If there's one thing I have learned while being a Rockets fan during the Daryl Morey regime, it's to not get worked up over RUMORS. The rumors that have swirled around this team over the past 3 seasons have NEVER come true. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the rumors that are circulating right now were ALL floated by the Rockets to serve as smokescreens, and to possibly create a false market for T-Mac. I'm not even going to get into the myth behind the fact that we're going to have $23MM to spend this off-season. Enough people have already mentioned that.
I will give 0.5 point for that. I believe some of these rumors may have legs as you haven't seen denials from the Wizz, Knicks, and Philly.
this season is at a crossroads, and the move(s) made in the next couple weeks will reveal alot. Bima is right on the money as far as our current cap outlook. But if you were to ship off someone like Battier for a young player and an expiring that could clear another $7mm. tell me...how does T-Mac's expiring contract look at that point? ~$17MM is right around the max deal anyone of note can score... I realize this post is "old news", but the possibility is more real than people have given credence
Yea you'd basically have to gut the whole team to be a real significant player. Is that even possible to do? Trade everybody for expiring contracts? lmao!!!!
count with me... 2010/11 Rockets Team Salary = $40MM 2010/11 Salary Cap = ~$52MM Subtract Shane Battier = ~($7MM)
It's actually a wise idea if you can pull it off, gut everybody not named Brooks/Landry and of course Yao and what can you net later?
I don't think it would take a complete gut. shane just becomes the odd man out... even if you sign someone for a max deal there are ways to retain your own players even if you remain over the salary cap. so its not predetermined that you have to say goodbye to Scola and Lowry necessarily. obviously there are too many possibilities to even begin that debate. all I am trying to point out is that becoming a player in free agency is much more possible than many people have been lead to believe.
Your right. You could be a big player some where. I think once the cards fall in place it's a gamble, but from top to bottom, from best to worst players, you'd have a shot at Gay and Johnson espcially if you moved Battier/Ariza and kept Scola/Lowry free agents at bay, renounce them and decline Hayes option and moved everybody else not named Budinger/Brooks/Landry. still the chances of landing both considering what teams will match for sure and the variety of offers from what is left is slim to pull off. Gay and Johnson for starters, short term 2-3 year contracts starting at 15 mil each up to 17 mil each. Then again i could be wrong too.
Free Agency is always a gamble, which is why Morey has undoubtedly been shopping around for a sure thing while we wax philosophical. Unfortunately our hand has been forced by the Rockets approach to McGrady. When TMac got benched indefinitely we lost alot of leverage and now its time for Morey to recalculate the playing field. If the right deal isn't on the table then Plan B becomes Free Agency. And in that case you have to make some deals
I think this is plan Z which actually comes first regardless, because you have to be a team willing to compete in the market, just to stay competitive when you compete through a season. So opening yourself up as a player and having a very good shot to land 2 of them considering these factors. Those teams would have to match a pretty high bargain. Think bigger market, Yao Ming, No annually state tax for income. Those teams, to keep those players in interest would be at a very high-risk of leaving, and your chances of landing Bosh becomes even better. I'd rather have Gay and Johnson then a single Bosh though. Those teams would have to match atleast a couple million higher then the Rockets considering offcourt expenses, shoe contracts, endorsements, etc... Those players are at risk of leaving. Yet to land one of the two, by moving Ariza and Battier is still an upgrade so you played the very, very low-risk - high reward card. And that is what you'd want to do to force those other teams to have to pay out.
I am with you all the way on that line of thinking. at the end of the day, I leave the teams future in Moreys able hands
Trevor Ariza's signing came true. Ron Artest's signing came true. Rick Adelman's signing came true. Bonzi Wells and Mike James trade came true. Luis Scola for Spanoulis came true.
Why are you getting on BEAT LA for raising a very cogent point? If the Rockets cannot get any "real value" for T-Mac, a possible "fallback trade" with New York for a couple of smaller expirings that gets the Rockets below the tax threshold would definitely be a statement about Les wanting to avoid the tax rather than to be a "big spender" and take on ridiculous deals like Iguodala's and Dalembert's. If anyone's living in cave, it would be YOU, not realizing that this deadline will be VERY telling about Les Alexander. Not that I disagree with you in principle, but I'm starting to get pretty sick and tired of people casually throwing around the whole "let's just trade Shane for an expiring contract and clear $7M" idea without having any concrete and realistic scenarios in place. First of all, I seriously doubt that Morey will trade Shane DURING the season for a crap player on an expiring contract. And there are not many other good players on similarly sized expiring contracts that the other team would actually WANT to trade to Houston. Second, if Morey waits until the offseason to trade Shane (something that I actually think is a very distinct possibility), there will be almost no realistic scenarios in which a team with cap space will take on Shane's $7.4M salary and risk losing out on better players in free agency. And any team with a trade exception that large but without cap space will likely be up against (or over) the luxury tax threshold and wouldn't want to pay $14M+ on Battier. I think the more plausible scenario involving Battier being traded involves Morey waiting until the NBA Draft this June, offering Shane as a valuable role player on an expiring contract, as part of a package to make a larger trade, either to move up in the draft or to acquire a long-term contract. (Who knows? Maybe THAT is when the Rockets trade for Iguodala!)
With the right moves we are in great position as Morey has already stated. Just remember we may not have the most money to offer, but that's not what is important. Remember besides Texas, the more you make the more they'll take, so let them all bid to war on Wade/Bosh/James between 5 teams 22-24 million per range and i think we have a crack, like i said with the right moves for Johnson and Gay.
the answer is easy, that Rockets is not chinese national team, but Yao is our national hero, we follow Yao only. if rockets still keeping undo and chary,chinese will advise Yao to other club which has some superstars such lisk LBJ or Kobi. Lots of chinses company are very interested in NBA investement. Morey, consider about it carefully, PLS.
