The Rockets had three expiring players worth something on the market as players at the trade deadline. Discounting Yao and Jeffries who are really only useful for their contracts. These would be Battier, Hayes, and Brooks. And of the 3, we traded two but not Hayes. This seems to imply that the Rockets are going to keep Hayes beyond the end of this year. I don't know how the new CBA will look, but if there's still a MLE around, it's likely that Hayes will get the max MLE. A long contract would also make him signed through the dreaded 2012 FA, if we're thinking of signing someone at that time. Considering the direction this team is going, I think this could be a mistake by Morey. We may get nothing in return for him if he leaves, and resigning him could be costly. While I loved Hayes as a $2-3 mil player, giving him Jeffries type contract would be a lot less attractive IMO.
I think Chuck is extremely underrated around the league, which means matching a contract he would otherwise receive on the open market would make it a "good" contract. I don't think he will be getting full MLE anywhere. Trading him doesn't make much sense because of how underrated he is, we won't be getting fair value in return.
It would be tough to lose him. He has all the intangible that Battier does. I hope he retires a Rocket.
I doubt anyone outside of Houston even knows there's a Chuck Hayes on our roster. He's very underrated. I wouldn't think someone will offer him a full MLE.
Thank God Morey didn't trade Chuck. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere close to what his value is to our team. I don't think Chuck will be getting MLE type money either. I think a lot more teams are noticing Chuck, but still see him as more of a defensive specialist than a starter. MLE money is really only given to starters. Morey worked out a good contract for Luis, so I'm sure something reasonable will be negotiated with Chuck. Chuck must retire a Rocket!
Morey should offer him around 10 million for three years similar to Scola's first contract. The cool thing about Chuck is I can see him sticking with Houston even if teams offer him 1-2 million more. I'm sure Morey would be glad to throw in another half million if that's the case. His contract is so small, so a million dollars is more than material.
Who would be the closest thing to a "comparable" for Chuck Hayes that has come up for free agency in the last couple of years - what other FA's could you compare him to? Last year, Matt Bonner got 4/yrs $16 million. Is that a good place to start? Also, Udonis Haslem got 5/yrs $20 million at an extreme hometown discount. My personal guess is that his value falls somewhere between the two.
I knew Houston wouldn't trade Hayes. Hayes isn't value as high to other teams like he is to Houston. Only the Rockets could really see the real value in Hayes because we watch him everyday and in practice. We all watched him grow as a player and how much he improved. In Houston's eyes, Hayes is very undersize for a Center but he is an incredibly gifted defender, good rebounder, high IQ player and a very good passer. Other teams probably view him as another undersize player who isn't athletic and is decent on defense. So if the Rockets were to trade him, they would not get an equal amount of value back. Signing Hayes shouldn't be that costly because I don't think any teams in the league that would throw him a full MLE. Like I said, only Houston see's the true value in Hayes so they will probably be able to resign him to a reasonable contract. Its incredible that a 6'6 center who isn't athletic can be this valuable to our team.
I can handle trading away Brooks and Shane (although Shane is all man). But trading away Chuck would be like trading away the heart of this team. Don't do it!
I didn't hear too much about other teams wanting to trade for Chuck Hayes. That tells me that he still isn't a player other teams pay much attention to. I think we'll be able to retain him for 3 million or so.
the only possibility..would be Chicago and thats only because I know Thibodeau loves Chuck Hayes and I'm sure he wouldnt mind just having the option of a Chuck Hayes to play some D when needed.
As valuable as chuck hayes to out team is he won't be making good money in the league due to his height. His boxscore stats are medioce (7 pts and 7 rebs for 30+mins) and the Rockets are like 300th in team defense. Even if teams know he's really good at shutting individual players down, his lack of height means there's no paint presence to deter slashers. He also provides slightly below average rebounding and very little shot-blocking. I mean, Chuck Hayes has done a great job however the fact that out team D is so horrible means he's not a long-term solution at C. At most, I see him as a situational PF on a contending team, and honestly there isn't a high demand for that. Like Durvasa said he won't make anymore than 3M a year.
No offense to Chuck because I like the guy. Who is gonna give a max mid level contract to an undersized center? The answer is nobody is looking for Chuck to fill their center spot at 6ft 6. Same reason we are looking for 7 footers and everyone is.
Call me crazy, but with Scola not going anywhere cause of his contract and Patterson and the other young bigs waiting in the wings, I thought Morey should of traded Hayes as his stock will never be higher and some team realizes that he affects the game beyond the box score, might offer a contract that Morey might not want to match. The move would net us prob. another draft pick and made the team a little worst meaning more balls in the lottery but oh well.
I'm pretty sure we are one of the few teams, if not the only one, that needs him to play center. Everywhere else he's a PF. Still undersized, but it's a big difference.
