At what point will we extend a new deal to Artest?

morey already said that artest's agent wants to wait until end of the year

 

QFT... he's said it several times in fact.

 

btw: extensions only allow for 10% raises above the last year of contract. I think that limits him to approx $8-8.5 for the first year. So, if you think we should (or will have to) pay him more than that, he'll have to become a free agent.

 

I have a bad feeling that some team is going to offer him a boatload of money and he runs off and leaves Houston.

 

If we win the chip he might stay for another go at it.

 

Or if we come just short...

 

We should have his bird rights so we can give the max if morey really wanted to.

 

From what I've read, we will have his bird rights and can match any offer he receives without going over the cap. Am I right on this?

 

Let's see how long until Artest gets suspended or thrown in jail until we make a decision.

 

yup yup.

also to the OP, read the papers! Artest isnt thinking about any kinda of contract right now, his mind is on playing the best ball and staying outta trouble to get the best he can get when the year ends.

Remember he believes he has been underpaid (which from what I see is probably very true) and wants to ge tthe max he can before he starts getting older.

 

If I was Morey I'd try to get a deal done by the All-star break or quietly get extend him before the playoffs (if the Rockets are doing great), just to get the worry out of our minds. However, most likely we'll sign him once the season is over.

 

right, but my point is is that ideally you'd want to sign him to an extension, since no other team can do that, and it must be done before any other team can talk to him. Free agency is something Morey would like to avoid, if he can.

 

I'd say if everything goes well and Morey really want to extend, we coud give a six year extension like:

Salary Age Year
8.2 30 2009
9.02 31 2010
9.922 32 2011
10.9142 33 2012
12.00562 34 2013
13.206182 35 2014
63.268002

This is a very good extension for Artest, comparing with 12M/year for 5 years from other team. Believe me, there will be no team want to offer the max money for 5 years for Artest up to the age of 34. 12M/year for 4-5 years or 15M/3 years is what he may be able to get at the end of season. So if everything goes well, why not accept the rockets extension before all star break for less risk (injury for example), comparable money . Most importantly, if Artest really loves playing as a rockets, why not?

 

Wise, is Morey. Get it done, he will do.

 

Either way we're in good position...say we win it we can offer Artest the most, if we don't he's an expiring and so is T-Mac the following year.

 

I'm not very optimistic about the Artest situation (not his play, his contract). I'm sure if he keeps this level of play up, and keeps everything else in check, there will be a team willing to offer him big money for a medium-to-long contract. $30-40 million for 3-5 years or something like that. There's no way he wouldn't take that deal, and from what I understand, there's no way we could match.

The only way is if we win a championship (or get really really close) and he decides it's worth it to stay.

Joining the Rockets was a smart choice for him (not being biased here) because he not only gets a chance to win on a win-oriented team, but he gets a lot of media coverage and national TV time. He gets talked about a lot. If we get to the spotlight, so does Ron Artest. I can guarantee some team (if everything goes well) will offer him big money...

 

from what im seeing, Artest might consider staying with the rockets for a very long time. The guy just wants to belong somewhere.

He's got the support of two superstars here (Yao and Tmac). We all saw how Tmac reacted on that 3 of artest in the final minutes of the Dallas game. He has Tmac's support all the way.

Im sure Artest would stay even if he doesnt get a max contract. We just got to keep him happy here and give him a reasonable contract.