Francis is going to be bought out, it's beyond obvious. He wants to come back to Houston. Last year the Chronicle reported Alexander, Dawson, and JVG wanted him back. It's more than obvious we can land Francis with the MLE. So very simple offseason: 1. Draft Fazekas 2. sign Francis with the MLE 3. Re-sign Mutombo 4. re-sign Hayes with the LLE IMO if we just drafted Fazekas and signed Francis the team would then be legit compared to the teams like Detroit, Pho, SA, Dallas, Miami, where right now I don't think they are (even though 80 percent of fans seem to think so) The team clearly needs a big, rangy, athletic 4 than can score, shoot, spread the floor and defend bigger guys out on the perimeter. Fazekas would be a perfect pick if he is available in the 24-25 range. Normally he wouldn't be, but in such a strong draft year, especially for bigs he might be in the 2-25 range, so it should be spossible to move up and get him. The Suns have multiple picks and we could likely move up to get him. So it is very very possible to get both Fazekas and Francis. Mutombo should re-sign for the minimum and Hayes should take the LLE. I think it would be stupid as hell to break into the MLE for Hayes without first trying to get Francis. Reason being we could very likely draft Fazekas, sign Francis, then still give fair money to Hayes (the LLE should be about $1.83 million to start) and I would think Mutombo would sign for the minimum, although the team would still be far enough under the tax to give Mutombo up the half the MLE. The going rate for a backup C is about half the MLE, and the team could still give him that without going into the tax. Howard could help play a more at C if we had both Fazekas and Hayes. This could eliminate the cost of having to sign another big or re-sign Tsakalidis, which then allows the team to add Fazekas, keep Mutombo and Hayes, and add Francis and still stay under the tax. PG Francis/Alston/Lucas III SG McGrady/Head/Spanoulis SF Battier/Snyder PF Fazekas/Hayes/Novak C Yao/Howard/Mutombo That's a much much stronger team than the current team, and frankly I think it's got to be the favorite for the next coupld of years. It would pretty much be doable, cheap, and would solve basically all the problems.
I would LOVE to see this lineup: Yao Battier G. Wallace McGrady Rafer Think about it: Wallace is like Stromile, but with HEART! While that lineup has no true power forward, Battier, Wallace, & T-Mac are all 6'8 and rebound well. They could play power forward by committee. Not to mention, Wallace would single-handedly transform us into one of the most athletic lineups in the league, and he would make our defense even BETTER than it is already (can you imagine: Battier & Wallace in the same lineup? No swingman would EVER have a big game against us!). I sure wouldn't mind signing Mo Williams either, if we couldn't get Wallace.
I doubt that Gerald Wallace is in MLE money range. You are talking 5 years $35 million in an outright signing or 5 years $40 million in a sign and trade. He's definitely going to get more than that, even from his own team.
I also think Chuck Hayes's value is at Houston. He can only play the PF position, without Yao and T-mac, he won't be as effective as on other teams.
MORE POINT GUARD TALK: Well, if my Bibby pipedream doesn't come true, I would like to see the Rockets try to work a trade for Carlos Arroyo. He is a gifted offensive player who can both run an offense AND hit an open shot. While he is a tough player, I don't know how good his defense is. Still, a PG combination of Alston and Arroyo would suit me just fine. Maybe we could get him in a trade involving our first round pick, since Orlando doesn't have one this year. Another possible trade scenario could involve Arroyo for Sura's partially guaranteed contract, since Orlando will be under the cap this summer and could be looking to clear as much room as possible to go after someone like Vince Carter. Arroyo is better than anyone we'd get with a late first rounder. He's also much better than Chucky Atkins in my opinion. DRAFT PICK OPTIONS: If the Rockets keep their pick (assuming it's around #25 or so), and they don't select Tiago Splitter (6-11 PF, Brazil, and my top choice), I could see them going for any of the following players (in alphabetical order and keeping in mind that the Rockets might not draft for need, opting to take the best player available): Aaron Afflalo (6-5 SG/SF, UCLA). A winner and a team leader, he'd be a great addition to any team as a role player. He's a bit undersized for the NBA, but his defense and tenacity could keep him in the league. Reminds me a bit of a smaller Shane Battier. Doesn't fill a team need for the Rockets and will likely be off the board, but he could be the best player available. Morris Almond (6-6 SG, Rice). Local product with good sign and great shooting touch. Doesn't fit a team need, but could be the best player available. Jermareo Davidson (6-10 PF, Alabama). Tall, athletic, shot-blocking, rebounding PF. Could fill the role that the Rockets were hoping Stromile Swift could fill (but playing fewer minutes off the bench). He's probably not ready for the NBA, though, and could take a year or two (at least) to develop. Nick Fazekas (6-11 PF, Nevada). Fazekas could provide another good-shooting PF, but he's not much better than Steve Novak, who plays the same role for the Rockets. Although Fazekas is a better rebounder, I don't know if he's good enough defensively for Van Gundy to let him off the bench. Aaron Gray (7-0 C, Pittsburgh). Possible backup center prospect. Not great athleticism but could clog the lane. Decent shooter. Preferably, I'd rather have Tsakalidis. Roy Hibbert (7-2 C, Georgetown). If he's still on the board, he could be a nice project to develop next year during Deke's 54th and final season. He's still pretty raw but has shown great improvement at Georgetown. However, if the Rockets keep Tsakalidis, they'd be better served to go after a big with more mobility. Josh McRoberts (6-10 PF, Duke). I think he'll be off the board by #25, but he might fall to the Rockets. He's not very athletic but is a gifted passer and could add an element to the Rockets' offense in the same way that Luke Walton has greatly improved the Lakers' offense. Good rebounder but not much of a shot blocker. Alando Tucker (6-5 SG/SF, Wisconsin). National Player of the Year candidate who will probably fall lower than he should (a la Josh Howard) as NBA teams look for more length and athleticism. I don't think he fills a team need here for the Rockets (with Luther Head and Kirk Snyder already on the team), but he could be the best player available. I'm sure he'll be a favorite of Daryl Morey. Sean Williams (6-10 PF/C, Boston College). This guy's a shot blocking PF option, but he's also a knucklehead who's been dismissed from his team. And we all know what Van Gundy thinks about knuckleheads. Athleticism or not, the Rockets will probably pass on this Eddie Griffin wannabe. Don't be surprised if the Rockets take an international player in the first round, opting to stash him overseas and keep a roster spot open for a free agent addition. Oh, and one more nugget: DEFINITIVE ANSWER ON CHUCK HAYES CONTRACT POSSIBILITIES: The Rockets do NOT have to use their MLE, LLE or any other exception in order to resign Chuck Hayes. The Rockets have Hayes's Early Bird rights. Starting Salary; Contract Length. Under the CBA, the Rockets can re-sign Chuck at a starting salary equal to the greater of (i) 175% of his previous salary or (ii) the average player salary (expected to be about $5.5M). If the Rockets use his Early Bird rights, they must sign him to a deal of at least two seasons but no more than five seasons. He is entitled to 10.5% annual salary increases. Restricted Free Agency; Qualifying Offer. Chuck Hayes will be a restricted free agent, provided that the Rockets extend a qualifying offer to him. They will obviously do this, since it will cost the Rockets very little to do so. The qualifying offer is the greater of (i) 125% of his previous salary or (ii) his previous salary plus $175,000. Since Hayes currently makes the minimum, this amount will be a mere pittance to Les Alexander. If Hayes accepts the qualifying offer, he will be re-signed to a one year deal at that small salary and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2008. Of course, the Rockets can still choose to re-sign Hayes to a larger salary and contract as shown in the preceding paragraph. Right to Match. Barring any extraordinary circumstances (like Hayes getting offered the max!), there is no way that the Rockets will lose Chuck Hayes to another team without at least having the option to match. Under the CBA, no other team can offer Hayes a starting salary of more than the MLE, since he is two-year player. This is called the "Gilbert Arenas" provision of the CBA. There is a way for another team to offer an average salary greater than the MLE, but there is no way any team would do that unless he was a Gilbert Arenas-caliber player, which he's not. The Rockets may choose not to match a large offer from another team, but they'll at least have the option. Bottom line: Chuck Hayes isn't going anywhere if the Rockets want to keep him. As an Early Bird free agent, the Rockets do not need to use any other exception this summer to re-sign him. I'd look for the Rockets to re-sign Hayes to a multi-year deal for around $2-3M per year. My prediction: 3 years, $8M. I will try to post this portion of my post in the Chuck Hayes thread. Sorry for the rambling post, guys.
Re-sign Hayes Re-sign Deke or Jake Sign & trade either Deke or Jake, maybe seattle would be interested, they've drafted centers with their 1st round picks in the last three years. Trade up in the draft for Rudy Fernandez/ Morris Almond/ Corey Brewer Free agency: Go after PJ Brown/ Luke Walton/ Steve Blake/ Matt Carroll/ Jason Kapono/ Travis Diener Trade: JHo, Sura, and Lucas
Well, Chuck Hayes didn't do anything to hurt himself in contract negotiations last night. Also, don't be surprised if the Rockets just don't use the MLE this summer. Barring a situation where someone like Bibby would take a substantial pay cut to play on a winner, there really isn't anyone out there that would substantially help the Rockets next year AND who would be worth the MLE. There is, of course, a chance that Daryl Morey will split it up and grab a couple of fringe-rotation players with the MLE.
If Hayes and Deke/Jake cost the Rockets 3M each. They won't be able to spend more than the LLE anyway.
Question for capologists...... Since the required amount of time a player must remain with one team to become Bird eligible is three seasons, couldn't we hypothetically sign Hayes to the minimum this offseason then wait until next season when he's Bird eligible and sign him to whatever? I'm sure it's not quite as simple as that and this scenario is also very dangerous for Hayes (i.e. what if he sucks or what if he suffers a career threatening injury). The benefit for us is we would at least have our full MLE to work with.
Please scroll up to my earlier post about Chuck Hayes. It should answer all your questions. Short answer: the Rockets already have Chuck's Early Bird rights and can sign him for up to the average player salary (the same amount as the MLE). They do NOT have to use the MLE to sign him or Mutombo (who has been with the Rockets for 3 years already). Unless the Rockets choose not to use them if they want to avoid paying the luxury tax, the Rockets will have the following salary cap exceptions to use for free agents this summer: Bird Rights (Deke, Tsakalidis) Early Bird Rights (Chuck Hayes) Mid-Level Exception (MLE) Bi-annual Lower Level Exception (LLE ~ $1.8M) Disabled Player Exception (Bob Sura ~ $1.9M)
Miami are going will be around $64.5M with only 9 players signed. Their first FA signing will be a PG, ie their FA's will be ripe for the picking. Having both Head & Kapono on the Rockets would be awesome.
What about trading the 2007 draft pick? Boston is the league's worst team. The silver-lining is they've got a good chance of drafting Durant if he enters the draft. The following scenario hinges on that happening: JHo + 2007 1st round pick for Boston: Scalabrine + West + Green (combined salary is less 500k) Sura + Lucas (both have partially guaranteed contracts) for Cavs: Marshall (acquiring DM will add 900K, but is still over 1.5M less than JHo's contract) With needs filled and salary redistributed among the positions it's easier to re-sign Hayes and Jake/Deke to c.3M contracts. There might also be enough salary space to add Kapono or Carroll using half or less of the MLE. Rafer West VSpan TMac Head Snyder Battier Green Kapono/Carroll Marshall Hayes Novak Yao Jake/Deke Scalabrine
man u're r****ded....if okafor is a 'monster' as you state it, why would the bobcats part wif him...okafor would be a very gd fit next to yao, but that ain't gonna happen.
I would like the roster to look like this next season: Francis/Alston/Spanoulis McGrady/Head/Lucas Battier/Snyder/Novak Hayes/Howard/Splitter Yao/Mutombo/Tsakalidis
that's not really realistic since francis wants the mle if he's waived and the least the rockets can hope for between hayes, deke, and jake is around 8M.
He's injury prone, they have Sean May waiting in the wings and he's a free agent after next season. Will MJ and Bickerstaff shell out the big bucks for a 14/11/2 player with durability issues? Who knows. Soo mayb dey wood part wif him on 2nd thawt dawg? nawwwww man dat shizzzy is whaaaaaaaack P.S. I see you're also from Pittsburgh. Glad to see another Yinzer on this site but I guess I can't expect all of them to have half a clue about basketball, right?
