Warning: This thread contains trade scenarios and is a long ass post. Going Over the Salary Cap and Luxury Tax Threshold Daryl Morey said Les is willing to go all out this season to try and win a championship including going over the Luxury Tax Threshold if needed. The move to acquire Brad Miller as well as resigning Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry pushes the Rockets to about $81 million dollars in salary which is about $11 million over the Luxury Tax Threshold. That’s a ton of money especially when you consider that $11 million over the L/T also means an additional $11 million out of Les Alexander’s pockets. Code: Total Salary: $81,579,868.00 2010/11 luxury tax threshold: $70,307,000 Over Luxury Tax Threshold: $11,272,868 Honestly I thought the Rockets would address their need for a backup center via a trade. They made an attempt at Tyson Chandler and I thought they might make a run at someone like Andris Biedrins. By making a trade for a backup center as opposed to signing one using the MLE the Rockets could have positioned themselves to possibly get back under the L/T Threshold by the trade dead line. I think Brad Miller gives the Rockets an outstanding backup to Yao and proves that Les is serious about spending whatever it takes to give the Rockets the best chance at success the season. Code: Spots Position Players Age Height Weight Salary Years PER 1 C D. Andersen 30 6'11 245 $2,500,000 2 Years 12.1 2 SF Trevor Ariza 25 6'8 210 $6,322,320 3 Years 13.4 3 SF S. Battier 31 6'8 220 $7,354,400 1 Year 11.1 4 PG Aaron Brooks 25 6'0 161 $2,016,692 1 Year 16 5 SF C. Budinger 22 6'7 218 $780,871 2 Years 14.1 6 SF Mike Harris 27 6'6 235 $854,389 1 Year 7.2 7 C Chuck Hayes 27 6'6 238 $1,972,500 1 Year 11.7 8 PF Jordan Hill 22 6'10 235 $2,669,520 1 Year 15.1 9 PF Jarred Jeffries 28 6'11 240 $6,883,800 1 Year 9.8 10 SF A. Johnson 27 6'9 230 $885,120 1 Year N/A 11 PG Kyle Lowry 24 6'0 205 $5,750,000 4 Years 15.5 12 SG Kevin Martin 27 6'7 185 $10,600,005 3 Years 17.1 13 C Yao Ming 29 7'6 310 $17,686,100 1 Year N/A 14 PF P. Patterson 21 6'9 235 $1,823,280 2 Years N/A 15 G J. Taylor 23 6'4 210 $780,871 2 Years 11.5 16 PF Luis Scola 30 6'9" 245 $7,700,000 5 Years 20.5 17 c Brad Miller 34 7'0" 261 $5,000,000 2 Years Roster Spots and Depth Chart, Something has to Give There are only 15 roster spots on an NBA roster. The Rockets currently have 17 players under contract with Mike Harris and Alexander Johnson both with non-guaranteed contracts. The Rockets could easily cut both players to get back to 15 players and trim about 1.6 million off of their salary obligations for this season. The Rockets Depth Chart shows that the team has a lot of depth and potential as well as positions that might be up for a slight face lift. There are a lot of players deserving playing time and a lot of players that need playing time in order to mature as players. However, there are a limited number of minutes in a game. Code: Depth Chart Center Y. Ming B. Miller C. Hayes J. Hill J. Jeffries D. Andersen Power Forward L. Scola P. Patterson J. Hill C. Hayes J. Jeffries A. Johnson Small Forward T. Ariza S. Battier C. Budinger M. Harris A. Johnson Shooting Guard K. Martin T. Ariza A. Brooks J. Taylor Point Guard A. Brooks K. Lowry There are lots of depth and lots of potential but there are still spots that could be improved in order to tighten up the rotation and add some proven talent. First, is there a weak link in the Starting Rotation? I think the starting five are very solid but if there is one spot that could use an upgrade in my opinion it would be the Small Forward position. Trevor Ariza is solid on defense and ok on offense as long as he is not asked to create and make decisions with the ball in his hands. If there are any thoughts about going after an all-star caliber player then this would be the position to target. Our bench has two spots that might be targets this summer. Looking at the Depth Chart the Rockets really have no one capable of playing Point Guard behind Brooks or Lowry and if one of them goes down the other will be playing a ton of minutes. We saw this last season for a while when Lowry had the high ankle sprain. The other position that needs to be scrutinized in my opinion is the Power Forward spot. Scola is very good but behind him we have a lot of un-proven players or players best suited as situational players and not part of a regular rotation. I like Hill and I think Patterson will be good but I don’t think either of them ready to contribute to the team like Carl Landry did yet. I think both Hayes and Jeffries are good players to have at the end of your bench but I also think both are situational players that you bring in for defense. Targets for Improvement and My Crazy Trade Scenario’s In my opinion there are three areas for the Rockets to try and address this summer in order, a new starting Small Forward, and a backup Point Guard and Power Forward. I believe the Rockets will address their Point Guard position with a young player, possibly Ishmael Smith who they have invited to camp or someone else that they can bring in at the vet minimum. Addressing the backup Power Forward and starting Small Forward spots are a lot more difficult if not impossible to do. In each case you need a veteran that can perform at a high level, their team has to be willing to trade them and the Rockets have to have something they want plus matching salaries. However, there are two teams that might be in a position to make a deal and might have players that the Rockets would want. In each scenario we could offer the team youth, potential, proven veteran leadership, proven solid rotation players and possibly draft picks. We can also offer enough expiring salary to make sure that they are very far under the salary cap next off season so that they could make a run at Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. Trade Scenario with Indiana Indiana just drafted 6’8” Paul George who averaged 15pts, 8rbs and 2assists in the summer league. They also have enough salary cap room to be players in the Chris Bosh / Carmelo Anthony free agent derby next summer. The only real salary obligation that they have going into next season is the $12.2 million dollar obligation to Danny Granger. Obviously Granger is too good to just trade for salary cap relief but if the Pacers could get back some youth, talent, veteran leadership and proven role players while giving them more cap space they might do it. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=39vydgp Troy Murphy and Danny Granger for Hill, Ariza, Battier and Jeffries and possibly next season's first round pick. Additional reasons for Indiana to do this trade: Ariza and Battier give the Pacers very good players to help hold down the Small Forward spot while Paul George matures. Ariza is still young and tied to a very friendly contract and he can play the Shooting Guard position as well as the Small Forward position. Jordan Hill proved he can play in this league during the second half of last season, he is former lottery pick with lots of upside and the Pacers have an option for him next season or they can cut him for extra salary cap room. Next season they can offer two max contracts IF they renounce Roy Hibbert, Brandon Rush, Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price. With this proposed deal they get the same salary cap flexibility without having to gut their entire roster the way Miami did this past season. Plus if we through in next season’s draft pick it could very easily turn into an additional lottery pick for Indiana. Code: Depth Chart Center Y. Ming B. Miller C. Hayes D. Andersen Power Forward L. Scola T. Murphy P. Patterson C. Hayes A. Johnson Small Forward D. Granger C. Budinger C. Budinger M. Harris A. Johnson Shooting Guard K. Martin J. Taylor A. Brooks Point Guard A. Brooks K. Lowry This trade would give the Rockets an all star caliber Small Forward and a proven veteran Power Forward that could start next to Yao Ming if something happened to Scola. With Troy Murphy’s ability to hit the outside shot he would give the Rockets some of the same qualities that they coveted in Chris Bosh, a very good rebounder and someone that is an outstanding 3pt shooter from the Power Forward spot. This scenario would have almost zero effect on the salary cap for this season but result in less salary cap flexibility for next season due to Granger’s contract. Trade Scenario with Philadelphia Philadelphia just drafted Evan Turner with the number 2 pick in the draft but already have Andre Iguodala at that position. With both Iguodala and Elton Brand eating up large chunks of the 76ers salary cap they will likely not be major players in the Chris Paul / Carmelo Anthony free agent derby next summer unless they renounce half of their roster including Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith, Maurice Speights, Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks. Obviously if they could unload the Brand and Iguodala contracts while getting something of value back for Iguodala they would be major players in the free agent market next summer without having to break up half the team. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=38k6l35 Elton Brand and Andre Iugodala for Hill, Ariza, Battier and Jeffries and possibly next season's first round pick. With this deal the 76ers get the same things that Indiana would get: youth, talent, potential, veteran leadership, solid rotation player and major salary cap relief. If the Rockets took on Elton Brand’s salary I don’t know if I would be as quick to throw in a draft pick since Brand’s salary is such an albatross. But this deal would still improve our depth chart. Code: Depth Chart Center Y. Ming B. Miller C. Hayes D. Andersen Power Forward L. Scola E. Brand P. Patterson C. Hayes A. Johnson Small Forward A. Iugodala C. Budinger C. Budinger M. Harris A. Johnson Shooting Guard K. Martin J. Taylor A. Brooks Point Guard A. Brooks K. Lowry This deal with the 76ers would have a much bigger impact on the Salary Cap this season and next season. The Rockets would be taking on an additional $5 million this year which of course would actually have the effect of an additional $10 million due to the Rockets being over the L/T Threshold. Overall the Rockets would be more than $16 million over the L/T Threshold which of course is equal to $32 million dollars when the penalties are added in. Conclusion Both deals greatly improve the Roster, tighten up the rotation and give the second year players (Budinger and Taylor) a more clearly defined spot in the rotation which I think both are ready for. It also gives Patterson a chance to develop a little before making him a regular rotation guy. One of either Mike Harris or Alexander Johnson would likely have to be cut in order to keep the roster at 15 while bringing in a third Point Guard. I prefer the deal with Indiana quite a bit more than the deal with Philadelphia because I think both Granger and Murphy are better than Iugodala and Brand. I also like the Indy deal better because Murphy $10 million falls off the books after this season and Granger is less expensive than Iggy which will be very important next summer when we need to resign Aaron Brooks and Yao Ming. I think both deals would make us a legit NBA Finals contender this season and would do one or the other if I had the chance. This ends the musings of a bored NBA Geek trying to spend someone else's money!
Thanks, I'm just bored. I'm not a huge baseball fan and there is no NFL or NBA at the moment so... I write long arsed post and pretend to be GM.
The Rockets might be willing to take on Iugodala's contract but I don't see them being willing to also take on Brand's contract.
That is a mighty albatross and removes any possibility for cap flexibility. Especially next year when it's time to pay Aaron Brooks and give Yao a new contract.
I'm a big fan of both Troy Murphy and Danny Granger. I think to get both is plucking the talent out of Indiana. I think it would take at least a Brooks or Martin packaged to get both of those guys in return. That would be a dream scenerio in my opinion. Good read though.
Agreed. I think the Rockets like Iggy, but want no part of Brand's contract. Philly had their chance to move Iggy in the Iggy+Dalembert for Tmac+Budinger trade, but declined. They probably regret that. Wonder if they decline again with Morey's Hill+Jeffries+Ariza package?
I´d be all for the Indiana trade... Granger is a legitimate star, and I believe he would be the player that takes us to the next level. The Philly trade would be a little to heavy on the cap for me... it would really tie our hands in the next years, and though it would be a great roster next year, it could really hurt us in the long run!
Both scenario's are a bit of pie in the sky for different reasons. Indy because Granger is so good it really is hard to see them parting with him. Plus Troy Murphy is a very underrated Power Forward IMO and he comes off the books next summer. I'm almost as big of a fan of Iugodala as I am of Granger plus I think Brand still puts in quality high quality minutes when healthy. I definitely think he would be a very high quality backup to Scola but his salary is just crazy. I guess it boils down to this: Do you think the Rockets could legitimately contend for an NBA Championship with either of those trades? and... What is it worth to you to be a legitimate contender?
The Indiana trade would be way better but almost impossible. Maybe if we include the super pick next year and 2012 Knicks pick. I can completely see Sixers doing that to dumb the Brandy. Just don't know if taking on Brand is worth it. Love that Indiana trade though. Wish we could make it happen. Main motivation for trading for Iggy is that an Iggy+Brooks package would probably be enough to land Granger at the deadline, IMHO of course.
Nice effort with your post, but I don't understand many of your 'musings': 1. On your numerous references to these teams needing cap-room for the "free agent derby": a. Chris Paul is not a free agent next summer, he is under contract until 2013, with a 2012 player option at the end of his deal. So there is no "free agent derby" you mention several times unless its Carmelo.. or maybe Yao I suppose. There has been speculation over possible TRADE scenarios for Chris Paul, however by doing your deals with the Rockets, these teams would all lose their trade assets simply by following your 'cap-clearing' assumption b. You overstate the value of having cap-space next summer for Philly and Indiana. As numerous people have pointed out, given what happened this summer, GMs will be less willing to clear space banking on a certain player coming to their city.. which brings me to.. c. Carmelo would never sign with these teams anyway. I think the Pacer's GM understands that. Carmelo will either sign his huge extension with Denver, or go somewhere else with a big market (re: Carmelo's wedding where.. oddly enough.. Chris Paul suggested of playing in New York) Maybe he would be willing to go play in Philly though.. but I seriously doubt he would be lured by the greatness of Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday (once Brand and Iggy are here in Houston) 2. The Indiana trade is great for us.. getting Granger and Murphy for the list of players you mentioned would be outstanding.. BUT THAT'S BASICALLY WHY THEY WOULD NEVER DO IT a. Jordan Hill isn't as 'proven' or 'ready' as most of us assumed. You use summer league numbers to blow up Paul George and then make the argument that Indiana would want to develop him by MOVING THEIR BEST PLAYER (SERIOUSLY?).. well then, if we apply your logic consistently.. look at Jordan Hill's summer league numbers.. not as good as expected b. Battier and Ariza hmmm.. Battier is expiring so I suppose he could offer 'veteran intangibles' for this one season to George.. but once again, keeping Granger who is better with a longer contract is superior. I will concede that Ariza's contract is at good (or at least correct) value, be he isn't close to the player that Granger is. c. Jarred Jefferies Basically enough said. He is not an impact contributor in any way. His contract does expire which is nice, but I've already covered why that isn't a great strategy for the Pacers in the first place. d. First round pick Your right. Could be lottery if New York can't make the playoffs. I'd say they are an 8-seed though, and even if they aren't, the pick wouldn't come high enough (top 8 would be my threshold) 3. I might just be confused, but your final Rockets depth chart is with Brand and Granger.. but each trade you proposed involved the same players from the Rockets. How is that possible
Danny Granger? Awesome, but Indy would want a boatload of resources. Whenever you're talking about the best player on another team, you are going to have to cough up a lung unless that player wants the trade to happen. As far as I know, there is no star player who has an interest in Houston. I think the league has become addicted to glamor, and LA, NY, Miami, and Chicago will always have more appeal than we do.
The Granger trade probably is too much to hope for from a Rockets point of view, but man, you gotta get off the 76ers high horse. Iguodala + Brand would mean that Philly would have to be paying US to take on that much bad salary. Brand was co-rookie of the year with who? That's right, Steve Francis, and that should tell you all you need to know about Brand's age/remaining ability. Iguodala may represent a moderate upgrade at SF for us (definitely not as much as Granger would), but is it worth the bump up in salary and years? As others have pointed out, simply trading for Iguodala alone may also represent a salary dump at this point. Look at what Morey was able to do to Sacramento. He convinced them that 27-year old Kevin Martin, he of four straight seasons with TS%'s above .600, was a salary dump-worthy player and shipped him out for an "up-and-coming" player that was only seven months younger (Carl Landry). I have faith that Morey could do better than to swap out 25.0yr old Ariza + a TON of good assets just for 26.5yr old Iguodala + a poison pill in Brand.
Just for the sake of argument, as the dog days of summer have now come: ADDING a 3rd pt guard sounds great. But, who do you cut? This is an area where McG's absence is felt. Can JT develop into the 3rd? If not then a trade must be effected. Speaking of trade effection (look that word up ... somewhere???). George's drafting seems a head scratcher. Granger develop George??? No, but Battier would be ideal in that role for that team. But, SB ainta gonna bring back DG - - unless: The Rox take back TJ AND save Indy some cash, too. So, a 3-way deal must be arranged: Ariza for Williams, Lou, that is. Then, Granger and TJ for Battier, Williams, and a protected #1 (2012?). TJ whines that he is not the starter and here I am suggesting a deal whereby he becomes a 3rd pg. A buy-out or another deal (TJ for Nazr?) would have to ensue. But, it would be worth it to add Granger to this Rox squad.
Sad but true probably true. My friend works as a valet at D/FW airport and she saw Anthony Randolph there and asked him what he thought about the Rockets and he didn't even know Yao will play next season.
Yes! If you bet on a healthy Yao, the Granger trade would definetly make us a legitimate title contender! I mean: Brooks Martin Granger Scola Yao Is at least a Top 4 talented team... and our bench is about as good as any other teams. So it might even be worth it, to throw 1-2 picks in there to make that trade happen. But I seriously doubt that Indiana would even listen to our offers...
1st of all I like reading posts like this, with trade scenarios, but with actual rational arguments, but like in all theories there are some problems, and people like to complicate too much, in my perspective I will not touch the part about Indiana trade, because there is NO WAY they trade the best player, and I am sorry to tell people, but Paul George is molding his game to be a SG in this league, he said that even before the draft, and if you ask me a lineup of Roy Hibbert Troy Murphy Danny Granger Paul George TJ Ford Can be very very solid in a stronger east conference like it will be next season, so that possible trade scenario is almost impossible to happen, and it can only happen if everything goes in that way, meaning Indiana has the worst record or close to it, Granger doesn´t mesh good with Paul, ala Martin and Tyreke, and even on that case there is NO WAY we trade for a guy that makes 12M to be a backup to scola, or even start over Scola, because that means that 9Ms will be on the bench, even if it was for 1 year, because Murphy only has 1 year left in his contract So with that out of the way, lets get to Iggy Philly is, from what I can tell without having any source/link to prove this statement, willing to trade Iggy WITHOUT adding the MOST RIDICULOUS CONTRACT IN THE NBA in Elton Brand in the package, because the majority of the league, including Indiana, think Iggy is overpaid. I have a different opinion, because I think he has the talent, and he is injury free, meaning that he will actually play, and not be on the sidelines getting paid for nothing, and I guess Morey and Houston staff think the same. SO WHY INCLUDE ELTON BRAND??? Now that we have Elton Brand out of the way..... WE ARE LACKING QUALITY PFs??? Another post that says the same thing, ARE YALL CRAZY??? Let me list the amount of PFs we have Jared Jeffries (listed as a SF in many sites I don´t know why, he is clearly a PF) David Andersen Alexander Johnson (listed as a SF in many sites, when we all know that he doesn´t have even a mid-range game, he is a fight guy under the hoop, clearly a PF) Patrick Patterson Chuck Hayes Jordan Hill Luis Scola And our staff even says that Battier can play the 4 sometimes, even tho I think Battier should not even be mentioned in a PF position for his own good If there is one position were we are well prepared is at the PF, and Hayes will be a ROX for life, I call him the 11th most important man in the NBA (just out of the 10 man rotation, he is the guy that is crucial to some matchups, like against KG or Boozer for example I don´t understand this wave of WE HAVE TO GET THE 3RD PG, blah blah blah HOW MANY TEAMS HAVE 3 PLAYABLE PGs???? Ish Smith is probably the best 3rd PG in the league, he can be the only one out there, we never know, and he will be available every time, he will be in the D-league like Conroy was last year, developing his game, no stress To conclude this long a.. post just to say, I only hope, like many fans said, that a trade happens before the league starts, so that we can upgrade the starting 5, giving them time to gel, without giving a ton of assets, just to limit the atrocious, but always great to have, amount of serviceable players we have, limiting our rotation, creating more solid gameplay mechanisms between players And that "supposed" Iggy deal posted in this forum is perfect for us, because we get better, and trade only 1 assets 1 young guy, and an expiring, without giving up our young studs, and draft picks, that can be used, if needed later But no deal is done until it is done, and I hate to post these posts, when all I am working on is rumors and possibilities, that can be dead after they even were mentioned PeAcE
