That's just funny and regardless about how you feel about KJ's position, Brewer is a wing and possible 6th man of the year. Stop acting like they're a piece to a bigger puzzle, Ariza and Brewer are here to stay. Good luck winning a championship when you lose either one and have Thorton or something similar and KJ as back-ups, doesn't matter if the player you trade Ariza / Brewer for is Bosh (a PF is probably your final piece).
I don't think either Ariza or Brewer are likely to be traded, but they certainly would trade them for someone like Bosh or Horford or the ability to sign Durant. They ABSOLUTELY would do it if KJ developed his shot, which is what that poster's argument is.
KJ is a project and very few have the illusion that he's going to be starter so I don't even take that seriously. KJ starting over Ariza or Brewer, don't make me laugh. If Durant comes here, KJ would still not start even if he develops his game. That would actually make him obsolete. Trade either one for Bosh or Horford, they could, but only because the other team would want the best in return. Still, one of them is not going to be traded and sure as hell not because KJ lived up to his All-Star potential (sarcasm)..
KJ doesn't need to be an all-star. Neither Brewer or Ariza are close to All-Stars. KJ certainly has the potentially to improve to the point of being a #4-7 rotation player on a contender, which is Brewer & Ariza's value. The key to KJ is developing that outside shot.
Ty/Beverly/Terry Harden/Mcdanials/Thorton Ariza/Brewer/Dekker Jones/Dmo/Harrell Howard/Cappella/Hayes I say sign him. This is a deep as team and Harrell is someone I want to keep as a young guy for the future. Idc if we have a hard cap cause I'm happy with this squad for playoffs. No need for December trades. Let's actually keep a team together for more than 3 months so they can play with each other and mesh As long as we have our cash ready for KD next summer I'm happy. Thorton is a 1 year deal that will clear up some space and Ariza contract will be a bargain next off season.
I'm in this camp and I've been a big cheerleader for flexibility (which it seems has finally caught on this forum after acquiring JSMoove, Brewer, and Lawson). However, I can't remember a time when we were this stacked, especially at the 1-3 spots. You can't predict who will become available during a mid-season fire sale, but I'd rather roll the dice for this season with the players we have. I like Harrell a lot, hustle and energy dudes at the PF are a dime a dozen coming out of college each year, but not guys with his physical meausrements (crazy wingspan and standing reach). He needs a season at the D League to polish his very raw offensive skills and learn NBA defensive schemes. I get an optimistic chubby thinking about him and Capela switching out to the perimeter with their condor-like wingspans.
The depth of this roster is what gives Morey the option of being hard capped They have multiple players who can play pg , sg , sf & c. The one spot where they are a bit thin is PF with just DMo & Jones so signing Harrell (or another PF) is optimal because they are one injury (or trade) away from Harrell being forced to play meaningful minutes. I'd be alright with being hard capped with a roster three deep at every position with players who could be expected to contribute when called upon. This roster could withstand an injury or two because its players are relatively versatile. We could see some really crazy lineups this season even with everyone healthy , especially when going small. PG - Lawson , PatBev , Terry , Harden SG - Harden , Brewer , McDaniels , Thornton , Terry , Ariza SF - Ariza , Brewer , McDaniels , Harden , Thornton , Dekker PF - TJones , DMo , Harrell , Hayes , Dekker? C - Howard , DMo , Capela , Hayes When you look at all those options , being hard capped isn't the disaster some make it out to be. There are even options that allow you to match a large salary via trade .... and still have lots of options positionally.
the depth of this roster places us firmly as 1 of 6 from the west. yes ridiculous parity. until we can distance ourselves from the other 5 give DaReal room to operate. we're one drink from injury plagued Bev denying Jet starters minutes. allow the man that brought you Smith & Brewer space to work.
So with Terry and Hayes signed to veteran minimum contracts, the Rockets have 14 players (i.e. without Harrell or Wood) with guaranteed contracts for a total of $87,127,665. According to Bima, the apron level for this year is $88.74 million. This means the Rockets are $1,612,335 below the apron as of now. Wood transparently got a partially guaranteed contract, so that number is actually slightly less. Use MLE on Harrell, keep flexibility to sign a veteran: In order to sign a veteran to a minimum deal during the season (a player that was bought out seems most likely here), the Rockets would need to be $947,276 below the apron. This means the Rockets could use at most $665,069 of the MLE to sign Harrell to a contract this year. The rookie minimum for this year is $525,093. With Wood's partial guarantee factored in, using the MLE on Harrell while keeping the flexibility to add a veteran minimum contract later on would net Harrell ~$100,000 more this year. This seems like it could be the best route for the Rockets beyond Harrell accepting a 2 year rookie minimum deal, which I see as unlikely after seeing the other deals 2nd picks have received this year. Harrell signs a 1 year rookie minimum contract (i.e. what K.J. did): If this happens, the Rockets would not be hard capped at the apron because they did not use any more of the MLE. The Rockets salary would be at $87,652,758 with Harrell on a rookie minimum deal. This would leave the Rockets $1,087,242 below the apron. Technically they could use $1,087,242 of the non-taxpayer MLE on someone and then be hard capped at the apron, but any player they sign would likely be able to be signed to a minimum contract for more than that amount. The only benefit to this method for the Rockets is to have the flexibility to make trades without having to worry about being hard capped. Harrell would be a restricted free agent next year with a $1,074,636 qualifying offer. This would add $200,000 to the Rockets salary next summer, when they need all the money they can get in order to sign Durant. IMO, this means the Rockets would lose Harrell if Durant were to sign. This doesn't sound like that big of a problem, but the Rockets would likely need to trade either TJones or DMo in order to make room to sign Durant. If Harrell lives up to the hype surrounding him, he could be very important for us if we have to trade one of our other PF's. I made this spreadsheet a while ago, but it is still correct for next season. For each scenario you'd have to find a way to shed another $200,000 in order to keep Harrell. Spoiler No matter what, the minimum Harrell can get paid next year is $874,636. The best move for next summer and beyond is to use the MLE on Harrell to sign him to a contract starting at $836,972 this year with a maximum increase of 4.5% for next year to take him to his minimum contract of $874,636. His contract would be 4 years/$3,814,392 with a team option for the final year. This might not be the best move for a contending team, but realistically, what trades are the Rockets going to make where they need the additional flexibility? The Rockets could still make the trades, they would just have to send out the same amount of salary as they receive. The Rockets roster is balanced and there are not many realistic buyout candidates that could help the Rockets next year.
I hope we sign him. He can really thrive here with Ty and James giving him easy looks. All of our PFs and Cs are going to benefit from Ty. Ty is going to make everyone better, including James. Can't wait to get him going. We have one of the best pass first PGs in the league and we stole him for a bag of chips. Unbelievable.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sLQOFdzk5ro" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This kid can play. I know it's summer league, but he dunks and makes almost everything down there in the paint.
It's a gamble either way, but I like that "final" roster you laid out and it's potential to go far in a loaded West. I'm high on Harrell but I see Chuck Hayes coming in before Harrell unless he absolutely tears it up in the D League while simultaneously having a PF traded/injured. So many potential lineups and so many mismatches for our opponents. :grin: Length, athleticism, flexibility, and the Beard is what Morey has built and acquired. We resemble the Bucks more so than any other team in my opinion with the type of players we have, except they are missing an elite playmaker/scorer. Perhaps that's how we'd look if we never would have gotten Harden, hoping players like Jabari Parker and giannis antetokounmpo become superstars.
Yeah, but they can sign Harrell to a 1 or 2 year deal, but they just won't be able to get the extra years or guarantee him more than the minimum. You still can have him on the roster/system.
Great stuff. I very much disagree with your final premise on using the MLE for Harrell and hard capping ourselves to sign him, but the info is great. I will say, I don't think $200k is going to stop Kevin Durant from signing with us, so I don't see that as any risk. If it did, he would be traded with ease. Any number of players could come available in season, who might represent great value we should pounce on. Plus, I don't ever want to be in a similar situation LAC found themselves in, even if we are much deeper. I forgot about the increased cap hold for DMo, so now I am less optimistic about Dwight taking a big yearly pay cut to sign longterm. I thought we could essentially lock him up at the current year rate and be ok, so he really wasn't taking a current year cut. Oh well.
Montrezl is better than Tarik Black and Joey Dorsey combined. And both guys actually STARTED games for the Rockets last season, on a team that made it to the WCF. Would be foolish to let go of this kind of talent for a few measly bucks. Do what it takes to sign him and let Morey figure out the cap ramifications. Morey can always do a trade to get back under.
He's insurance for when Dmo hurts his back again, or even if jones gets hurt again(dude has scary injuries not minor ones). Dmo seems to me like a injury prone person Harrell seems like some that can thrive with Dwight next to him on top of Ty's & Hardens driving in and passing ability
Montrezl is a fine player and a great pickup, but you don't handicap team flexbility for a 2nd rounder unless you think you have a potential all star on your hands(very rare in the 2nd round). As good as he looks, there isn't necessarily anything he has done that screams that he will be anything more than an an average starter in 2 years. I would rather pay him a little more in 2 years and lock him in then(after getting a year of NBADL, and a year of bench play to look at him) rather than pay him now and lock him in against potential. He's really only valuable to us if he can be above average either as a starter or as a bench reserve and realistically, he isn't going to do that inside of 2 years. Best case scenario he starts rounding into above average form after 4 years in which case you would have wished you paid him after year 2 than after year 4.
