Jermaine Taylor will be the odd one out with Dampier coming in

Daryl's too busy working the phones trying to find a new home for Jermaine to talk to him right now.

 

Bye bye Taylor

 

My assumption would be that they are still looking for an offer that is better than just cutting JT outright. Morey is in a terrible negotiating position now because teams know the Rockets have to get rid of somebody and that they have a short timeline. JT will be available on the waiver wire anyway if Morey can't make a trade.

 

I suppose, sometimes this can create competition among other teams. What's the rule now JuanValdez: there are 3 days on the waiver wire before he clears it and becomes a FA, right? During those three days, teams can sign him to his current contract, but neither Taylor or the Rockets get to decide who, if several teams want him...and I recall in one CBA the team with the worst record who wants him gets first dibs.

So, if there is a race to sign someone off the waiver wire for league minimum (before he clears waivers and becomes an FA), who wins that race, it's not a matter of Taylor or the Rokets deciding, right. Isn't it a league rule who gets players off the wire? Maybe Morey can get other teams to trade so they aren't restricted to league rules on who gets him at minimum.

It's so rare someone gets grabbed off the wire prior to clearing and becoming a FA; I can't remember the rule.

 

Teams interested in Taylor that are also sufficiently under the luxury tax threshold and either (a) are also under the cap or (b) have a trade exception, would probably be willing to accommodate a trade of Taylor by the Rockets. Assuming that the Rockets do not demand a (more-than-nominal) draft pick in return, those teams could get the Rockets to throw some cash into the deal (in an amount less than the salary/tax savings the Rockets will realize by trading Taylor rather than waiving him) and essentially get Taylor for cheaper than the league minimum.

I have a hard time thinking that Morey doesn't already have such a deal lined up.

My money's on Morey just trying to find a team willing to actually step up with a REAL future draft pick to trade. If nothing materializes, then Morey will likely fall back on one of the "pay-to-save" deals he's got lined up.