Les Alexander didn't get to be a multi-millionaire by not understanding basic corporate accounting and finance. The way the Lin and Asik deals have been structured, each of them acts as an interest-free loan of $6.75M over a period of two years. I find it very hard to believe that Les won't be able to use that money in his other investments to turn a profit on both deals. Additionally, let's not forget that the team is still paying Scola somewhere in the neighborhood of $15M over the next two years to play for Phoenix. The Rockets have spent quite a bit in acquiring second round picks, work out more players before the draft than any other team, and have hired more statisticians than any other team, I think it's clear that the operating budget for the team is sizeable, and that Les has proven time and time again he is willing to pay for a competitive team.
After his disappearance in the finals, I agree, Harden should not get a MAX contract, unless he proves himself this season. Right now it is too early to tell but if Harden gets a MAX contract before the season this would be a bad move.
Thank god for the new CBA. After 100M+ deals for Arenas, Rashard and Stoudemire, 80M for Harden almost seems like a blessing. I see a lot of opinions that they would rather have waited until a guy proved his max value before signing him to a max deal but that didn't work for the above 3 all who rank as some of the worst max deals ever signed. I like this move but I hope we sign the Beard to a 4 year max deal and not 5.
We also have one of the lowest salaried rosters in the league right now. Les Alexander used to be a billionaire, but a lot of his wealth was tied to this: https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:FMD I'm not saying he won't treat it as a loan, I just wouldn't take it as a given. He's under no obligation to do so.
There is almost no chance that Harden goes the year without having signed the Max deal. I would expect that to happen pretty soon.
This is a great trade for the rocks in terms of publicity and team morale. But I'm also concerned about the basketball side of it. What was the cause of Harden's poor playoff performances? His shot selection in particular seemed horrible. He opted for a lot of 3's and long range 2's, many of which didn't seem like great looks. Playing against SAS and Heat defenses rarely make any player look good, but Harden did not rise to the occasion. Nonetheless, Harden should post very good numbers as the 1st or 2nd option on a young team regular season.
Adande is the worst ESPN analyst. He only caters to the big markets, specially the Lakers. I can't wait for him to have to eat his words for the millionth time and watch him act like he was never wrong in the first place. (This happens every year btw)
Hard to believe it's been 4 months since Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik signed here and people STILL don't understand their contracts.
Hey, it would be nice if Les had an implied deal with the fans: "I'll extort you for say another $50 million of cable profits, but i will go over the cap to give you (or hopefully s\he see it as "us") a good team." He has claimed he would do this. Frankly I am surprised Oklahoma City was so cheap. What else does OKC have going for it?
At least he has finals experience... The kid is what, 23? Lebron disappeared in the finals 2 times...not worth a max IMO (sarcasm font). I say roll the dice and get the best player we have had since Yao.
And that's 2 years later. Are you trying to tell me that you can predict the future --- how do you know whether those 3 will be worth 45mil or not in year 3? Explain.
Huh? What are you talking about? There is no predicting going on...contracts are contracts. If those 3 players are on the Rockets in 3 seasons, the Rockets would be paying ~45 million for their services. And Im not talking about the cap, for those that want to interject and mention that its really at 8.3353933.
Damn, beat me to it. Always stuns me that Adande speaks with such clarity around that purple and gold wang he always has in his mouth.
There is, the question whether they are a sound/solid 45 million dollar core is based on the fact that they will get paid in the 3rd year. Then the question should be presented in year 3 instead of now --- the question we should ask now is whether they are a good 16mil core ( Lin& Asik, 5 mil each and Harden 5.8mil) No I'm not talking about the cap either, you just need to admit the mistake you made when judging players' value --- This is year 2012, you dont give opinion about their 2015 salary based on 2012 performance. Simple as that.
Well I expect Harden to sign a max 5 year deal with the Rockets before the 31st of October. And it will be a great deal for the Rockets. Would you even consider giving a long term deal right now to Kobe or Wade or Gino? The answer is of course no. They will all probably be retired in 5 years. When Harden comes off of that 5 year deal he should be at the peak of his career (barring injury of course) and possibly the best SG in the NBA for the last 4 years.
You are obviously incredibly clueless on what you are talking about. Adande said that in 3 years, the Rockets would be paying Lin, Asik, and Harden about 45 million dollars. Some people mentioned that the cap hits wouldnt amount to 45 million. My point is that, outside of the cap, Adande's comment was accurate. I dont know how or why you are getting off on the tangent of predicting player values as it has absolutely nothing to do with anything. And just in case you dont know, player contracts are guaranteed. So, it doesnt matter if Lin sucks or Asik sucks...the Rockets will be paying them 15 million in 3 years if they are still on the roster.
What are you guys arguing about? Rezdawg is simply stating that we will be paying those guys $45 million 3 years from now... which is a fact. There's no implication that its a bad thing.
