[ClutchFans] Shifting Perspectives on 2015-16 Salary Cap May Impact Rockets' Immediate Plans

Thanks for the article as always, Bima.

 

After reading comments from the new Chief of the NBA players association I don't think she is going to go for any kind of smoothing out of the salary cap. This is making the Rockets decision not to match Chandler Parsons look worse and worse.

 

I don't think the salary cap is going to be increasing at all next year but that is why we need to make a trade sooner rather than later. I don't think Corey Brewer with a player option is a good trade for us. He will probably pick it up and we will be paying him almost 5 million dollars to come off of the bench. I really am hoping that Morey swings for the fences and is able to either get Al Horford, Greg Monroe, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Bass, Kenneth Faried, Dragic, Taj Gibson, or maybe even Delonte West. I think at this point in time we have to look to move any and all of our bench players including Cisco, Canaan, Terrence Jones, Black, D-Mo, Daniels, and Dorsey as well as our draft picks. Whatever it takes to get a championship, that is what we need to do.

 

You meant David West, right? Not Delonte...

 

You gotta help me out with the Parsons part. How was it looking worse in the first place? Why is it getting worse and worse because of this?

 

Great article. I would love to hear someone (on 790 AM or otherwise) ask Daryl Morey this question about what his prediction is as far as salary cap smoothing and the salary cap increase next year. His answer to this could be telling.

 

No comment, no answer, doesn't want to get fined.

 

No, it only makes the Rockets decision to turn down the team option on his contract for this year look bad. But our hands were tied on that issue. Matching the absurd Mavs contract would have been taking a bad situation and making it worse. No matter how you look at it, Ariza isn't just a better value, than Parsons, he's about on the same level as a player (and a MUCH better defender and fit). Any rational fan can see that matching Parsons's Mavs contract would have been an idiotic move.

 

Thanks, (Big) BT.

One question - - while I'd love to have Dragic return to TheToy Shop I am more lustful for a comparative p/u at the 4 or 4/5. Is this not an apparent desire by the FO as well?

OK, one more - - are you in agreement that there is nothing of consequence going down with Hawks' player movement before new ownership is settled?

 

A great summary, thanks. If we need create enough cap for someone like Dragic, not for a max player, is it possible to have this kind of money next year? But I want to keep Papanikolaou first.

 

I was nodding all through this post but at this part I fell out of my chair.

 

Count me as one who would prefer for next year's cap to remain low.

One thing no one seems to consider is that if the cap goes up significantly next year, a LOT of teams--and potentially some additional championship contenders like the Thunder, Spurs, Cavs etc--would see that same bump in salary that they could offer.

The Rockets have always thrived in situations where other teams that have not managed their finances as well have made shortsighted decisions that later came back to bite them. See the James Harden trade and the signing of Omer Asik away from Chicago.

I don't know how the Rockets, with a core of Dwight and Harden, would do in a free agency market that has all other 29 teams with at least 10M more each to spend. But I would rather not find out. Morey is a value investor, and that makes him better suited to weather the storm when hard times hit. This appears not to be one of those times.

 

The Players union will not agree to the smoothing as that is a lot of money out of their pockets. Whatever is decided though I am sure that Morey will have the flexibility needed to get whoever he wants.

 

Thanks Bima. Have you considered dropping off your resume with the Nuggets seeing as how they submitted multiple CBA-violating deals to head office?

 

Thanks, BT. BTW - - Bud, or not, as 'GM' would still have his hands tied at this specific juncture IMO. And BTW II - - that's a team that needs a home run or they are middling forever in the middling conference, LeBron (and Chi) not withstanding.

 

AN ODE TO BRENDAN HAYWOOD

"Oh how I love thee thou Brendan Haywood contract. I bless thee and multiple thee with other player extensions that are partially guaranteed."

1. If we do not acquire a 3rd superstar this season, in my opinion, we are better off to keep the Pelies pick, and go ahead and trade for players like Ilyasova with salaries extending through 2015-16 and also an expiring contract or two like possibly Brandon Bass that we can extend at an artificially high rate with a smaller guarantee guarantee to mimmick the Brendan Haywood contract. Or....we could simply pull off the trade for Brewer and flip him to Cleveland for Haywood's contract if we could pry Lebron's cold dead hands off it (unlikely).

So we trade for Bass (or whomever else, perhaps Bargs) and offer him an extension starting at say, $12 million with only say $3 million guaranteed. Then you have your trade chips to play 2015 free agency for your 3rd max guy without having to clear out cap space. LaMarcus decides he wants to walk.....Portland can take the Pels pick and a large non-guaranteed deal and sign-and-trade him or watch him walk away for nothing.

I suggested when we signed Ariza that he MIGHT be flipped (if necessary) to acquire our 3rd guy. This is also why I suggested a massive trade for Amare with Amare going back out to Philly at the deadline so we could have a huge TPE to work with for 2015-16. But that is not as realistc now that Rubio and others have signed exensions.

So the next best way to have our cake and eat it too, that is to acquire good players and still participate in 2015 free agency, is to acquire either Brendan Haywood's contract (which I've been suggesting since last season), or to acquire an extension eligible ending contract with full Birds rights that we can extend with a maximum salary extension that is only partially guaranteed for 2016.

A partial list of extension-eligible players with full birds rights that might be willing to do this: Jason Richardson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Andrei Bargnani, Joel Anthony, Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Chuck Hayes, and Amir Johnson. Keep in mind this would be an extension that gaurantees the player around $3 million with somewhere around a $12 million salary for 2015 so of the above players the most likely ones to be willing to sign a contract like that and most easily acquirable through trade are probably Jason Richardson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Joel Anthony, and perhaps Chuck Hayes. I would think of those guys that Hayes would be the most useful player with perhaps Mbah a Moute also being useful and I could see either guy possibly signing a extension like I mentioned. Another extension-eligible contract that could possibly be acquired and extended in the fashion I mentioned would be Carlos Boozer if the Lakers waive him at some point and we still have a $3.15 million of our Lin TPE left to claim him and nobody else claims him. He also could be extended in like fashion with the $3 million guarantee and high non-guaranteed salary.

This is also the reason why I maintain that Rubio is still the preferred target to Rondo and Dragic because of the fact that we know Rubio's salary is $12.7 million next season and $13.4 million in 2016. Rondo and Dragic are most likely going to be signed to higher starting salaries approaching or at their actual max of around $19 million. That's more difficult to swallow down when adding other players around our core than $12.7 or $13.4 million.

 

Great article Bima.

Question for ya...have you ever been approached by anyone associated with the NBA for employment? You certainly seem to have the chops for those types of positions...