Rockets are offering cash for early second-round draft picks

Yeah, sounds like we're on the verge of that MAJOR move he's been waiting for....

 

its all smokescreens

 

Yes sir!

And J Butler...

 

Once again, why not just buy the late 1st rd pick instead? The rockets could've bought a late 1st last yr and could've bought detroits 14th the year before, but they thought the rookie 1st rd pick money was too much. That's why I think les or morey are cheap bastards. A rookie,late lotto - late st pick money is really chump change. Of course bimathug will come in and add up these numbers and make it seem like bailout money.

 

1. Who would they have drafted with that late first rounder

2. Who would they have drafted with that late first rounder that was worth a GUARANTEED contract?

 

this is possibly one of the weakest draft but then Morey is offering cash for a second rounder? Smart or dumb, let's find out tonight.

 

Late first rounders blow, in short...

 

I gotta think a big or two as well. We have back ups and/or projects at every position including center. But that is our weakest area.

 

The primary difference is that with a 2nd rounder, you are not limited by the rookie scale.

With first rounders, the rookie scale applies for 3 years as far as I remember. So, if you have an European player (like Marc Gasol or Nikolas Pekovic), who gets drafted, stay in Europe for a couple years and does really well there, having drafted him with a 2nd round pick, you can use part of your cap room or MLE to sign the guy one or two years after drafting him and paying him a salary that is competitive with what he would get from an European club. If you were to draft him with a late 1st rounder, you are limited to the meager rookie scale for the late 1st rounders for 3 years and risk having the guy just decide to re-sign in Europe, possibly for a long term contract and you end up losing him permanently.

 

Look,

There is no problem with Les spending some of that profit he got from Yao Ming's insurance to buy draft picks.

The point is that none of those picks have made a difference, and more than likely any 2nd round pick is not going to be that great anyway.

Even the stashed ones....like Luennan, Lior, Newley, etc..etc..etc... have all been pretty much busts....

We have had some success in the 2nd round, Mobley, CBud etc....but most 2nd round picks are less likely to be in the NBA in 3 years than first round picks.

So sure, buy a few picks that are statistically not important.......and won't be that star player.....

So, I guess I am just being Debbie Downer because I want the team to have a direction and get better....not just tread water....lather, wash, rinse, repeat.

DD

 

Treading water was actually thinking that Aaron Brooks can be a perennial All-Star in the NBA.

 

Hmmm... Angling for a Shelvin Mack attack?

 

Then you agree with me that the Rockets should trade the vets for future picks and rebuild through the draft?

 

I can't imagine any team would sell, but if they do, we should buy all we can. It isn't cash that's the scarce resource, it's cap space, and if we can buy a bunch of picks for money that doesn't count against our cap, that move is zero risk and all reward.

 

One additional thing is that you can structure a 2nd rounder's contract to be much more team friendly than the 1st rounder scale. Currently, 1st rounders must have their 3rd year option picked up prior to the start of their second year (Oct 31st), and their 4th year option picked up prior to the start of their third year. In comparison, the Rockets were able to structure the Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger contracts to make the final 2 years of the contracts "unguaranteed", allowing the Rockets to waive them after their 2nd year + summer league (Aug 1st). If you're shooting for the moon with a boom/bust prospect, getting a full extra season and summer league to evaluate a player is a MASSIVE benefit. The Rockets would kill to have that kind of flexibility to see what Hill/Thabeet/Williams do in the upcoming season; instead, they're going to have to turn down all of their options this offseason, and if any of them bust out next year, they will lose them in free agency.

 

If it were legal under the CBA for the Rockets to go out and directly pay the Chicago Bulls $12M for Luol Deng, or Philly for Andre Iguodala, would you do it?

 

rockets offer cash for second round picks every year.

 

sling enough against the wall . .. something has to stick

Rocket River