well this is a reasonable contract, and morey has told us that he would resign lowry and scola...but he has already feed us plenty of bs over his tenure so i wouldnt be surprised if he let lowry walk. if that is the case, i guess i can just wait for the lottery next year, when we will have 2 lotto picks.
The 4th year is a team option right? So the reality is 3 years/$16M-$18M. I may not be the ones signing the checks but I think Lowry is worth that much. IF he doesn't work out, after 2 years, his contract becomes a decent expiring with value. PGs who play defense are a rarity in this league. Lowry was so perfect for that second unit. Not too sure about him starting because I think shooters around Yao would be ideal and Brooks played really well last year.
If we don't match and there is no significant move by the trade deadline, I'm pretty sure we'll lose Yao Ming in the next summer.
Can someone, ANYONE explain the line of thinking that $17 mil over three years is above Lowry's true value? The MLE is the mid-level exception. It's not the standard going rate for upper-eschelon players, which some of you are acting like this contract is. That's closer to the $8-11 mil range. Sure, there are occasional bargains, but by and large the MLE should get you a league average or slightly better player. That's EXACTLY what Kyle Lowry is. He's not "just a backup" - how many run of the mill backup PGs play over 24 minutes per game? He's effectively a part-time starter here, and would be even more if not for the development of Brooks. Since Lowry arrived in Houston, he's had a PER at league average (15) or better in both years. Win shares well above league average. He scores, gets to the line, sparks the transition game AND limits turnovers. And above all else, he's only 24 and has improved with each passing season, with further development possible (if not likely) next season. How in the world is a three-year contract (with standard raises) starting at $5.4 mil AT ALL unreasonable for what Lowry brings to the table? If anything, I'd say it's slightly below his true worth. (Though I understand why he wouldn't get his true worth, with his minutes slightly depressed here.) Keep in mind, this isn't even the full MLE - only three years guaranteed! This really should be a no-brainer match, imo.
Tough decision to make. Lowry will be hard to replace, but can you afford to pay your backup PG that much money?
I see alot of people bringing up the point "that is a lot of money for a backup PG." My question is how much is he worth to OUR team? If you look at the stats when he comes into the games his +/- is very good. I think that should have some weight in his value to our team. Morey has said he likes that Kyle is the type of PG that can get to the FT line consistently and he plays solid D. To me, he is worth the money and I hope we keep him. Sometimes you have to look at how he helps your team and determine his value that way. We dont have any other backup PGs and there are not many out there that can do what he does for us. I'm just sayin....
If you want to think like Daryl Morey or other top basketball minds, you need to stop constraining yourself by the box of defined terms like "backup PG". "Backups" are not created equal - how many other "backups" on this team play over half the game on average? That's effectively the minutes of a part-time starter. When you throw out terms like "backup PG", you make it sound like a run-of-the-mill 15 mpg bench guy, and that really undersells Lowry's role and importance to this team.
IMO, we're not going to extend Brooks because the rockets are looking to trade him. He was a piece that was going to be moved off the table, and that might still be the case. And if we sign Lowry to 6 mill per year, Brook's value takes a nosedive because other teams are going to be thinking: "Oh, so Lowry is really the guy they value. Brooks must not be all that great then. Forget about him."
Magics didn't think signing Gortat was a lot of money for playing 10 minutes...... Lowry plays 20+ minutes.....and its overpaying..... Its time for the Rockets to tell us, if they want to win, than they need to spend.
and his 20+ minutes had always been VALUABLE minutes for the most part (except for nights when his shot is just way off). his defense, rebounding, penetration, aggressiveness, and instant fast-paced offense fit adelman's overall scheme perfectly. we'll miss him dearly off the bench if we can't resign him.
Exactly. I hope the Rockets resign both, but it's not my money. If the organization feels it is too much of a $ risk to match for both, then Lowry should be the priority. Our roster is much better prepared to deal with the loss of Scola than it is to deal with the loss of Lowry. Although none of our guys are comparable to Scola there are at least options at the four. Behind Lowry we have nothing. And, I am intrigued to see him lead what could potentially be a high-flying up and down the court second unit. Pushing the ball is his strength and we have good running options to pair with him. If financial concerns are a sticking point then Morey needs to start exploring S&T scenarios involving Scola ASAP.
Reminds me of Chron article about the "Club" Rockets are really good at peeking inside the club when the door opens vs spending money to be in the Club... In this case, Lowry has door open and he turns around and says "You coming in?"
that's a bit steeper than i thought but I think the rockets almost have to match. $6 mill per is a lot for a backup, however, he is of starter talent.
Naaah I dont agree with this. We will deal with AB when it's his time. If a deal came up where we could get a franshise player then yes I think it would be possible that he is included, but I dont think that is a definite. I guess we will see what Morey and Les are thinking within the next couple of days.
Agreed. A couple of additional points: A lot of the hand wringing is due to the fact that folks here were hoping for a lower salary for Lowry, who is "just a backup". Lowry is not your normal fungible "backup". He is the lynchpin to our second unit. - He allows us to go small with Lowry and Brooks. - His style of play actually increases the production of the entire second unit, especially Buddinger. - Has everybody here forgotten how often the starters would get off to a weak start in the first quarter, only to have Lowry come in and alter the tempo and intensity, turning a deficit into a lead. - Lowery is the one player on the team that can guard scording PG's and to some degree, SG's. If we care anything about winning this year, we will match. Period.
Back-up PG or not ... his overall impact on the Rockets' winning percentage, as well as these stats, are worth the contract: 2009-2010 Season Stats G.....MIN/G.....FG%.....FT%.....3PT%.....REB.....AST.....STL.....BLK.....PTS 68....24.28.....39.7%..82.7%..27.2%....3.6.....4.5......0.9......0.1.....9.12
And, let's say it's overpaying. Being only a 3 year deal, the downside is seriously limited. We need Lowry for this year. If we regret the signing, it would be for the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons. That's a brief period of time to live with a modest amount of regret on the cap. Finally, having Lowry on the squad will presumably limit Brook's leverage next year.
This thread is too long for me to see if this has already been posted, but here is an on Morey's vow to retain Lowry with some evidence of his value: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6903731.html The Rockets were 27-22 and leading the 76ers by 11 points when he turned his ankle. The Sixers came back nearly immediately, winning 102-95. Including the Rockets' loss that night, they are 4-9 since Lowry was hurt.
