James close to Sign With Rockets for 30million 5 years?

Nice going r-fan-since 81. Marc Berman is an accurate reporter. All this RealGM, Toronto Star and Radio reports as well the nonsense from Hoopsworld means nothing.

 

Based on this info, I'm guessing one (or both) sides is driving a hard bargain or they would have come to an agreement by now.

 

Argh! I know officially we have to wait until the 12th to find out, but waiting until Monday to get a decision is going to be murder.

 

Well at least he is learning fast maybe by the end of the night he will be one of the best.

 

We must not be offering the 5 year MLE, or there would be no need for MJ to shop the competition.

 

I really hope the deal goes down for James even if we have to do the 5 years. A core of TMAC, YAO, James, and Battier can compete next year for the championship if healthy and given the proper role players.

We can worry about a mid-thirties James when we have to cross that bridge. I get the idea with his conditioning, determination, and shooting, James would be effective as a backup even at 35 or 36.

I know I'm just a rookie, but I say let's get this done!

 

I think once it gets done we have successfully added the scoring punch we were lacking. he would be am amazing scorer off the bench and would have 6th man potential because he could back up 2 spots. Starting he gives that consistant 3rd option when Yao and Tmac are on the court and makes our starting 5 more scoring and better defense, but possiibly to the detriment of Yao.


We still have our TE which i'm excited about. if you put it at 5 years its worth 27.6 million. If you add the 6th year which is possible in a sign and trade i think it is 35.6 million. I'd like to use that to sign a Chris Wilcox type that could come in and provide some size and ruggedness behind Juwon Howard. Also he is able to back up the 5 spot incase mutombo is injured or Yao gets in foul trouble and someone needs to put some extended minutes in the post. What to trade, honestly i dont want to give up next years draft pick because the class looks so juicy from a year out. Even with us picking in the bottom 10 there are names like Tiago Splitter, Tyler Hansbro, Rudy Fernandez, and Corey Brewer who might be on the board still. Its just a much stronger draft top to bottom. I would be willing to give up luther head but that will force our hand in resigning Bogans.

 

The bottom 10? Im glad to see that your so optimistic about next season.

 

I see us playing at the rate that we played when Tmac and Yao were healthy last year, and this year they have more firepower available on the side. James will fit in quickly since he played with them already.

 

For those wondering why the Rox would do something like include Head + a pick. ... it all depends on what else the team can do to fill the roster.

Imagine for a moment that you sign MJ to an MLE deal. Your only options are players made available to you in trades, using the TEs. You still have to give those teams a reason to deal with you, and you likely end up trading Head and/or a pick to get the better player anyways. If Dawson has had positive discussions on such deals, then MLE is the way to go.

Now imagine that Dawson would rather use the MLE to sign a free agent or two. The pickings are slim, but could be better than anything available in a trade. In that sense, the Raptors ask for something in exchange in a S&T deal, which leaves you the full MLE to spend and not have to give up players.

In either scenario, Luther Head is likely a goner. The pick is rich and not likelt to happen, but you never know what discussions are made behind the scenes.

If James is getting 3 year offers from other teams, then Houston can offer 4 years at MLE, which would be about $24.3 mil. To get the same money in a S&T deal with Toronto, it woudl have to be 5 years starting at $4.3 mil.

MLE deal with 8% raises:
$5.42
$5.854
$6.287
$6.721
$24.282 mil over 4 years.
+
$7.154
$31.436 mil over 5 years

-OR-

TPE deal with 10.5% raises
$4.2
$4.641
$5.082
$5.523
$5.964
$25.41 mil over 5 years

It's possible that James is agreeable to a 5 year deal if it's a S&T. Who knows what the final result will be. If Minny or Dallas up it to 4 years, then things change even more.

 

Looks like they're trying to work a SnT with the 4.2 TE.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4030064.html


July 6, 2006, 11:17PM
Rockets optimistic about James
Dawson feels he's near deal with free agent

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

LAS VEGAS - Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson emerged from his meeting with Mike James on Thursday without his primary free-agent target, but with a sense that he could be close to bringing James back to the Rockets.

James and his agent Bill Duffy still had meetings scheduled with the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves, but neither team has any more spending room than the Rockets.

James, who is building a home in Houston, has been outspoken since the end of the season about his desire to return to the Rockets, who traded him before the start of training camp last season for Rafer Alston.

"It was a good meeting," Dawson said. "Nothing happened. They had two more teams to talk to.

"Hopefully, we'll have a decision tomorrow," Dawson said. "We feel pretty good about it."

James averaged 20.3 points, on 46.9-percent shooting and 44.2-percent 3-point shooting with the Raptors last season.

"C.D. (Dawson), that's my guy," James said. "I appreciate C.D., and I understand it's a business. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, I don't know where I'll be. Dallas wants to win a championship. They believe I can be a significant piece of that. That makes me feel good, too."

James had career bests in scoring, assists (5.8) and rebounding (3.3) last season. In 27 games with the Rockets in the 2004-05 season, all but five coming off the bench, he averaged 12.4 points, 2.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

The Rockets were willing to offer all of their mid-level exception, expected to start at about $5 million. But while working to secure an agreement with James, the Rockets have also been talking to the Toronto Raptors about a sign-and-trade arrangement in which they could use a trade exception, beginning at $4.2 million.

In that sort of arrangement, they would likely have to sign James to a four-year deal to make the package comparable to a mid-level exception because in a sign-and-trade, in which he is technically signing with his current team, James would receive greater raises (10 percent each season) than if he signed with the Rockets outright.

That would allow the Rockets to hold onto their mid-level exception to spend some or all on other free agents, and it would start at a smaller figure, helping them keep their payroll under the luxury tax.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

 

But he would start at the $4.3, not $4.2.

 

MJ is practically begging CD to give him more than the 3 years everyone is offering him... T-Wolves?!? Oblivion... Dallas?!? No PT...

To all those who believed it was never about the money, that he just wants to play for Houston because his family's there, well, we wouldn't be going through all this if that were really the case (based on the # of FAs that have already committed)...

Now, I really do believe that he'll be a Rocket when all this is said and done (and I'll be happy about that), that he'll claim, "Hey man, this is where I wanted to be all along..." But, for the right price, or # of years for that matter, he'd walk in a heartbeat, making him no more "Rocket loyal" than any other FA out there.

However, it if came out that he turned down Minnesota's and/or Dallas' 5 year MLE contracts for our 3 year one, than I'll have no problem saying that I was wrong all along...

 

We have $0 to sign another player, we're capped out for the next 5 years I think. All we have is the trade exception and whoever we can sign for the veterans minimun (Wesley?).

 

I agree with you but what other options do we have? We have no tradeable assets and no cap space. The best we can do is pick up MLE type players and even at that the options are few this year.

Last year we were all excited about getting Swift too. James is too short for a two, too much of a shoot first player for a one and his lack of attention to defense is likely to cause rifts with our coach so we certainly could be disappointed. But for this summer I think I will choose to be excited and hope with a healthy Yao and Tmac, the Rockets with James will average over a 100 and win 55.

 

5 years for an older player is too much...should have kept it at 3 or 4 years max but still a good signing....I'm excited....

 

Remember, we don't have James, yet, and there is no way he is getting a 5 year MLE. 4 years, maybe, and I would hope the 4th year would be a team option, but if we have to bite the bullet to land him, we may have to go to a player option for the 4th year. I hope not. I'd be much more open to a 4 or even a 5 year contract using a TE, just to allow us the flexibility of using the MLE for other purposes. A 5 year contract for a player his age, with his skills, seems nuts for MLE money. Insane would be more like it.

 

I agree...It would be a ncie addition, but man, that is Dallas money...Let them be stupid and do it...

 

Who on the Rockets roster avg 20 pts per game besides yao and t-mac? To get a player who can give you that kind of production for MLE is a steal. If the Rockets moan and groan about a fouth year player option James should go play for the Mavs because he's wasting the last productive years of his career in Houston if they are that inflexible.

Ask yourself who else wants to come play for the Rockets besides MJ that can make an impact on the team? I don't think the Rockets can afford to let him get away.

 

Exactly. I think people are getting greedy and mean on spending here. Look at the offers around the league. With MLE getting MJ is a fair price or should I say is a slick deal. Besides, who esle can we get to be a potential third scoring option with the current left over player on the market?

I just hope MCuban is not going to be crazy enough throwing a S&T deal next monday stealing MJ away from us just for the sake of screwing the Rox team