CD on 610am. Mike make less $$ but still choose Min.

Well, after re-listening to the Mike James interview, evidently all the teams offered him a 4 year deal, but he wanted a Player Option for the 4th year and a Trade Kicker.

James said he asked for that from the beginning. I don't think it was a 15 minute decision. CD might have had 15 minutes after he heard that Minnesota gave it to him, but not to make the decision. At that point, it was all about respect for Mike James. He just wanted to be shown the respect he was showing Houston, publicly stating he wanted to go to Houston, even though he had been traded.

CD might not have wanted to set a precedent, but I think future players would be able to understand that James is a fairly low paid player who had been traded the year before, and that's what it would take to sign him when we really needed him.

This was CD doing some PR cleanup after "strike TWO" in this off-season.

 

Oh, I don't think Carroll was lying or embelishing. I don't think he's that kind of person. But the Rockets ALWAYS hold their cards close. CD does have that reputation. And although I do not doubt what he said, I think we have to realize that he is not going to tell everything that happened.

And besides, even if it was a last minute deal, you have to be prepared for it coming up anyways. You always hold something back that you can give such as an extra year, a player option, an extra million, whatever. You can't think on your feet like you expect your coach and players to do and make a good decision even though it may be out of the norm, realizing the special circumstances surrounding this case? Because you are worried about establishing a new precedence or upsetting Yao and TMac??? Come on now. That is pretty weak. Everybody knows Yao and TMac would not have been upset if it took us giving the trade kicker to get James on a very favorable contract to the organization even with the trade kicker.

Wonder if they will tell Spanoulis, "We just don't do buyouts to Euro teams. We never have and we don't want to establish a precedent now."?

How did the Stros land Roger? They gave him what he needed to make it worth it to him. He didn't need money when he signed with us last year. He wanted to be able to spend time on the off days with his family. They let him have it. That was unprecedented. They never let players do that. They could have offered him $20 million but if they had not given in and let him take his off days and stay in Houston, I doubt he would have signed. It was a major part of the deal. And looking back on it, it was the right move. It did not cause problems with team chemistry, etc. etc. etc.

Special players, special cases. How much do you want a player? How much do you want to win?

I am very disappointed. But part of my disappointment is wrapped up in the fact that I really liked James personally. In addition to his skills, I liked his spunk, his spark, the fact that he went from undrafted free agent to a 20 ppg NBA star. He is the quintessential underdog and he really loves Houston and wanted the Rockets to love him. So, I am disappointed. It does make me feel that there is a little grind going on in the front office with CD, Morey, Lindsey, and JVG all trying to figure out how to make things work. I really think that the uncertainty and lack of clarity between them is the primary reason for botching this deal. This team could have easily afforded to give one player like Mike James a trade kicker. It would not have clogged up our roster and caused us to not be able to trade Luther Head, Ryan Bowen, or any of the other players. The precedent that we would have been establishing is that we will think and move outside the box in order to build a champion.

 

I think this whole thing is an end run by CD to slant your interview with MJ.

 

Trade kicker means if we trade him, then we pay him 15% of the contract, ie $3.6mil.

If CD did offer him a 4-yr deal, given the state tax situation, we outbid Minn by $1.92mil. So even if we are dead set to trade him, the difference is only $1.68mil in Minn's favor. But the truth is that trading him later is a probability not 100% certainty, so the difference here is minimal.

Therefore I highly doubt CD really gave him a 4-yr deal. If that's the case, MJ and his agent are not that rational.

 

We weren't there so we don't know what really happened. CD could have said we offered him one of Les' homes, would you have believed that??

Point is we screwed Mike James last year by sending him to the team that no player wants to play in. We sent the guy to Canada!! Can you blame him for wanting the trade kicker. I don't understand why Van Gundy is gonna go to this guy's house at 11 at night, tell him we want him back, only offer the MLE because thats all we can, and not give him the trade kicker. He would have still been a steal for the contract we were giving him. He is putting up better numbers than Francis was on his good years for a fraction of the price.

.469 fg .442 3P .837 FT% 5.8 APG 20.3 PPG for only the MLE!!

Give me a break, for that kind of money CD shoulda be washing Mike's car every week.

 

Yao Ming isn't a freaking SUPERSTAR!

 

yup he was just jacking with us the whole time. coming at the last minute and throwing in the trade kicker is a bunch of BS considering no one else on the rox has one. while I would have liked to have seen CD agree to the trade kicker I am glad to see he matched the contract value.

mike james is a joke. he is all about himself. I can't wait to boo this bum when he comes to houston.

 

BAseball and Football are VERY Different in Financial terms- big mistake to compare the two sports. I get your point though!

 

I know YOF's aren't accepted on this board, but I don't think YOH's are either.

 

Way to go off-topic. Ok, he's a scrub, you happy now?

 

Hmmm...this reminds me of something.... someone threw in a no-trade clause at the last minute that killed a deal...hmmm...oh yeah... Beltran!

 

You have to be kidding me! Tell me you are joking, lol.

 

Roger's deal wasn't about the money. It was about being able to spend time with his family.

Mike's deal for the trade kicker wasn't about the money. It was about a team committing to build with him not acquire him to trade him.

Special players, special cases. Get it done.

 

You guys are calculating taxes on Gross income- this would be much less the way you can do tax planning ( for example the huge houses these guys live in!), children , tax losess etc etc etc

They have to pay taxes on half of the games more or less even if they are in a tax-free state, so the advantage is overstated. True, the Cost of living is a lot lower in Texas- but then a millionaire does not necessarily check on the gas prices!

 

Roger Clemens is the greatest pitcher of his generation. Mike James.... a solid combo guard who can score and plays good D but is a bit undersized. Clearly James is not close to Clemens's level. There is no valid comparison there. I seriously don't see the connection at all.

 

MJ did a pretty good job himself of slanting things when he said winning was one of two important factors. that was obviously not true. he cares about himself and his numbers and trying to get his. he has said this before too. he is delusional since he wants the 4th year p/o. he thinks he can sign a big contract when he is 34. MJ chose Minny because it gave him the best place to showcase HIMSELF!

 

ABSOLUTE BS!
There is no shame here, Mike deserved the money and Roger deserved his- but to say it has to do with family etc- come on, you say those things to look good on TV.

I will never trust one single Professional player that money is not a big factor.
I dont buy everyhting Rockets management says- but if the trade kicker was going to be a hurdle, why bring it up at the last minute? One of them is lying!

 

I thought the whole reason so many basketball players live in Houston was because there is no state taxes, therefore if he still has his primary home in Houston, then he still doesn't pay state taxes.

 

Very simple. They are both players that could take the home team to a different level and they are both home town boys.

Do you question that this team with Mike James on the roster next year isn't on a different level than the same team even with a healthy Yao and McGrady?

He would have had an impact on the Rockets similar to the impact that Roger had on the Stros. Remember, there are only 12 active players on an NBA roster, not 25, and there are only 5 of them playing at any given time not 9.

 

Since he is delusional, it is a no-brainer to give him 4th yr P/O (or was it that he wanted 3rd yr P/O?). This gives him extra incentive to play three good years. Isn't that a great thing that we get our money's worth for three years?