I say the Rockets match it so that they can use Lowry as a $6 mil trading chip at deadline. Wasn't Indiana interested in Lowry at one point?
Sorry for my ignorance, and thanks for the info. It's not like any of the Cleveland PuPu platter of point guards would soften the blow of losing Lowry, I was just hoping we'd get something, should we choose to let him walk.
....ya I can see that although your classic 6th man is normally more versatile in terms of playing multiple positions. I think this is where Morey tips his hand a bit. He knows AB is going to look for a pay day next year with likely several teams well under the cap(New York would probably make a HARD run at him - Amare+Brooks pick and roll/D'Antoni offense). He knows AB's value with other teams is as high as it can be right now so in terms of assets he is one of the BIG ones on this team. If the plan is to package AB for an upgrade somewhere else on the court, then you have to match the Lowry offer to have him slide into the starting role eventually. Lowry's contract wouldn't seem that bad for a starting PG. The thing that probably throws off Morey right now is like us he has no idea what the CBA rules will be moving forward so predicting the value of Lowry or Brooks' contract well into the future is going to be a guessing game.
Agreed, but last year doesn't matter, it is about how he fits in THIS year with Yao..... Also, who else was out those game, Ariza was right, and maybe Martin? Anyway, it will be fun to see. DD
I think Morey will publicly let it be known that the Rockets will match but tie up Cleveland's cap space until the final hour, and that they would take the exact same approach with Scola. This will deter anyone from offering Scola big money. If we let kyle walk now, Scola will be soon to follow. We will be offered twice what kyle just got offered.
f*** you Dan Gilbert. Can't keep LeBron, nor can you get any other good star FA's , so you have to take away our 2nd team leader by overpayying him
BimaThug posted about this already. The Rockets can't trade Lowry for one year without his consent. This will make it tough to trade him. Maybe he wants to play for Cleveland, and then he may not want to help us out in a future trade. That or he may believe Morey will match Cleveland's offer like he did with Landry. This would make it impossible to trade him this year if he really likes Houston.
Match that ish. Immediately. The guy is the heart and soul of our bench. When he was out last season, thats when we slumped in the standings, after barely keeping our head above water. Bring this dude back, pronto.
I agree with Rimrocker back on page 6 and Cat somewhere else past that. The extra it costs you to match may be made up in Scola's deal. If you say you will match Lowrey and Scola and then do it, teams will know they have to offer over the market to get Scola . The kicker is is once they sign the offer they have a cap hold for that amount and give up the flexibility to make other moves during this critical week. If we match then they are screwed. So they will be less lkely to offer or limit their offer to keep some feal making ability besides Scola. And: We have worked hard to assemble trading assets. We will never be under the cap unless Yao has to quit playing. You don't lose one of those assets for nothing over money (if your team is making the bottom line). What if we get an offer next Summer for someone we really really want (CP3, Granger, Melo) but the deal has to include AB? You might flinch if you don't have Lowry. How much would missing that opportunity cost in lost revenue? TV games, playoff series etc.
Valid point. I think it's safe to argue that at least before Martin got here, Lowry was just as important, if not more so, than Ariza to our success. As mentioned above, Ariza was hobbled/out most of those games as well. Martin played through this stretch. I don't think it's wise to assess Lowry's value based on how he fits with Yao. Lowry will not necessarily play the bulk of his minutes with Yao (and actually, it's probably be best if he didn't) ... Kyle will run a more up-tempo lineup, as we've seen. Not to mention with Yao's minutes likely to be limited, and with us not even knowing if he is still the future of the franchise, it's best to evaluate Lowry, and anyone else for that matter, outside of just how they fit with Yao. I have my doubts that Yao is going to be the centerpiece of a championship team ... more like a nice second best option.
No, he signed the offer already. Our only choice is to match or not. The deal is 3 years, $17m. The 4th year is a team option for $7m, which I imagine won't be exercised unless Lowry becomes a star somehow. So, think of it as 3/$17, not 4/$24. $17m over 3 years is not a huge contract. So, that's something like $5.25m in year 1, $5.67m in year 2, and $6.09m in year 3 (the raises are 8%, right?). That might be a slight overpayment, but one I would make considering the expense and risk of getting a different backup pg. I think Lowry wants to stay, but this was the best money on the table. One, I can't imagine he really wants to go to the post-Lebron wreckage of the Cavs. Two, he wouldn't comment on whether he wanted the Rox to match. If he didn't want the Rox to match, it'd help if he said so. If he did want them to match, he's best off saying nothing, since it would be very rude to Cleveland to say he wanted a match (considering the imposition). I fully expect Morey will match, but will wait the 7 days. I think he does that as a matter of course anyway. But, also, teams won't offer to Scola for those 7 days as they wait to see what Morey does with Lowry. In those 7 days, maybe teams go for other players before they go off the market.
Thanks for clarification. In that case, I say Rockets let him walk. Still have Scola and future re-signees to worry about.
You are probably right, but if I were New Jersey, I would get Luis an offer for $10 million a year RIGHT now....and force Morey to make both decisions at the same time. DD
Wow.... I think I'd match, only because I think we lose Brooks in a trade for any superstar type guy.
Had we snagged Bosh or some other blue chipper, I'd match. Since we struck out, I'm inclined to talk S&T with the Cavs. It's clear Lowry wants to start, so let's give him that opportunity. Pick up a TE (if possible), pick up a low draft pick. Keep the focus on the future.
Well, this is a tough pill to swallow, but by signing Lowry, the Rockets have 2 starting quality point guards. Of course, there is still a lot of potential in both, as neither has truly established himself for any length of period. Brooks had his one awesome year last year. And Lowry has continued to improve since he joined the Rockets. But by signing Lowry, could there be a subsequently move to include Aaron Brooks in a trade for a superstar player? We all know how difficult it is to get a solid point guard; had the Rockets had one instead of Matt Maloney, they're would be another championship banner here in Houston. Lowry can control the pace of a game quite well. He's tough nosed. I think the smart move is to sign him. Even though it's 2 million more per season that I was expecting he'd sign for. But arggg, Scola's price might be around 9 to 10 million per season - 4 years 36 or 40 million.
Lowry is in some danger of being labeled as a backup, but statistically he outplayed Rockets starter Aaron Brooks on a per-minute basis (including posting the best net plus-minus on the team) and he's only 24. Lowry has made steady strides as a playmaker, becoming an asset in this regard, and he's a quality defender. The biggest question mark with Lowry is what kind of offer it's going to take to pry him away from Houston as a restricted free agent.
