If the Rox/Kings go through with the premise then Sac gets whatever 'boost' Yao's presence provides, Yao's insurance, probably $3m of Owner Alex' $ + deletion of a contract they are (reportedly) most interested in dumping. It would be a win-win. In fact, if a TE were used to obtain Garcia then Kings get that as a chip, too (oh, wait - being under the cap, do they?). It would also work with Minnie. But best? Clips. Straight up: Yao for Kaman. Rox get under Lux Tax, get a very good (ouch, oft injured 5) and $6+m TE. Not bad.
Trading Yao for a huge TPE sounds great and all, but i would much rather trade Yao for other players that we can use now.
Guys, the Garcia trade was purely for ILLUSTRATION purposes, since it was the simplest trade I could think of to convey the concept of a trade that would net an exception. I thought I was abundantly clear about that. Actually, as much as it pains me to say it, the Rockets waited too long before trading Hakeem. In 1999, they could have gotten Doug Christie, Kevin Willis, the #5 pick and the #12 pick. Instead, they got gun-shy and ended up trading him two years later for basically just the #15 pick (Bostjan Nachbar). Let's not make the same mistake again, especially not with a player who will not play another game under his current contract. A star player? Hell, yeah. Just some decent players? What's the point? We have plenty of those already. Getting a huge trade exception gives the team a significant asset without further deepening an already deep roster with guys who are not difference makers.
bima if we did get a huge TE for yao and were working a deal with a few teams would we be able to use the arize TE in the transaction as long as it went to different teams. I know before you said TEs cant be combined, but wasn't sure if that meant 2 TEs going to one team. or would we simply have to break it down to 2 different transactions rather than just one multi team trade. Thanks hope that makes sense
I believe the points are that: a - a trade of Yao('s contract) must bring back positive effect b - a large (huge, even) TE is positive effect c - a good sized TE + a quality NBA 5 is very good effect - - and I charge is realistic/conceivable with The LA Sterlings, Chris Kaman. Just what if: the Kings offered Udrih and Garcia + Cousins for Yao and Brooks. Would Rox bite? Good job on articulating this option BT!
[FONT=Arialwhy don't we make use of Yao's contract NOW. What's the point in waiting. Its like money. Leave it for too long and its gonna depreciate.[/FONT]
You can use multiple TPEs in one overall set of transactions with the same two teams. You just can't combine TPEs to match salaries. Take another look at the article. First option is to use Yao's contract now to obtain a star player. Only if all such trades fail do I propose trying to get a huge TPE.
If we're gonna trade for Kaman, I'd still rather send out Jared and Jordan for him and do a deal with Yao to Sacramento for a $17 million TPE, taking back Landry or somebody else to get the exception. Kaman expires in 2012 at $12.2 million. That would give us a $17 TPE, plus a $12.2 million expiring to help some strapped team like N.O. unload and rebuild. Now, add to that a possible large TPE for Brooks if we do a S&T for him to some team like Sacramento or Cleveland. We could potentially S&T Brooks to Sacramento for another big TPE this off season along with some other asset such as a future first round pick. If we get a $10-$12 million TPE for Brooks, that would be $17 million plus $12 million we could take off a team like N.O. (Paul and Okafor), and we'd have another expiring (Kaman) to give away to somebody else wanting to dump salary.
nice, thats a lot of flexibility and financial help to make things happen. Now to find a disgruntled star on a bad team looking for financial help....hmmmm
Kaman is a legit starting 5 in the NBA. Would LAC take JJ/JH for him? Because if they would then Yao's contract remains tradable - - and necessary to reduce away from lux cap. Garcia (and Udrih) are pigs to Maloof. Landry is Sac-onara this summer. Would Kings do Landry for Yao? Could MJ be induced to do Wallace/Nazr - Yao/Battier? I think it works, gives relief and is probably better (PR, for sure) than reported Wallace for Cavs' TE. If Rox could add Kaman and Wallace and just lose Battier then what might the remaining months of the season look like? More exciting, for certain. More competitive, no doubt. But, contenders? There would be work remaining, for sure.
We didn't "trade" him, The Dream chose to go to Toronto. Seriously, I don't want us to not pull the trigger on a trade for sentimental reasons only, it's not like we would be dishonoring Yao, he has already agreed to do it and our relationship with him is going to stay in as good terms as always. I also call the “if Les trades Yao he would be losing present and future businesses” argument BULL****. I don’t pretend to know Chinese businessman but I’m willing to bet anything they are not going to be a bunch of immature pricks over something like this. Matter of fact, if I was a Chinese businessman I would laugh in the face of these preposterous assumptions, do you think they have the mind of an 8 year old? Business is business, here in the D.R., in Houston and in China. Les is already well established there and he will do any kind of business he wants, with or without Yao.
As a guy who has done and currently does business in China, I could easily see some of the business leaving Les if he loses his relationship with Yao. China is a weird place and Yao is not just a basketball player, he is a Chinese icon...people want to be associated with him, it is a matter of stature. I believe that if Les and Yao broke ties, some of the doors Les has been knocking on would go silent. DD
Bima, I've always thought it made sense for an NBA team to hire a guy simply to come up with creative trades like yours. I think some do (in the form of econ gurus). Just a minor point - I'm not sure the Rockets are as concerned about being over the luxury tax as they were before Ming's insurance kicked in. I believe they are around $3.5M over the luxury tax right now, with salaries totaling $73.75M. Add the dollar-for-dollar tax, and you're up to $77.25M. Subtract the reported $8M that Yao's insurance provides and you're back down to $69.25M in "actual money paid to players." (Of course, not getting below the tax line would cost the Rockets ~$4M, which is the payment teams under the tax receive from those over it). I still feel that moving Jeffries at the deadline along with $3M (to pay off his remaining salary) and some other incentives (e.g., 2nd rounder, rights to Llull) is the least painful way to get under the tax. As far as working with the Kings, what about: Dalembert -for- Ming/Jeffries/$3M Nets you two months to try out a veteran shot-blocking center (and his Bird rights), gets you under the luxury tax, frees up a roster spot, and rewards you with a sizable TPE of $11M. In terms of actual money paid, it costs the Kings very little due to the cash and Ming insurance payments. It also gives Cousins and Whiteside more minutes.
If there's anybody on the BBS I'd consult about understanding the nuances of foreign cultures, it's DaDakota.
They've got a guy like that named Daryl Morey. Honestly, I'm sure he's already thought of this possibility. In fact, I think the reason it came up here because Morey has educated us on the manipulation of TPEs with the deals he's done involving them in the past.
Yeah, I'm sure the Rockets have several people on staff who come up with ideas much more interesting than mine. But if Daryl Morey ever wants to hire me to be a "special consultant" on a part-time basis, I'd listen. :grin: On your proposed Dalembert for Yao/Jeffries deal, I don't think it would generate an $11M trade exception. Such exceptions are not generated by aggregating salaries; rather, it is done (I think) on a player-by-player basis. For instance, in the Kevin Martin trade, the Rockets got two SEPARATE trade exceptions out of that leg of the deal, one for Carl Landry ($3M) and one for Joey Dorsey ($881k). So, in your proposal, I think it would be two separate trades: (1) Yao for Dalembert - generating a ~$4.2M trade exception in the process (2) Jeffries into SAC's cap space - generating a separate ~$6.88M trade exception Again, I'm not 100% sure about this, but I'm pretty sure that it would work out this way instead of generating one big $11M exception.
Bima, It's my understanding based on some things I read on the RealGM "CBA" forum years ago that each team involved in a trade is allowed to "frame" their side of the trade however they want as long as it works under the trade rules. I'll see if I can track that thread down for you. I believe it was confirmed by Larry Coon.
