I may need a little help from some of our resident cap-ologists, but if Bob Sura can't come back from his injuries, can the Rockets use the cap relief from his contract as a trade asset? Bob's set to make about $3.8M next season. If he is forced to retire, I think the league can grant the team salary cap relief in the form of an injury exception worth 50% of this salary (or ~$1.9M). So, if the Rockets trade Sura's $3.8M salary to another team, could that team then turn around and request cap relief from the league? Or, could Sura retire first, then the Rockets trade his contract to another team? Would the league allow this? If so, as much as a love the guy, Sura's contract would be an attractive asset for a team trying to avoid the luxury tax or otherwise seeking a means of offering free agents a $1.9M salary. As a side note, this is a possible asset for the Rockets to use themselves.
No, they cannot trade the contract to another team who requests cap relief. The only thing they can do is to get the exception themselves. The exception is worth half his salary and they can use it to sign a player or to trade for a player of that value, $1.9 million. But it works like a TE. You cannot aggregate with other exceptions to acquire a player with more salary.
It's my impression that until Bobby proves he isn't damaged goods,he is most valuable under contract to us.
