If Spain is like Greece then the money u say he makes is after taxes. The team also pays him a car and a villa/big apartment. Don't blame the guy if he is not willing to comeover. He has paid his due all these years in europe being a rookie who doesn't get playing time and sits on the end of the bench waiting for his chance and now he has to start all over again being from star to nobody. Plus I think he has a family. Will Gentile come over soon Cyber? He is young and now is the time to pry him away before he grows roots of his own.
Too many balls up in the air to guess what will happen. If KJ gets a $2 million offer we will probably still match, but it won't leave us enough room to sign Llull.....it would be enough to get Gentile though. If that happens, Brewer is likely gone.
IMO, and that starts with OPINION as not one of us is speaking from hard facts and knowledge of SL's mindset, Llull will be playing in the NBA 1 November. My guess is he's playing in Toronto. Maybe Sac or Nugsville or Minnie. But, I believe Sergio becomes a cashed-in asset to play where he wants in the NBA for the contract he wants and the Rox benefit with a good draft pick or player. (I still believe SL/Lowry is the framework of a late June trade.)
So much for Sergio. I'll take Alex Renfroe for the minimum please. Then after we trade for Love, sign Dr. Spock (Marjanovic) for the MLE.
Obviously it all starts with "Does he have dreams and ambitions of being an NBA player?" Most basketball players in the world do. I think we have to operate under that assumption. I'm sure he's happy over there and all, but it all comes down to that. Does he want to just go over when its most convenient (could be challenging Prigioni's rookie yr age). If he's wanting to have legit NBA success he needs to come over this year as long as three things happen- -A. He needs the full MLE to offset his buyout (& of course the max amount the team can contribute) -B. He needs at the very least a player option on year 2 and hopefully 3. -C. He needs a high likelihood of a starting role, or large role off the bench. Technically the Rockets can do that for him if they wish. Now the real question is if the Rockets still have that availability to do so after Bev/Smith/Brewer/KJ/draft/trades etc. all happen between June 25 and July 15. Probably not of course, but they technically could if he was priority #1, or 2, or even 3 over these players. Because of these things, I'd tell anyone here to temper expectations of course, but if I'm advising Sergio as his agent or whatever, I would tell him that if you can meet these three requirements, either with the Rockets or VIA trade (as you alluded to), you need to jump on that now. Getting a trade seems to make the most sense as you pointed out. However we are operating under the assumption that other teams out there are forward thinking enough to really have a good feel for who Llull can be in the NBA to make that investment. As a true contender (even though BBHollic disagrees because Terrence Jones is a rotation player), I think the Rockets would jump at a trade like you mentioned. A Lowry type of player for his rights + Pap, etc. would make more sense than Llull. At the end of the day, the guy is going to be a gamble in the NBA. Even if the Rockets are the ones who bring him over, and it happens this Summer, we'd still have to set our expectations appropriately.
I think KJ can step into Brewers role pretty easy, so there is no way I'm offering brewer more than 5/6 million. Sure, Brewer is a little better in the open court and his energy is infectious, but I believe KJ could bring similar value with much more upside next season for half the price.
Praying hard that Brew stays....man he fits our fast break philosophy perfectly...hard to find a player to replace him...dude brings that energy when James doesn't.... that game 6 comeback warrants his return...
I also like the idea of trading for Lowry. It sets us up well in 2016, as Harden and Lowry combined would only make $30 million. We can also use the MLE to address other needs, like bringing back KJ and signing Gentile. Something like: NOP 1st NYK 2nd HOU 2016 1st (protected) TJones Papanikolaou Prigioni Rights to Llull That might be overpaying, but it still leaves the Rockets with plenty of other assets to make another trade: DMo Capela KJ Ariza's contract
how is llul gonna defend the westbrook's, the currys of the world in the western confernce.. i hope morey lets this guy stay in europe, we need an american pg from the draft european bigs, and some swingman are ok tho
Why? I think Kj can be a better defender and has the athleticism to be a beast in the open court. They are comparable shooters and probably are a wash in the half court offense, but Kj isn't a set commodity and has a lot of upside. For 2-3 million bucks I'm fine signing KJ and letting Brewer walk if he gets 8 million from someone else.
I posted the same thing in the NBA Draft thread...I wouldn't mind having Tyus Jones (if available) at #18. Has that CLUTCH GENE in his blood and not scared under pressure.
Resign Brewer, KJ and Beverly. TRADE TJones, Kpap, 18th pick for a PG. Dwight, CC DMo, Smoove Ariza, KJ Beard, Greyhound PG, Bev 32nd pick Dorsey If either or both grandpas wanna stick around, give them vet min. Definitely earned it.
Mind you - he plays in almost half the amount of games in Europe with short travel and less time away from family etc.
Your signing bonus can not be that much. KPAPS first contract was rejected by the league office. Rockets tried to offset his buyout with bonuses. League office rejected and they restructured the contract. Kpap had to pay his OWN buy out over a certain amount, hence the nice salary he got
Lull, brew, KJ, Matthews. Let Smoove and Bev walk. Can we get that done with $18 milish in cap space? Probably not.
