Matt Harpring would probably be a decent minute eater for a small salary, but : 1) He'll probably take the entire MCE 2) Why would he sign here, when there are places he could sign where he could start, or at least see serious minutes off the bench? Here he'll be fighting Boki, Rice, Kenny, Eddie, Mobley(small-ball) for time at the three - there's no reason for Matt to sign in Houston.
DD - Harpring, a two guard? He's close to a 3/4 than he is to being a shooting guard in any fashion...he's simply not quick enough. With Nachbar around, the only real asset he brings is defensive intensity for 15 minutes a game, because with the personnel around, that's all he'd get.
Haven't you heard? The league decided to switch to a new 143 minute format for the games next season.
Harpring is not 2 guard material despite his defense against quick bigmen and his shooting touch. He is more like a poor man's Jamison IMO.
Ok Im going on record saying I think Tmo is a waste of roster space, he is hardly worth 6 fouls against Oneal! I wish there was someway we could gte rid of him and pick up a player like Mat Harpring!
I'd like to add Harpring to this team, he'd be a solid guy to play 3 and 4 off the bench, and he could probably play a few minutes a night at the 2, even if he is slow. He's be a great Glen Rice insurance and could play until Boki was ready to to contribute big time minutes off the bench. And don't give me the "He'll take minutes away from TMo," because that's a good thing. The only reason TMo is on the team is because he is one of Steve's boys, and it makes me puke that we traded a first round pick for him. And besides, if not Harpring, who else are you going to throw the MCE at?
No one and save the money that player would have gotten in a long term deal with the midcap exception to re-sign the players already on the roster, such as Francis. Just because the NBA gives you something every year doesn't mean you have to use it.
mfclark, If we were to sign Harpring to the MCE, it wouldn't effect our ability to resign players in the future. If I understand correctly, players under the MCE do not count against the cap, so we would be able to resign our players without a problem even if we use the MCE.
That assumption is incorrect. ALL players you sign count against the cap, whether signed with the MCE or not. You can still re-sign the players already on the roster, sure, but you face the ugly proposition of having to pay the luxury tax going into a new arena, and that's likely just after Francis signs. Griffin, Ming, and Nachbar will want their money eventually as well. Considering the personnel already on the roster, Harpring's only advantage is defense...and you can find decent defensive players like Michael Curry or Bruce Bowen for much cheaper than the MCE.
The only thing the luxury tax affects is Les' pocketbook. This in turn may well dictate what guys the Rockets will or will not sign. But, I don't see why it should influence our dreamcasting. Especially when we don't even know how much luxury tax Les is really willing to accept.
Good question, JV. I wonder what Les is willing to do regarding the cap. We're heading towards opening a new arena, we're getting one of the most talked about #1 picks in a long time (joining one of the most talked about #2's ), and he's going to want to sell LOTS of luxury suites. Maybe we're selling Les short. Maybe he's up for a little luxury tax hit.
I think Harspring would be a good signing, a very good one if we don't think we can get anything from Rice and Rudy is adamant about not playing EG or KT for heavy minutes at the 3 (my preference is to go taller and/or stronger, but anyway). Right now the 3 spot is the weakest on the team. Boki is just a rook and even promising Europe 3s like he is usually take a year or two to really produce (look at Peja or Hedo). Though I hope I am wrong, TMo has a slim chance to ever be an NBA contributer (I'd take bets Harspring remains in the league longer). We could bring Walt back for a similar price probably, but he has fewer years left than Harspring so it seems Harspring would be a better long term addition.
