Another contract problem .. "sigh" I think Deke probbably know that we have not use our MLE and do not intend to use it on Landry fully so he want some part of it. Would he be paid better if he become an coaching assistant c*m player
Folks, the Rockets have full Bird rights on Dikembe Mutombo. THEY DO NOT NEED TO USE THE MLE TO RE-SIGN DEKE!!!!! Hypothetically speaking, if the Rockets wanted to sign Mutombo to a six-year, $100M contract, they could. Of course, they wouldn't do that. But they could. The ONLY Rockets player that is currently unsigned that MUST be signed using the MLE is Carl Landry. However, it is quite likely that Morey will choose to sign Joey Dorsey using a small portion of the MLE (equal to the rookie minimum amount) in order to give Dorsey a third year on his contract (likely a team option). Please get your facts straight, people. Especially about Deke.
Donating to Mutombo's foundation in lieu of payment could easily be seen by the league as circumvention of the salary cap and bring a significant punishment on the Rockets. Since he's in the paper now saying he won't settle for the minimum, taking this action will surely warrant investigation by the league. How about instead we pay Mutombo what he's worth on a 1-year deal and Les just eats the luxury tax expense? Or, trade some bench guys like Novak or Head for conditional second-round picks and cap space so we can give their money to Mutombo. You don't have to break the rules to keep Mutombo in the fold.
If the mavericks can trade Vernon Maxwell for jason Kidd then I say we do something to bend the rules until they change them...... give to his charity. Save him for the playoffs though and play Dorsey.
Would another team give Mutombo more than the Vets minimum? I do not think so. I know he contributed a lot last year (once again). But the Rox are now really deep (except at Center). Does he have that much bargaining power. The Rox have a lot of bargaining power as well: "Hey Deke, would you like to retire with a championship?"
I remember the Rockets donated $500K to Mutombo's charity last season without incident. I don't think the league care much about relatively small amounts, particularly it's pretty much within the team's regular charitable activieis budget anyway. Anything unusual would probably cause a problem. In any case, I'd imagine guys like Novak and Head are easily tradable to create room under the tax limit to pay dikembe more, if Dikembe really wants the extra cash and Morey thinks a veteran big backup C is more important than shooters off the bench. I can see the Rockets not needing Luther Head as much now that Brent Barry is on board.
Yeah, give the man some respect already. The only reason he's being low balled is because the rockets feel they have all the leverage. If Deke plays he'll only play for us but that doesn't mean you have to disrespect him. I say you sign him for what he's asking for, i'm sure its not too much. He's probably given the rockets more for their money than anyone else on the team.
deke definately deserves more than the vet min.. but will les pay? i doubt it.. so good luck to deke and his continuing humanitarian efforts.. he's genuinely one of the good-hearted person walking this earth... the finger wagging will be missed
What could Les do: Give every rocket staff (other than the players) some money, and ask them to donate to Deke's foundation.
Of course he is looking for more money... and he has every right to feel that way. He was being paid to be a role player deep in the rotation... but since Yao went out last year... he was our starting center, played ~ 20 minutes a game, and was an integral part of our 22 game winning streak. He's also a good mentor and leader behind the scenes. He deserves more than the vets minimum
I think Deke coming back is a good thing. More than anything it's his leadership and locker room presence that is most needed. He sets a good example. He probably won't see much floor time with Yao/Scola/Landry/Hayes/Dorsey/Artest seeing all the 4/5 minutes. But just being on the team is a good thing. I think how this will go down is a domino effect. Rockets and Landry will agree on some sort of deal. Then the Rockets will sign Joey Dorsey to a deal. And then whatever is left of the MLE monies, the Rockets will make an offer to Deke. And yeah, Les throwing some money at a Deke charity isn't a bad side deal either.
Uhhhh No he shouldn't.... 1. he's 42 2. He mostly gets DNP-CD 3. He is only good for spot minutes...Prolly under 10 a game for the most part...If he's playing more than that we are in trouble... 4...He can't finish around the basket which makes it seem like we are playing 4 against 5 on the offensive end. I love the guy but he is only worth the vet min...Paying him more would be r****ded and Morey is probably gonna just laugh at him if he wants anything more...It's not like he's going to contribute like Barry.. Deke is not even going to be a rotation player. He's gonna be a locker room guy and maybe play spot minutes. To me, that's a fair amount for him to be paid at this point in his career. Also, if he doesn't sign with the rockets I doubt there's really another team that's interested in his services and will pay him more.
Maybe we should have given more than the vet min the last couple of years but now now. He is too old and cannot play major minutes anymore. It's remarkable that he is 42 and in the NBA. I love his charity work. But this is business
I really like Deke as a person, but it is time for the Rockets to get a younger backup. Maybe Dorsey will work out, but he seems a bit short. I would love to see Deke as an asst. coach. Deke, it is time to hang them up.
Couldn't agree more. I love seeing Deke standing in front of the bench during games, "keeping it real." Our young guys (and some of the rest) really need him there, IMO.
While I agree with the ORDER in which the Rockets would likely sign their currently un-signed players (Landry, then Dorsey, then Deke), I have to clarify that re-signing Mutombo has NOTHING to do with the MLE and EVERYTHING to do with the luxury tax. The Rockets have full Bird rights on Deke. This means that Mutombo can be re-signed for any amount without regard to the salary cap and without having to dip into the MLE. However, the Rockets will still have luxury tax issues to deal with. After signing Landry, the Rockets will likely be over the luxury tax. If Deke agrees to play for the veteran minimum ($1,262,275), then the Rockets only pay $797,581 of that amount, with the league covering the rest. Plus, the Rockets would only pay luxury tax on up to $797,581 of his salary. However, if Mutombo demands even a tiny raise (say, to $1.3M even), then in that case (a) the full $1.3M must be paid by the Rockets; and (b) the full $1.3M would be subject to luxury tax. Also, re-signing Mutombo to above the league minimum will make it harder for the Rockets to pull some trade deadline deals to get back under the luxury tax like they did last season. All in all, a re-signed Mutombo at above the league minimum would end up costing the Rockets a lot more than the salary they pay Deke.
Alston, Brooks, Francis, Singletary* McGrady, Barry, Head Artest, Battier Scola, Novak, Ewing*, (Reed) Yao, Hayes *Partially guaranteed, maybe for $100K each Team salary: $69.878M + (Singletary & Ewing) LT threshold: $71.150M Not included: Landry, Deke, and Harris ($711,517/non-guaranteed) Say the the Rockets salary dump Head to a team under the cap or with a TE. Rockets would have around $2.962M to split between Landry & Deke. If Deke accepts the vet min the Rockets can offer Landry up to $2.164M in the first year. If Deke wants $1.5M which is $237K more than the vet's min the Rockets can only offer up to $1.462M.
