I read somewhere last offseason saying that Durant knew how hard it was to acquire big salaries such as his and that when he reached free agency, he might pick his team and play for the minimum so that team could add talent. I only saw mention of it that one time and I can't recall where I read it .... But now we have rumors that he will in fact take a lower than max deal with the Rockets - the report is 2 years 100m. It's not a minimum contract by any standards but it is a significant discount from the 2/122 he could get. That 22m over 2 years could mean the difference between adding a piece or keeping a younger player and or staying out of that 2nd apron territory.
2 years/100M is still more than I think he's likely to be worth (especially in that final year) but it's not disastrous for the franchise I guess. If his decline is gentle enough, there will be worse players getting paid about the same or more when this offseason wraps up.
FVV got paid over his likely open market value. Jabari also got paid more than his current production has warranted, although it was certainly signed with potential growth in mind. Jabari could have held out on signing and maybe made more next offseason, but he took the guaranteed money. If KD does in fact sign that deal, it will be the first guy that clearly signed a below market team friendly deal.
Assuming 4 minimum contracts worth at $2.5M each (don't know exact number for next season), the Rockets would have $22M under the 2nd apron next season with Durant at that number with an 8% raise for 2nd season of extension. Tari's first seaon would need to be less than $22M.
I wasn't on board with dealing for KD .... I thought the price would be much higher than it ended up being - thought they'd demand one of Sengun / Jabari / Amen and that was out of the question. Now that the deal has been made and at a significantly lower cost than I ever anticipated, I'm good with the deal. Being honest about Durant - he should be in the conversation for GOAT shooter. The only dude in the history of the league that has an argument otherwise is Curry. Since missing the entire season in 2019/20 he has had one season below 40% from 3 - in 2021/22 he shot .383. The last two seasons he's shot .413 & .430 from range. He's shot at least .503 from the field every year since 2011/12 (.496) and for all intents and purposes, that was a different league altogether. Four of the past five seasons he's shot 50+/40+ with two 50/40/90 seasons to his credit .... Other than Curry, I don't think anyone has an argument against Durant as the best shooter. Curry has a better 3p% while Durant is far and away better from 2 and "from the floor". Curry has only 1 season over 50% from the floor in his career and that's his lone 50/40/90 season. Durant has only gotten better as a shooter as he's aged ..... the only real drop is the number of FT attempts he gets. He's still one of the best statistical players in the game in ISO too ... mainly because he can shoot over most defenders. IF KD is healthy, this team is gonna be very hard to beat in a playoff series. Yes, Duncan was criminally under rated ..... but you just can't diminish KD, especially as a shooter and that's just what he'll be here.
I'm more than 20 years older .... but have always been an athlete - 6'3" 205 with ~12% body fat in my old age, still in the 1000lb club. I do live in the gym 6 days a week and maintain a very strict diet. The science of fitness has come a very long way in recent years .... It's not hard for professional athletes to stay in fantastic shape well beyond what was possible even a decade ago.
Didn’t want this version of KD but the Suns practically gave him away. Durant’s always been an elite offensive player. My point with mentioning Duncan is that he was an elite two way player and a floor raiser that won at both the college and professional level. That can’t be said of Durant, but he was basically free so no harm in getting him.
I recognize it’s an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think the Rockets should extend Tari right now unless it is an extremely team friendly deal. He has not proven he can stay on the court and played terribly in the playoffs last year. Jalen gets jettisoned largely based on his playoff performance, but Tari should be extended? I love his energy off the bench, but not being able to play back to backs and playing 22 and 57 games the last two seasons should not earn him a premium extension like folks seem to be pumping him up for. I also don’t think we should be falling all over ourselves to extend KD unless it was promised. 2 years 100m would be great if he would take it.
I don't know if it is that unpopular of an opinion as a lot of people are worried about the injury history. I'm not too concerned with the injury history as long as only two years are fully guaranteed without team options (or subsequent years aren't too expensive), and they can fit in both Durant and Tari below 2nd apron next season. On Jalen Green, there were a lot more issues than just playoff performance, such that the playoff connection is very weak, IMO. Mostly, the Rockets liked Durant better than Jalen Green, and there just wasn't a good way to acquire Durant without Green and still fill out a roster as well as Stone did this offseason. RFA is generally very tough on players. The Rockets have the 2nd apron hammer over their heads next season. Because the cap is going to be smaller than anticipated, next offseason is not the offseason for the Rockets to test RFA.
My target would be fitting Tari and Durant under the 2nd apron next season with protections for years 3+. $70M-Durant year 1 extension = Tari Year 1 extension.
Staying under the 2nd apron is a good goal, so I’m guessing if Durant is 50 you’re saying Tari is 20. If Durant is 54, Tari is 16. The problem with that is if Tari’s extension is 5 years then his extension should be looked at seperately since it will effect the upcoming Amen max and another extension for Sengun most likely. I don’t think just looking at being under the 2nd apron the next 2 years is looking forward enough. I think that Tari’s extension should be on the merits of Tari going forward, but that’s just my opinion of course. We gave Jabari 5 at 24 which I thought was a bargain. Is 5/100 a bargain for Tari with his injury concerns?jk,j , ,, ,,,,jjj,j,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,[;p’’’[[;;p’’’’’’’’’[;p’’’’’’’’’’’’p[;[p[p;;;[pp[;;;;;;;;[p[p[pp[;;;p[;p[;;[p;[p[[pp[[[[[[pp[;p[p[[p[[‘’’’’’’’’p[[p[pp’’’’’’’[p[p’’’’p’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’j
FVV and DFS are off the books the following year, so Amen just takes their salaries. After that year, the Rockets would likely have nonguaranteed years on the contract if they had any injury concerns (I'm not sure the Rockets are as worried as fans about Tari's tibia going forward). Looking forward, the Rockets would really be risking losing Tari (or someone else to keep Tari) if they don't extend Tari. Next year seems to be the pivotal year regarding salaries of existing Rockets now that the cap has been lowered and Green has been traded. Not extending Tari basically gives the Rockets a chance at having the taxpayer MLE if Tari isn't worth keeping. As long as the Rockets are comfortable with Tari's health or they mitigate risk with contract terms, I'd want Tari extended, as the risk of losing him or someone else is not worth the potential of adding a player on the taxpayer MLE. Granted, I really like this team for he next 2 years, and I love the potential of having Reed, Amen, Tari, JSJ, and Sengun after that. i don't expect all 5 of those guys to be Rockets long term, but those guys can be traded for value as well.
