KPJ JG Tari Bari Wemby I think some want to discount it, but come on, that would be straight up sick.
From what I was able to find, they could decline the option in X year and retain his bird rights which means they could resign him at a higher amount. I don't think that's wise financially for the franchise, they would more likely pick up the options and then extend him beyond that at the new / higher value.
The only way you'd do that is if he very much overplays his contract, you might decline the last year and give him a new deal a year early. Other than that, you stick with what you've got.
This is about the best possible kind of deal for KPjr Take away the $$ amount and look at the guarantees, and absolute worst case scenario is that we get stuck with him for a 2 year period (ie if he goes mental tomorrow). The best case scenario is that he feels loved and shows it on the court. It isn't crazy to to think he goes 18/6/5 this year. His post all star splits were 19/6/5 - so I'm almost selling him short... (through 5 games in April he was at MVP level numerically 29-7-6) We need a ball handling coach like nobodies business. If KPjr and Smith can improve 10% in that regard this year, look out!!
This is a business and a business decision. Porter Jr. wanted and received some guaranteed money. Now he is guaranteed $17,000,000 no matter what happens. That is enough money after taxes for him to live very comfortably for the rest of his life. However, because of the off the court problems that Porter has, the Rockets have found a way to avoid risk long term. This also tells us that it was unlikely that Kevin Porter Jr. was going to get a massive deal like Herro or Poole. It is a compromise contract. It is overall good for the Rockets because the risk ($17,000,000) is less than the reward (he earns $82,000,000 because he is at least that good a player).
Porter jr was going to gamble on himself anyway and prove his worth this season. KPj wants to be in Houston with a Silas system that will make him look good.....to go with a star in the making in Green Machine. G4 makes KPj look good and KPj makes Green look better as well. Dueling Banjos. Whoever demands the attention of the defense helps the other. Boston has Jaylan Brown and Tatum but need Marcus Smart and Derrick White and now Brogdan to initiate a lot of sets. Warriors: Curry-Poole Hawks: Trae Young-DeJounte Murray Hornets: LaMelo Ball-Rozier Bulls: Lonzo Ball-Caruso(28 mins) Cavs: Garland -Donovan Mitchell (6'1") Pistons: Cade-Ivey Porter is sure about his skills.....as I predicted his stats would be bust out this year.
I don't know for sure, but if he is out of the league in two years it won't impact the Rockets financially.
I actually think it's the entire young core. Porter said the other day that Sengun is one of the most talented players he has ever seen. Add Jabari and Tari... I'm happy with this.
No qualms there. Nobody who genuinely supported KPJ expected a hand out or a charity case or even posited a contract like the players you mentioned. The good faith arguments were all based around a 15M average which is what he got. Maturity & Efficiency were the understood obstacles for him. He's addressing those in real time. When this contract is over and the new TV deal hits and KPJ continues on a positive arc then he will position himself for a massive payday Im pretty sure that is what his agents were advising especially since this kid seems to love playing for this team and city. Its not some slap in the face as some would like to think - Its still a "prove it deal" and I think he will.
Many on the internet are saying the same as me. Bruno fits better with Green and Porter as they get to go downhill and keep teams on their heels. But I've said in the past, Melo posting up serves a purpose. Changing the angle of attack a few times a game to keep them honest. The best post up players in Jokic, Embiid, Kat, Tobias only average about 7 or 8 possessions in the post. So I need Sengun to learn that Olynyk role of handling the ball above the break 3. But that requires Sengun to get more proficient from 3. More than the measley attempts he did in the preseason. Sengun fans hate that the Rockets destroyed the Raptors without Sengun. A top 5 team in the East that lacked only VanVleet and Malichi Flynn. Green said post game that the Raptors played him the same last season and gave him trouble.....this preseason was no problem for Green vs that stuff. Get Sengun out of their way at times. Rockets would win 40 games with my roster lineups. But because the Rockets will take time grooming everyone to master the Sengun post up....s!ows our progress. I'm hoping it's worth it long-term. But develop it from the second unit.
I sure hope they're setting their sights higher than 40, after the growing-up period. I'll gladly sacrifice 15-20 wins this year for a brighter future.
You are going to suck again this year, and if you are going to suck, you want to suck all the way because the top prize of the incoming draft is one of the best in years. So, you have a choice to pay this guy 3.2M this year, in worse case scenario, you will let him walk at the end of the season and get nothing, if he draws no interest from other team before the deadline, well, that means he will also suck when you are trying to suck, if he is playing really well - stats stuffer, maybe you can get couple second rounder in the trade. Instead, you took a gamble (whatever it is), to pay this guy at least another year for about 16 mils. The problem is not really about the money, the problem is how this guy played in the last 2 seasons and how many new potential assets in your team NOW that you are going to need to evaluate. So the real issue is not on the money spent, its about wasting your other young players future.
Sometimes you are just too smart for your own good, and over complicate things. I really like Morey, thought he was brilliant, but the smartest person in the room isn't necessarily the best for the job. I think Morey sometimes puts blinders on once he arrives at a thesis, and that is his biggest downfall. His biggest strength was structuring contracts and trades, which is valuable, but he lacked the ability to really evaluate talent at an elite level. I would prioritize evaluating talent at an elite level over structuring contracts and trades, which is why I would like someone like a younger Jerry West over Morey.
