[Chron] Yao mulls contract status, considers free agency

help bimathug!

 

he has a player option right?
if he opts out, can we make him sign for less and then sign another player with that additional money?

 

I'm no salary cap expert but I'm pretty sure you can't go over the cap to sign someone, that's the whole point to having a salary cap in the first place. As far as I know the only to do that would be via sign and trade or signing somone to the mid-level. What this means though is we can get out of paying Yao Ming the max starting next year, and presumably reload with players who will be healthier than he is. I highly doubt this will happen though, there's no way Yao will leave 17M on the table like that.

 

You can go over the cap to sign your own free agents if those free agents have played 3 years without being waived or having been a free agent during those 3 years. You can't go over the cap to sign a free agent coming from another team.

 

What about bird rights?

 

No we cannot do that whatsover. In order to have the cap room first of all we have to renounce Yao's bird rights. I'm sure Yao's caphold value would exceed 15M, so no free agent would be able to sign here (this also includes Scola's and Lowry's caphold).

A perfect example would be:

New York signs two max free agents (Bosh and Bron). In order to do so they would have to renounce Lee's bird rights (UFA) in order to have the room for both max free agents.

 

By the way, they would also renounce all other bird rights of other players they have (not just David Lee).

 

Pre-Martin trade, yes. I was one of the people proposing the Rockets try to negotiate a smaller contract for Yao in order to free up some cap space. But with Martin, Jeffries, and Hill's contracts added to the Rockets salary($20+ mil worth of contract next year), the Rockets are going to be over the cap regardless. Even if they are under the cap, it's not going to be significant enough to matter. In other words, it should be less than the MLE.

 

SOB!!!!!!

 

Really, it would be good for both parties though if Yao opts out and re-signs on a smaller, longer contract. Would help Les get out of the tax and give Yao more guaranteed money before the new CBA.

Doesn't really affect us fans for next season or help Morey improve the team much (except maybe he has more room for an LLE/MLE signing) but it would be good overall.

 

Given that Morey's moves are predicated on Yao not opting out, I'd much rather have Yao just pick up his option. One year bite-the-bullet contract that won't bother the Rockets if he doesn't perform.

That said, a part of me is interested to see just how much Yao can get on the open market. Lord knows there have been enough debate over his "business worth" over the years. And this is the first time in Yao's career where we really can see how things may work out. Everything's set up perfectly.

1. Down economy where owners likely won't overspend for the sake of it.
2. Large pool of top FAs.
3. Large pool of teams with cap space.

It's pretty much as close to a free market economy for FA as it gets in the NBA.

 

I hope that this will not get drawn out and ugly.

 

There is a cap hold, if he opts out and is not renounced.

 

Morey should have made sure he was picking up his option otherwise I wish we had tmac's expiring contract. We would be able to sign 2 max contracts.

 

Yao sounds like he is'nt happy with the front office?.. i wonder why?oh well, if he wants to leave, there is the door.

 

Yao should do what is in the best interest of Yao. If that means leaving Houston, then he should. It will be more fun to have him look around and consider other options out there. I'd be interested to see what might be available. Not the money, but the teams and players he could potentially be grouped with. And I know, you say, who would sign Yao...he's injured all the time. Sure.

 

Boy, fans are easily swayed. It's a guarantee that Yao will stay with the Rockets. I'd bet my He-Man action figures on it.

 

As well as we treated him all these years!!! It makes me sick and sad. It may be a good thing though, Morey would have more money to spend on someone more reliable.

 

I would be very surprised if a team were to give a large, multiyear contract to a player who is coming off a major foot surgery and hasn't been on a basketball court for nearly a year. And I would be doubly surprised if a player were to opt out of a contract expecting this to happen.

But stranger things have happened, I suppose.