KPJ being out this long...planned? Rockets wanted to see Sengun in the role they always envisioned?

Next update : "His foot fell off."

 

He'd still get more minutes than Alpi, right SOFs?

 

KPJ has a $2.379M incentive in his contract for 2023 - 2024 for playing 60 or more games. It is currently considered "Likely to be achieved" since he played in 61 games the season before he signed the extension. This is recomputed annually before the season starts, and is normally based on what you did the previous year with limited exceptions such as a major injury, or if your team gets substantially better or worse. Key is that a "likely to be achieved" bonus counts against your available salary cap room in free agency/trades, while an "unlikely to be achieved" bonus does not.

So if KPJ plays in less than 60 games this year, and turns his bonus into an "unlikely to be achieved", the Rockets will create an extra $2.379M in cap room for their expected pursuit of Harden and other free agents next summer. KPJ only needs to miss 3 more games total to guarantee he can't reach 60. I'm sure that he's legitimately hurt, but I can't imagine that the Rockets are trying to rush him back onto the court, either, until they lock in him being way below the threshold.

 

double post

 

Hey Mana how did you know all that??

I kinda figured Tate's injury was a little "extended" to keep minutes open too.

 

I don't know, I don't know, I don't understand what the hell is going on.....and....I think the whole organization is at this level

 

Spotrac for KPJ's contract and the bonuses: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/houston-rockets/kevin-porter-jr-31589/

Larry Coon's old CBA FAQ for details on likely to be earned contract bonuses: http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q74

Obviously all speculation here, but the Rockets have played this game before with the Nene deal in attaching LTBE bonuses to a deal before, so I'm sure they are aware of the benefits.

 

Sengun looks worn out ....I question his endurance factor

 

the biggest quandry for the front office is ... SENGUN looks to be the YES on the offense end ...but...a NO on the defensive end

 

Well said. My level of what I can tolerate has reached new lows, however. The organization is demanding far too much from the fans in the way of loyalty, "no matter what." While I'll still be suffering through whatever nightmare the Rockets dredge up from somewhere, regardless, a lot of fans have to be near the end of their rope with the team.

 

But why would KPJ be happy to sit out and forfeit $$??

Or are you suggesting he gets free Landrys to make up for it??

 

Im pretty sure that extra 2 million that KPJs incentive would open up is EXACTLY enough to lure all the top free agents for next year like...terrence ross? malik beasley? Bogdanovic? lets be real, outside of Harden no FA available really moves our needle. Saving a few million isnt some genius move.

 

Just get rid of him. We aren't winning anything anytime soon so take out the trash

 

A lot of people are citing the Astros rebuild , as proof that rebuilding works and that the fans will come back

#1 Astros had to win for that to happen

#2 I don't think people realize how close many were to throwing in the towel.
- specifically I remember the 2014 draft where we had the 1st pick and failed to sign Brady Aiken. That was ultimately a great outcome , but at the time fans were PISSED

#3 the Astros got lucky with their timing on the tank - 2012 was the first year teams really stuck to their bonus pool and picking 1st overall was a much bigger advantage in years past

#4 even when they sucked you could follow minor leaguers and they still won 50+ games a year. Astros won around 33 percent the 3 tanking years. That translates into 27 wins, rockets are ~20

It's really bad .

I used to move things around in my life to watch rockets games . I don't watch nearly as much . Even when I do watch its half-ass with no expectation of winning .I don't even get pissed when the refs screw us.

The fan base is not developing just like our squad isn't. Not good trends for the rockets

 

He wouldn't be missing out on any money, it would only change bonuses next year from being considered "likely" to being considered "unlikely" which would merely be a salary cap trick.

 

Ok - that makes sense. I (possibly wrongly) assumed it was also part of this year's contract.

Whether or not he gets the $$ is based on games played and not at all on likely or unlikely. Makes sense now!! Ty

 

I know the feeling. I'm still shelling out for League Pass because of the Rockets. It's my addiction. It's going to be harder next season, though. Harder, but I'll end up doing it. I think a lot of fans won't bother. Of course, winning the draft would change a heck of a lot. Fingers crossed.

 

Whether an incentive is classified as "Likely to be Earned" or "Unlikely to be Earned" does not have any bearing on whether the player actually acheives it, just whether it is on the salary cap or not at the start of the year. KPJ has no incentives for games played this year, this is the final season of his rookie contract. Starting next year, he should be highly motivated to do whatever the hell the Rockets tell him to do, because it's the difference between $6M guaranteed in 2024 if he's waived after the end of the season, and $32M guaranteed between 2024-2025 if the Rockets pick up his contract.

You'd still rather have it available than have to do something like salary dump Garuba or Christopher to create the same amount of cap room. Assuming a Harden Max at Y1 $47M, Wemby Cap hold at $12M, and the #17 pick at a $3.6M Cap hold, you've eaten up $62.6M of your projected $72.6M cap space (all approximations here, I haven't done the exact count post-deadline yet). That last $2-3M is then the difference between being able to match the full MLE ($11.4M Y1 salary) or not. That extra $2M plus no-state tax could absolutely be a tiebreaker for veteran role-players, especially when you consider that players are not going to be taking discounts to come to this franchise right now.