[ClutchFans] Podcast: Is Goran Dragic to Houston suddenly possible?

Question: IF we get Goran as a Rental . . . ..
This summer we could still be part of a sign and trade in the summer right?

Rocket River

 

I mean . .. . We could sign and Trade Goran for something

Rocket River

 

I'm wondering where else Dragic can realistically go if Morey isn't afraid to go the rental route? Phoenix is in the driver's seat and I think would be willing to lose him for nothing this summer if they don't get a decent return for him. Who can offer a better return for him than the Rockets?

 

Boston has a stockpile of draft picks and can offer some younger talent as well..Sacramento was also mentioned as another potential destination but I def feel like Boston might get him because he wants to go to a bigger market and be the main guy on the team he'll get both in beantown

 

I get Dragic wanting to be the man - a cornerstone of a franchise, but he needs someone to check him on the reality of the situation - he still isn't better than more half the point guards in the WC playoffs(Curry, Westbrook, Paul, or Lillard). He's more in the present day Rondo/Parker camp in terms of value which is to say he is still a top 10 PG in the world, but he isn't the type of guy let's say the Lakers can build upon(especially because they are still paying Kobe). That means he is going to be stuck as the best player in the most glamorous franchise for a team who still loses 50+ games and oh ya he's still splitting time with Jeremy Lin.

I mean, no great players wants to be anyone's Robin, but I don't understand how Dragic could seriously want to play for a contending team and also want to play in LA when they have been an absolute disaster since Buss Sr died. Those are two completely opposite desires. Dragic needs to grow up and realize basketball is a game but it's also a business and I don't think at any point anyone thought Lin was better than Goran - he just made more financial sense at the time...


Thanks,
Ben

 

BTW, this would be a real b**** if we traded for Dragic and then he left us at the end of the season and went to LA.

 

THIS could be huge.

 

Those teams are devoid of talent, especially at PG. Dragic wants to be the primary ball handler. AND he wants the $$ (salary plus commercial opportunities).

Rockets cannot afford this guy when it comes time to re-sign him. Would not doubt he insists on no-trade clause.

 

The NBA is looking at deals starting at 30M in the first year with 7.5% yearly increases in a few years time for max guys.

Re: NTC

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/2701/sources-wade-and-melo-score-no-trade-clauses

 

He cant get a no trade clause - see the post above: 8 years in the league and 4 with the team giving the contract.


The Rockets would have his bird rights should they trade for him and could exceed the cap to sign him.
They would already be over the cap and wouldn't be able to free up much cap space even if they started cutting players. They definitely couldn't free up enough cap space to sign a comparable player to Dragic.
Signing him to a max deal doesn't matter when it comes to the cap because you are already over it , other than going into the luxury tax and that is Alexander's problem.

Where things get dicey is in the 2016 offseason when the cap expands by leaps & bounds , Dwight exercises his player option and without Dragic you have enough cap space to sign a max guy & a middle value contract ($8-10m) then resign Howard , match any offers for both DMo & Jones who are both RFA's at that time.
If you have Dragic on the books for max type money during that offseason you either miss out or have to move him.

Ideally you would give Dragic a two year deal for max dollars with the second year being a player option which he would exercise giving him & the team the opportunity to be players in that free agent period. I just don't know if he would bite on that because getting ~$100m now is almost a guarantee , taking $20m for one season & opting out he may not get the other $80m in a new contract. Then again , he may get $20m now and $100m later.

If you get him to bite on what is essentially a 1 year max deal and he opts out in the second & Dwight does the same .... then you sign <SuperStar X> & <Star Y> then resign both Dwight & Dragic along with matching DMo & Jones.

That 2016 cap expansion is going to be a one of a kind opportunity for teams with cap space to improve greatly & not give up talent in the process.

 

Somehow part of my post disappeared , edited it above.

 

this is a legitimate concern. and what will likely happen if we don't get out of the first round.

Questionable unless we get to the finals. or conference finals at least.

 

I do not believe that is possible. If a player opts out of his contract, he will still incur a cap hold on his team's salary cap. The Rockets will have to renounce his Bird's Rights before they can use the cap space to sign other players.

Even when the cap balloons to $80M in 2016, the Rockets won't have enough room to sign one max player if Dwight, Harden, and Dragic are on the roster. Remember, a max contract in 2016 is going to be substantially more than a max contract today since the "max" scales up with the salary cap. Plus I'm assuming the Rockets will have other players on the roster --- like Beverley or Ariza or Jones or DMo or whoever.

 

Goran wants big bucks so lets move on. It's be the Lakers or the Knicks. Even if he comes here in a trade he will just leave this summer. We all remember the "The Family" comments from Bosh and Melo that basically means wife wants top dollar.

 

Goran wants to go to a team where he can be the point guard and that's not happening here.

 

hmm if anything, that might bode well being that there is an agent relationship with the rockets already so it could make for a deal to happen without as much "red tape" so to speak

 

and now that Reggie Jackson is on the market the Rockets chances to throw their weight around just increased as teams now gotta "rethink" their position going after players...our odds of getting a quality player looks better today than yesterday that's for sure.

 

Thanks for the clarification and different trade & sign scenarios.

 

Agreed. Harden is the PG on this team, and everyone knows it.