But what about Kyle, he probably feels he should be starting, and wants to start. To me this is not a simple "Just match it" deal..... Lowry may want to leave....and who could blame him....he wants to start...... DD
Kyle was my favorite Rocket last year. Saying that he's just a "backup" point guard for us is a huge understatement. I feel that a majority of games that we lost last year were because Kyle was injured and couldn't play. This guy knows how to win games. This is a tough decision for the Rockets.
You know what? I've changed my mind. I think we should keep him. He'll be a great asset for trade because his contract is ok and he's still young. I still still think if we keep him then Morey will look to move Brooks like he did Landry. Keep in mind that Lull (I think) has resigned with Real Madrid so this would prevent him from coming over soon. 6 mil. for a tough young PG that could develop a jump shot is ok IMO.
That's great, too bad it's not his decision. Ultimately, Kyle is a professional, and much like Landry following the contentious negotiations of two summers ago, he'll come in and do the job he's paid to do. That's why you focus on high-character guys, which Kyle is.
If I were NJ, I'd want to maximize my own information and minimize Morey's. So, I'd make Morey decide on Lowry without knowing how much Scola might be offered. And, I'd decide on the amount to offer once I know exactly what the Rockets' payroll number is after the Lowry decision. Of course, as NJ, I might having timing concerns of my own. If Scola might sign an offer-sheet with some other team, I'd need to hurry up. If my Plan B might go off the market, I might want to hurry up. But, as far as the Scola negotiation goes, I think the only benefit of putting both in Morey's lap is to give him some sticker-shock. I don't see Morey being susceptible to that effect. He'll take the dollars offered and run it through a model to decide if it's worth doing.
Kyle was often the best point guard. He is almost as good a point guard as Aaron Brooks, and possibly a better fit with a healthy team. If it took $24 MM over 4 years to keep Brooks, we wouldn't blink. I'd argue that Lowry is worth the same amount.
The Rockets should match this offer and keep Kyle Lowry. It's obvious, to me anyway, that the Rockets are going to trade Shane Battier at some point this season. Jared Jeffries' contract is expiring as well. For the life of the contract offered to Lowry by Cleveland, and Lowry's potential to improve in that time, it would be as much a move for the future for the Rockets to retain him as it would be for the present. Start to free up the money and assets now. Kyle Lowry, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Trevor Ariza, Luis Scola and Chase Budinger are your tentative team core moving forward, with or without Yao Ming. The Rockets have some time with younger players (a couple of the bigs, specifically) on minimum contracts to manage, if Yao is back to his All-NBA form. To me, you move redundant players that have more trade value than actual on-court value. I'll make a case for the Rockets not trading Chuck Hayes because, at least defensively, Hayes is a guy who can guard multiple positions. His contract is reasonable for a guy who's going to play spot duty for the forseeable future. Everybody else needs to be moved as soon as possible, preferably for some young big to pair with Yao or replace him. I think you find a way to keep both Lowry and Brooks, because if you want to keep Brooks, then you're probably going to have to pay him.
Either that or they end up losing both Scola and Lowry. And even if they keep both players, that in and of itself, doesn't appear to dramatically improve their fortunes in the West. This has the beginnings of a perfect storm that's about to hit the Rox.
That would be my strategy too, DD. Lol, we could be evil twins with similar train of thoughts (except for Ariza, of course).
My hate has now turned to LeBron James. If that douche never left Cleveland, The Rocekts would have Lowry for less.
I have not heard that he is against leaving Houston. Rockets hold the leverage. It is no guarantee he will start in Cleveland. He has already said publicly he would like to start, but enjoys playing next to Aaron Brooks and would not mind coming back to Houston.
Yup we saw the downward turn our team took when Lowry went out with injuries. I still think it's a no-brainer to match the offer.
Lowry isn't staring on Cavs either. They have Mo Williams. He wants to be "wanted", match the offer is the way of saying "you are wanted."
i totally agree. And I would add Patterson to the list of core players (he really does look like Karl's replacement). If they keep those 7 guys and Chuck, plus add a star, we're contenders. And our chemistry stays in tact.
Why not? Mo Williams' natural position is shooting guard, not point guard. They always had LeBron for that. That would make Delonte West the odd man out, and as we all know, he was on his way out of Cleveland anyway.
Agreed. The Rox really struggled, especially late in games, when Lowry was injured. Does anyone remember the February home game against the 76ers? The Rockets had a double digit lead at half. Lowry re-injured his ankle early in the the third and the team fell apart and blew the game. To me, that one game was a microcosm of the Rockets season, and it illustrates Lowry's impact and importance to the team. He was a +21 in that game.
Too bad, it's not his decision to make. He's a restrictd free agent. If he wanted to start somewhere, he should have signed a one year offer sheet, have the Rockets match it and become unrestricted next year. Morey said they would keep him, so they should. They don't have any other option right now. If they can pull off a trade in the next week that gets them a PG, maybe you let him walk. But we're paying Battier $7M to be a backup and Jeffries $7M to make cameos. $6M for an important piece, starter or not, is something they will have to deal with since they appear to have nobody else at this time.
