Exactly. People! Well-managed teams do not overpay for backup SFs. Well-managed teams find undervalued backup SFs like Jordan Hamilton on the scrap heap on a regular basis. In fact, all Rockets fans have extremely recent evidence of this, as Houston JUST found Hamilton, on the scrap heap! The comments here ("We should keep him blah blah blah") are absurd. Also, I expect Daryl Morey to import Kostas Papanikolaou this offseason, anyway. Papanikolaou renders Hamilton expendable.
We kinda already have his replacements inline, with Kostas Papanikolaou and Robert Covington.... I'm sure both of them can replace what Hamilton brings off the bench by next season.
3 point shooting & rebounding YES, he is a role player and they are replaceable - but his skills fit what the team needs so well. I don't want to over pay him (see Scala) but would like to keep him at the right price.
He would be crazy to take less money to stay here. He's not some veteran who's made tons of cash, he's a young guy who's barely staying in the league. He's made 3.3 million in his career, and I'm willing to bet you it's not all in his 401K.
I would say no. All players want to first prove themselves and look for a payday. Winning a championship is secondary to securing a place for yourself in this league.
I bet he is either staying with Houston, or going to SA or LA. I would seem to think he wants to stay home or near his college.
Can't we cut him and then re sign him due to the fact his first contract is void. Basically cheat the system. If there is a way morey will find the loophole.
I think there's a decent chance that Hamilton might be enticed into signing a 1-year deal at $2.1M, perhaps with a player option for 2015 as well. First of all, if he does choose to sign such a deal, he immediately gains a no-trade clause, much like Aaron Brooks and Francisco Garcia did, since if he were traded, he'd lose his full-Bird rights. As such, he'd be guaranteed to be on a contender, with the potential to ride a hot playoffs into a huge deal, a la Trevor Ariza and the Lakers. Secondly, if he wants to join a contender, he'd likely be looking at the non-taxpayer mid-level, which is only $3.2M for 2014-2015, or the Room Exception at $2.7M. That's not a huge increase over the $2.1M the Rockets could offer, especially when state taxes are taken into account. Thirdly, you are probably overestimating his market. I believe that many effects of the new CBA are vastly overstated, but one that is unquestionable is that it has badly squeezed the "middle class" of the NBA. Dorell Wright, a mature, in his prime version of Air Bacon only managed to get a 2yr/$6M deal this offseason. Mike Dunleavy took the Taxpayer MLE. Wayne Ellington got the room exception. CJ Watson got the Biannual Exception. Matt Barnes got the Taxpayer MLE. Meanwhile, guys like Courtney Lee get salary dumped for nothing in return because their full MLE deals are seen as onerous. Finally, it seems undoubtedly better to be a free agent next summer than this one. Many teams appear to be loading up cap space to chase the 2015 class of free agents, and will be hesitant to give multi-year contracts this coming summer. Likely, the Mad Man's best offers will come from capped out teams not worried about 2015, which brings us right back to the taxpayer mid-level. Honestly, there's really no need to worry about it one way or the other. If he plays himself into a contract like a full mid-level, the Rockets are probably in the WCF. If teams start gameplanning for him, or he gets infected with the anti-shooting virus that has been plaguing every Rockets bench player this year, you probably wouldn't want him to be resigned anyway.
There's no chance in any way shape or form that Hamilton will take any sort of "below market" deal with the Rockets. It makes no sense whatsoever. NBA players, especially low 1st rounders who can't even get all their rookie options picked up, face the possibility that every contract they sign will be their last. Even if the Rockets offer him 2yr/$4mil and Sacramento offers him 2yrs/$5mil, he'd be crazy not to grab the Kings offer. You would too if you're uncertain if 2 years later you may even get a vet. minimum contract. That said, the market on Hamilton is probably not as big as one may think. Mid-tier contracts in general have been declining over the years. It's not a certainty that Hamilton can get more than what the Rockets will likely offer him, 2yr/$4.5mil deal with 2nd year only partially guaranteed(in case he needs to be sacrificed for Love). Even if he leaves, give the contract that players like Delfino, Bellineli, Dunleavy, Garcia have gotten in FA, Morey will certainly be able to pick someone decent up. Or he may just go to Europe and bring in Llul or Papas.
So Denver declined to pick up the option, but can now sign him this summer to the best FA contract they can offer, while his new team, the Rockets are limited. Something must be wrong with this rule.
it was a good pickup by morey to get someone at a position of need for the playoffs. next year we can hit the free agent market and sign someone better hopefully. or, maybe stick with hamilton if no one offers him more money. There are good players on the market this summer that can help on the wing, possibly more than hamilton. so no worries either way.
I agree.. I like Hamilton but I think Morey will find an upgrade over Hamilton this offseason if he can't sign him for 2.1 mil. They way you do it is offer him a contract take or leave and you have 3 days to sign or we take the deal off the table and look somewhere else. Either we win or lose but no worries either way.
I'm pretty sure we are understanding the rule correctly. Rockets freely traded for him and would not have to pay him last year of his contract if he sucked. Rockets are forced to accept all results, good and bad, of Denver not exercising option.
I'll be surprised if Hamilton commands more than $2.1m as a free agent anyway. He's having a nice stretch of games for us here, but he's carrying a stigma from a failed rookie contract and he's just a 3&D player. Has this rule ever been tested before? It's not often that a player's option is declined and then he show's he's worth anything more than the minimum.
There is nothing wrong with this rule. Houston knew this was part of the deal when they made the trade. They weren't required to make this trade.
Good thread. The original thread for Brooks/Hamilton is 41 pages long so this type of information can easily get lost in the mix. Bottom line: it was a great trade for both the Rockets and for Hamilton. DM found another diamond in the rough and Hamilton gets to both help us and play for a new contract. Somebody will probably outbid us when all of the dust settles, but it doesn't mean there's reason to panic. 3&D players, while valuable, are always popping up. DM will simply find another that fits his budget.
