Cash?

Okay, bottom line -- can anyone refute the notion that Les' initial concerns about this trade being soothed by a little cash show that he's concerned more with the bottom line than the team's success?

It's funny that when the team was winning, Les left all the business to Rudy and CD. Now it seems Les is a little concerned.

 

This is disconcerting that both future considerations mean more cash for Les only. If this is true it makes Les really Less (polished, smart,class etc..) I was really hoping that there was at least a second rounder thrown in...at least for the Kyle fellow who landed in Europe.

Initially I thought cash meant Rcokets can spend more....but AFTER reviewing all the notes I realize its more for Les. If opens his purse for the a FA by that mich more then it would still make sense or atleast the Rocket fans getting something in return.....

In fact in this Rice deal Rockets have got a 28 M caphit while Les is actually shelling only 18 M (with the outraqgeous signing bonus Knicks paid Rice and the now the future considerasions )

 

O.K., why is it so bad if Les Alexander gets some extra bucks? With him as owner the Rockets have won 2 world championships. As far as I know, he has never negated a potential deal due to the cost. He took on Pippen's inflated salary. He took on Barkley. He rewarded Drexler for Clyde's Portland years. He rewarded Hakeem. A new arena is being built due, in part, to his cleverly veiled threats to leave. The Comets are 4 time champions.

 

Maybe we can buy some new unis now!!!!!

 

Relax Guys

In the event that cash is included the following are the reasons they are done (in no particular order of importance):

1. A trade was a financially lopsided but CBA congruent affair. For example: All teams met the required 85% - 115% CBA parameters but one team receives a windfall and another was forced to endure an obvious short end of the poke stick. A windfall is less and less common with the new CBA and is more often spread around.
2. A player involved in the trade offered “no services” in the exchange. For example: A player refuses to sign or decides he wants to play elsewhere despite having his “rights” owned by a NBA franchise.
3. A player’s worth is found to be less than attributed, but the receiving team who has the right to thwart the deal, decides they will gamble on his effectiveness anyway. However, some compensation is practical for the sending team(s) if not necessary to complete the deal.
4. A player exchange involves an inordinate amount of immediate financial outlay. For example: NBA receiving team foots the bill for exhaustive studies to complete the deal, signing the deal requires a team to spend extra funds to validate the deal, or it requires additional travel, meetings or other expenses to consummate the deal. Kinda like Okay you won the divorice case, but guess what you have to pay both attorneys’ fees.
5. Finally, the team that has all the marbles at the bargaining table requests something more than has been offered, simply because he is in a position to do so. This is a business afterall. This “cash considerations” is very common in other sports including Baseball and Hockey.

Keep in mind that this was never a talent versus talent problem. The staff were comfortable with the deal. They signed off on it. It was never even so much a health issue, as much as a “dollar for dollar” business gamble. Will Les get his money’s worth out of the deal? How can Les buffer the franchise against the worse case financial scenario? That's his function in the grand scheme of things. That is why Les was involved. It was a business problem requiring a business decision. My guess is that some of these considerations (above) were discussed and the alternatives were presented. In the end, sending cash was the only acceptable one to all parties. No reason to blame anyone.

If the goal was to acquire Rice. If the goal was to not sign Shandon for the money he wanted.. If the goal was to stockpile some picks for the future if at all possible. If the goal was to protect from undue fianancial hardship. Then friends …. mission accomplished.

I applaud anything my team does that makes it a better team. Teammember Les Alexander did his job might well. IMHO,anyway.

 

1. Last reliable source I heard from says we got a first rounder from New York and a second from Dallas. We also got some cash that was split from both NY and Dallas. I called someone this AM and was told that as of Saturday PM, this was his understanding also. This source should know.

2. In other words, can someone occupying that much cap be worthy of the roster spot? Yeah personally I think this trade will make a ton of difference. I'll bet Rice is held back for rehab longer than most people here expect, and I think he will feed off the kids, and may even make an allstar appearance.

3. I am no capologist, but I don't think it even got that far. My understanding was that the problem with Dallas was that they did not have anyone we wanted, and NY wouldn't give up any players that we did want. I kept hearing they were after Othella, but honestly it may have been another player to be used (by request) in trade with some other team(someone they could take and add to one of our player for an ajunct trade). I could hazard a guess at who that was ... but I won't.

Just to put all of this into perspective a bit.

I think the teams are finally realizing that caps are easy to overcome. They are NOT the emeny to success. That building from Free Agency is not what it used to be and that holding under the luxury will be the real test of business success.

Also, Houston knows better than anyone that having tradeable role players under a certain level of salary (<$3.5M to $4M) will always be a marketable feature, and players in the $6-8M range or higher better have a short (<3Years) on the contract, because unless they are superstar material, you got them for the duration. The Rockets look at Rice as finishing his contract here. That is a realistic assumption.

Incidentally IMHO: A Starting Rocket in Rice with a contract = 3 years at $28Million with actual payable salary of $20.8 million (adjusted) less any "cash considerations", say $20Million flat versus Rocket Sixth Player Shandon Anderson = 5-6 years @ $40 (something) Million was a no brainer.

 

This is the Rockets first major rebuilding program under this management, and it looks to me like they're going all out to get as much help in this rebuilding program as they can. If it was all about the bottomline then Les would have taken the money and ran. And he wouldn't have Ok'ed the Rice deal. Instead not only did he take Rice, he got some draft picks, presumably to replace the ones he gave up in the Morris trade. It wouldn't surprise me, (and oeilpere seems to confirm it) if the Rockets weren't trying to get a big man.

 

Will (in comfortable 75 degree Washington weather):

Well ..... I called my man up North again around noon or so ..... no, clodser to one thirty and he now says the teams agreed on "some (draft)concessions in the future" but this may not mean any actual receipt of extra picks. He sounded pretty vague. Said something about "under certain specific conditions" both/or either NY or Dallas would "accept" a "lopsided" pick exchange with Houston in the future. He confirmed that the money was split (may not be evenly) by both Dallas and New York.

I still have no idea what he meant.

Cheers.

 

Well, poop.

That's my eloquent take on the kinda-sorta pick concessions we seem to have gotten out of this. Oh well, I'm sure Rudy and co. tried their best. Maybe these "lopsided pick exchange" can help bail us out of the Top-15 pick we owe Memphis this year, as the Rockets won't have a Top-15 pick come playoff time (hint, hint)

Go Rockets! First-round Spoilers! Woo-hoo!