Here is my answer to the buy out question. We are currently over the luxuary tax. if we can get tracey to agree to lets say a 18 mil buy out we will be under luxary tax allowing us to use more of the cap space letting tmac walk would give us. in simple terms us being over the cap turns tmacs 23 mil in cap space to less then 10 mil when you factor tax penalties and caps holds from Scola and lowry. Shawn Marion is the perfect example of why tmac needs to take a buy out if we dont trade him. Shawn went from making 18 mil a season to makeing 6.6 this year. The crazy thing is Shawn is still healthy and shown no signs of major decline. Tmac has to get on a roster and show case him self this year to even sniff 6.6 a year.
Everything but the buy out statement is on point. We are in no rush and scowering our options as they come or as we find. We are currently a winning team with nothing to lose if we keep Tracy and there are more than a handful of teams seeking financial assistance with the cap that we can provide who are not making the playoffs. As always In Morey We Trust.
Thanks for the clarification but isn't there a danger in buying him out because of the fact that he can sign with any team? I remember reading an article or two on this and it made me believe that we were not going to buy him out to help out another team.
See, this is why it's a really good idea to talk to your employer before you pull the plug on your season. Because when you come back, you would like your employer to give a damn about your personal timetable.
Sure, he can sign with another team. That would be the whole point of McGrady seeking a buyout. The question is whether "not letting him sign with another team" is worth "not saving what can be millions of dollars in salary and luxury tax." Honestly, I don' think the Rockets are really all that troubled by McGrady playing for another team. Makes little difference to the Rockets as long as McGrady wasn't going to play for the Rockets anyway. What's the worst that's gonna happen? McGrady helps his new team to take away playoff spot from the Rockets or helps his new team to beat the Rockets in playoffs? First, who knows whether McGrady is even going to be all that great when playing for his new team anyway. Second, the Rockets are not exact aiming for the championship this season, so what if they lost to McGrady's team. Third, if the Rockets can't make the playoffs or advance with McGrady helping another team, maybe they don't deserve to make playoffs or advance anyway. Of course, being able to play for another team-- both in regular season and in playoffs-- is important to McGrady, so I'm sure the Rockets will make him pay a few millions of dollars for this privilege.
The buy-out is not only a valid option for us, it might well be our BEST option. At this point, the only teams interested in T-Mac want us to take ridiculous contracts in return (like the Wizards with Arenas). If we don't get any offers that include something of value by the trade deadline, Morey's almost certain to offer a buy-out. Check it out... HERE'S WHY WE WOULD DO THE BUY-OUT: (all of the figures below are for example ONLY -- I don't have time to look up this crap) Tracy's due $23 million this year. Let's say he's got $10 left on the books by the trading deadline. The Rox offer him $7 million and he takes it, then some contender signs him for the remainder of the year. The Rox save $3 million in salary, avoid the luxury tax penalty AND get the payout given to teams under the LT. Could be $10 million or more in savings altogether, which gives the team some financial flexibility for the upcoming year. And we've still got that entire $23 million coming off our books. If we don't trade him AND don't offer a buy-out, we still get his salary off the books for next year, but miss out on that millions in savings the buy-out gives us. If there's a flaw in my assessment, someone more knowledgeable will hopefully correct it.
Untrue, we will have a trade before that happens. IMO From what I've read that was on the table at the beginning of the season not now and still wouldn't be something we'd consider. There are better deals than that for Tracy.
buyout downs- he can sign w/ any teams, but that team looses out on the expiring. what's the benefit of signing him as the player? They can only sign him to the minimum, most likely, so TMAC isn't going to accept a buyout for greater than the minimum. The team won't have his bird's right to sign him over the MLE unless they are under the cap. Houston looses a chance to do a sign and trade for a contract greater than the MLE.
No way in hell McGrady gets bought out except if he promises to sign with an Eastern Conference team. That's it.
What is the difference? We avoid Tracy joining a rival untill next season. Big deal. We obviously didn't feel he could help us, so why would we feel he can help others? If we can't cut a deal, just let him loose as soon as possible.
tracy really wants to play, so he is expecting a trade. if this doesn't get resolved in say at most a month, i'm sure he would be willing to offer any amount of money for a buyout so he can play. dude wants to prove he can still be a good player in this league. and i'm sure the rockets would accomodate him b/c they do not want anymore tracy mcgrady drama, if they cannot find a suitable partner. however, i'm sure a trade will happen. a lot of teams are interested.
If we couldn't find a better deal than with the Knicks, how does this sound?: Outgoing Player Tracy McGrady 6-8 SG / SF from Mount Zion Christian Academy (HS) 3.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.0 apg in 7.6 minutes Incoming Players Al Harrington 6-9 PF / SF from St. Patrick's (HS) 18.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.6 apg in 31.2 minutes Darko Milicic 7-0 C from Serbia-Montenegro (Foreign) 2.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg in 8.9 minutes Jordan Hill 6-9 PF from Arizona 3.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.5 apg in 8.0 minutes The Knicks get their precious cap space and we get two expirings and a young player with upside. Of course, to match the number of players I would toss in small contract Rocket player dross (Dorsey and/or Taylor). If Harrington works out as a SF-PF, we could re-sign him. If Darko works out and we change his mind about returning to Europe, he gives us a PF-C that would match well with Yao as a PF and well with Scola as a C. Otherwise, they are expiring contracts and Hill's contract is less than $3M.
I think the Rockets have already said there is no chance whatsoever of a buyout happening, especially one before the deadline for McGrady to sign with another team for a playoff run. There is absolutely no reason for the Rockets to do that. They gain nothing from it. If other teams want him, they can trade for him. The only people talking about buyouts are other teams and their local media and it's just wishful thinking on their part. Keeping McGrady through the offseason would allow the Rockets to use him in a sign-and-trade scenario next year, basically giving them more 'capspace' like another mid-level exception(for whatever amount they sign him for).
trust me, tracy will play this year. i don't see why he would agree to take an indefinite leave if he knows that there is no chance of him playing this year. he did all this so he could play and re-prove himself.
Wait, I'm under the impression that T-Mac won't be around the team anymore? Or is he still practicing/training with the team? If he is indeed done with the team and isn't around them, I don't see why he would still be a distraction.
