WHY DOES THAT MATTER? Are you paying it? Is Daryl Morey paying it? The answer to both of those is no. Why are you so concerned over the exact amount of money paid out by a billionaire? Unless your owner is Donald Sterling, it's the cap figure that matters -- unless you're his accountant.
"I do not especially want to pay a guy $15 mil to play 15 minutes a game." - Les Alexander and all other owners of NBA teams
1) Technically Asik's salary is 8.3M per year...below market value for someone of his value. If you want it in real terms, he's making 15M next year but he also made just 5M the past two years. If Asik ever gets traded I doubt his new team will absorb the 15M, more likely the Rox will be sending cash as well because they just paid 10M for Asik the past two years. 2)Closer to 30 than 20 is actually good, big men take a time to develop and hit their peak at age 30. We don't want a raw scrub, we want somebody who'll perform now. 3) Harrington may not be very good, but him, DMO and Asik is better than just Young.
Again, the dude just been making 5M the past two years. Not only that you underestimate the value of Howard insurance and 48 mins of elite paint protection. It was the only thing proven to beat Miami in a 7 game series, the moment Mavs let Chandler walk was the moment Miami crushed them.
If Harrington goes to being a guy who will take the Vet min to play and wants to come off the bench then Bev, Brooks Garcia, Williams Casspi, Harrington, D-Mo or Jones Asik, Smith thats a pretty good bench right there - i mean you wont be saying 'this bench could be another teams starting 5' but the main purpose of a bench is to be able to come in give the starters a rest and do two things 1) give the team some needed energy is they are in a slump 2) help sustain a lead built by starters that bench above can definitely do both of that Of course getting Harrington would stunt the development (by virtue of less playing time) of D-Mo and Jones but the team is in 'win-now' mode they cant afford to let the younger guys get as much development time as seasons past.
i actually agree with this post. we all understand Les could pay this, however the only way he way able to become so wealthy isnt through wasting money, im sure he would tell Morey to find someone who can give you greater or equal to the amount of output for a fraction of this price.
"Man, did I love having to pay Omer Asik $5 mil last year to play 30 minutes a game and finish third in the league in rebounds/game! But I sure am not looking forward to paying him three times that amount to play half as many minutes!" - Les Alexander, August 4, 2013
You are absolutely correct. Chandler provided 32 minutes of elite paint protection, which IMHO is critical to beating the Heat in the finals. Teams may be able to match up on the wings with Wade but there is no hope of matching up with James. Teams have to be able to take serious advantage of the Heat at the center and point guard positions. There is no team currently able to match up with a big three of Bosh, Wade and James.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Al Harrington and DeShawn Stevenson, I'm told, officially cleared waivers today to become unrestricted free agents</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/statuses/364134659841462272">August 4, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"I have enough money, but I don't have enough championships." -Leslie Alexander That's a real quote: http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2013/06/rockets-owner-ready-to-ante-up-for-big-playoff-run/
"I'm making up quotes" -- you There is absolutely nothing in Les Alexander's past or present that indicates he'll insert himself into Daryl Morey's business. If Morey thinks Asik fits here and is more worthwhile to us than what we'd get by trade, he'll stay. If he thinks whatever we'd get by trade is more valuable from a basketball standpoint, he'll go. Morey has more than earned that level of commitment from Les, and Les has shown every willingness to support him. It's about Daryl Morey and the basketball, not Les Alexander and the financials.
"A really good PF, like that Thaddeus Young guy, helps us win a championship more than a backup C and that European kid who sucked last year, don't you think, Daryl?" "Yeah." - Conversation between Les Alexander and Daryl Morey, August 2013
You don't get where Les is without considering the big picture. It's not about 5/5/15. It's a $25 million investment over three years.
"Man, Thaddeus Young sure would be more helpful than Omer Asik now that we signed Dwight, and who knows if Donatas Motiejunas ever pans out! Hmm..." - Daryl Morey's actual conversation with himself, August 4, 2013
You're not going to get a "fraction of the price". There's this thing in trades called the salary cap. If you trade Asik, you have to take back roughly $8.5 million or so in salary, at a minimum. The margins Les brings in on the Rockets are through the roof. The margins that a championship would bring in are even more. If Daryl Morey tells him that he thinks keeping Asik is the best basketball move to win a championship, I have a hard time seeing $6 million in cash savings being enough to force Les to insert himself into the decision-making process and override Daryl. Especially when every public statement he's made has said the exact opposite.
"Omer Asik is still on this team and hasn't been traded, despite the entire league knowing he's theoretically available." - Reality
"I have over two and a half months to settle on our 15 man roster for next season. Plenty of time to figure out the best possible Omer Asik trade!" - Daryl Morey, thinking aloud, August 4, 2013
"Man, I sure am a total dumbass I don't understand anything except to make up totally unsubstantiated quotes. I have to somehow justify that Thadeus Young (who btw is not a superstar player) is somehow better than Asik, DMo, Al Harrington, and picks combined, so let me make some **** up. Right after Alexander said on paper that he has enough money but doesn't have enough championships, I'm gonna make up a quote that makes him the cheapest owner in the league, unwilling to pay 15M for a guy after he paid 10M for two years. Not only that, DMO's own 36 per is pretty much equal to Young's 36, suggesting that they are more or less equal in value but whatevs bro! Young>Asik, Dmo, Harrington+whatever assets required to get him from Philly. Yowza!" -rogower
