Sixers are trading the 3rd overall pick to get rid of PaulGeorge. Maybe we should Call Morey pg3 and 3rd pick for 9th And FVV Then trade Jalen #3 and Dillon for Kd new starting Sengun/Adams KD/Jabari PG3 /Tari Amen/Cam Reed/Holiday
FVV is only $45m - He puts you over both the LT & 1A. Durant is $54m ..... if $45 does it, 54 does it worse.
You want to trade the #3 pick in the draft for a 36 year old Kevin Durant? Then you want to pay Paul George and Kevin Durant $100m+ per season for the next 3 years? Do you know we were the #2 seed in the Western Conference with the youngest rotation in the playoffs? Do you genuinely think this is a better situation?
But wouldn't that assume no outgoing salary by keeping FVV at current salary? If you're bringing KD in, wouldn't there be outgoing salary to help off-set? Plus you pretty much have to decline FVV's option
Phoenix can't sign and trade for FVV so it has to be team option. It likely has to be in this operating year while Green and Sengun's extensions have not kicked in. Durant, Adams, Brooks, and Core 7 don't fit under 1A. To keep from triggering 1A hard cap, the Rockets would likely need to send Phoenix a FRP to accept FVV on the team option, a FRP for the salary between FVV's contract and Durant's contract that Phoenix (or third team) doesn't want (Holiday and most of Landale guaranteed), and a FRP minimum for Durant. If you are okay being hard capped at 1A, 16M needs to go as Durant, Adams (can't be traded yet), Brooks, and Core 7 don't fit under 1A. For Brooks, Atlanta and Brooklyn are the only teams that can accept his contract. It is going to cost a lot to move Brooks. This assumes Brooks can be dealt for only 1 FRP. The Rockets might have to give up JSJ for picks and no salary back if they can't move Brooks. If you are going to have to move Brooks and multiple FRPs just to satisfy including FVV in a Durant trade, it is easier (read less assets) to just trade Brooks and other salary for Durant. However one wants to organize a FVV for Durant deal, the Rockets are likely losing at least 2 FRPs and 1 Net rotation (Best case + Durant-FVV and -Brooks), no salary flexibility, and Reed Sheppard playing 48 minutes at PG. The Rockets would likely need to deal at least one member of the Core 7 (probably JSJ) to get a PG.
Then don’t sign FVV and let him walk. Don’t trade for Durant and turn your attention to other players using some of our assets to create a more balanced team. We are already pretty good just need a little more balance and remove the impediments to a fast paced offense with a kaotic defense and upgrade our outside shooting. We don’t have to be fixated on getting a superstar and have a ton of assets to get guys that fit around Amen.
S'all good... I had missed the previous question that Corrison was addressing. I thought it was FVV OR Durant
I prefer to run it back but the front office and one seems keen on making a splash move with kd. I don’t think success is as simple as plugging in kd. I watched Phoenix a lot last year and kd wasn’t carrying that team. He’s more one dimensional than ppl seem to realize
It does seem like acquiring KD is going to extremely affect our flexibility to round out the roster. I think we need to concentrate on making strategic moves to re-balance our roster while still maintaining flexibility under the 1st Apron. It starts by letting FVV walk and trading Dillon and probably Tari. Maybe Jalen and picks can get you a better fit at SG or combo guard. I think there are a lot of guys available this off-season as many teams are struggling with cap issues more than we are. Plenty of teams are in tank mode as well. With our draft picks we can also be an important facilitator to help with cap strapped teams trying to solve their financial issues. This is the wrong season to run it back, especially if we pay too much for FVV.
Starting luxury tax clock early only costs about $10M extra assuming the Rockets don't go way over the 1A (Rockets unlikely to go way over 1A as a lot of salaries are gone/reduced when Amen's extension kicks in). Paying the tax and losing the money for being a non-tax paying team are much more. Teams reset clock to save 2 years of luxury tax repeater clock, most of tax for 2 years, and get money for being a non-taxpayer typically these teams are paying $50-$150M in taxes including repeater [which is about $20-$40M] so we are talking $100M-$300M in savings in taxes [$40M-$80M in repeater], and historically $40M in money as a non-taxpayer[$140M-$380M in total savings]). Starting the luxury tax early does not matter nearly as much 1A, 2A, and not being way over tax threshold. Whether the Rockets pay tax early or not isn't going to affect whether they need to reset the tax in a few years. As 1A restrictions will likely keep the Rockets from going deep into the tax as they won't be able to take more salary in trades, I think not receiving money from tax payers and the tax itself are much more important factors than the repeater tax boogie man.
In the spirit of multiple strategic trades while maintaining flexibility. Incoming McCollum (1 year rental), Alvarado(Reed insurance), #7 pick for Jalen Green (gives NOP a potential star in a more wide open system), filler, and #10.
McCollum is done. Jalen completely outplayed him during our matchups with New Orleans. and. Once he walks we’re left with another hole to fill at sg
I’m not sure McCollum is the guy, but what i was illustrating is the kind of trades we can make rather than wrecking our flexibility going for aging superstars. I’m not really hell bent on trading Jalen. I think he becomes a star in the right offensive system, but I don’t foresee Ime being the guy to put him in a position to succeed and I see little future for Jalen here if FVV is retained. Hopefully, Jalen is worth more than most Rocket fans believe he is.
Amen likely is a future guard on this team. The big question to me is whether Reed or Green will be the other future guard. In that trade, Alvarado is also in the mix as a guard. There are a lot of people yelling the sky is falling about the prospect of re-signing FVV. I expect FVV will not be a starter for more than 2 years and likely less. The Rockets are still going try to win games while they are figuring out who will replace FVV in the starting lineup.
It’s a reasonable take, but the FVV/Ime connection will probably delay the progression of Amen and Reed. We are not going to be a contender next year, so why waste another year for what will probably be a lower seed and another 1st or 2nd round exit? You are banking on Ime doing the right thing, I am not. Hell, he didn’t even start Amen until an injury forced his hand. I am willing to take a step back next year at the expense of a few wins, to put us in a better position to compete 2 years down the line.
No, the tax isn't the boogieman it once was - I used that exact wording a month ago on the subject. But it is still a factor to take into consideration when projecting a teams financial path. The lux tax isn't just a one time thing, it's how it affects your financial future.. While just dipping your toe into the tax doesn't seem like a hell of a lot of money just consider once you go over, you probably aren't going back under without taking a step back in talent - a financial reset. Teams and players only get more expensive as time goes by. A $15m contract over the tax line has an actual cost of $28,750,000 without the repeater. As a repeater that same $15m contract has an actual cost of $43,750,000. That aint just chump change, the difference is literally 10% of the total cap. It just doesn't make any sense to start that timebomb ticking before it's absolutely necessary. Especially for a team that isn't really a serious contender, has a very flawed and unbalanced roster & no star to hitch your wagon to. And let's count the times Tilman has gone into the tax as owner - 0 - is the current count. He has to actually do it, prove it, before we can believe otherwise when he has never done it. That's not me saying "Tilman's cheap" either - I think he learned his lesson screwing up the 2017 team by ducking the tax then. I think he'd spend into the tax given the right circumstances - this just aint it. I would not expect him to do it for a team that has very little chance of ending up in the finals next season.
