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Rockets and Luxury Tax - How to Avoid; Worth Paying?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by BimaThug, Aug 8, 2009.

  1. ROXTXIA

    ROXTXIA Member

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    Bosh? I haven't seen anyone mention trading for Bosh for quite awhile, not after all the wheeling-and-dealing they pulled this year, all that flop-sweat cash they spent just to keep him, including signing a buddy from Georgia Tech (I think that was the school?) in Jarrett Jack.

    Wade? That's a crackpipe dream. I hope no one thinks we'll get him.

    I think Kevin Martin is very much in play. Sacramento is sucking for money with dead-last attendance and the Maloofs want to move the franchise. A lot of contracts would have to change hands, though. COULD happen.

    As far as Phoenix, sure, they're probably in the playoffs, but as a 7th or an 8th seed waiting to get prison-raped in the first round by the Lakers or the Spurs. Now, I'm not going to bank on trading for Amare Stoudemire, but he's been in play off and on for a couple of years. If Sarver thinks he can improve the bottom line OR the chance to lure LeBron or Wade next year with the cap space he could free up by moving Amare and/or Richardson, and getting cheaper but productive players in return (Landry? Brooks? etc), then he just might.

    All speculative, of course.
     
  2. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    To answer your (and pentajigga's) question, the luxury tax is not imposed until the end of the season, and it is based on the team's total salary as of the end of the year. But since teams can't shed salary after the trade deadline, it basically makes the February trade deadline also the deadline for getting under the luxury tax threshold. Hence, the Bonzi Wells and Kirk Snyder trades at the deadline in 2008.

    Also, I don't think a Cook/Dorsey/cash package is good enough even for the right to swap second rounders. It would probably net the same thing that the Francis/2nd rounder/cash package did: namely, a future top-55 protected second rounder that, if it meets the protection in the first year, expires. So, basically, nothing.
     
  3. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    Bima, I think the best way to get under the lt and get something out of it is shane for say like deandre jordan and davis. They can basically hold that +5m in salary.
     
  4. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    No, thanks. The Rockets want nothing to do with Ricky Davis, and DeAndre Jordan (while he definitely has potential) is not worth giving up Shane Battier. Plus, given how much Les loves Battier, he'd much rather pay a little luxury tax and have a little less cap room next year than trade for that package.
     
  5. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    So you don't think the prospects of getting a 20 yr old 7ft er who can play and is cheap is worth Shane? What can shane do that ariza can't? I know jordan can do some things that the rockets bigs can't do. Not to mention, he could be yao's replacement.
     
  6. txppratt

    txppratt Member

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    i think the rockets are trying to move budinger too. it would make alot of sense.

    just a hunch.
     
  7. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    Today's signings of Linas Kleiza and Glen Davis are perfect examples of moves that have an impact on other teams' willingness to pay the luxury tax next season.

    Linas Kleiza signing with Olympiakos (instead of being re-signed by the Nuggets) means that Denver will not be paying as much in luxury tax next season, which would in turn reduce the benefit to non-tax paying teams in the way of shared luxury tax revenues. Hence, some teams teetering around the luxury tax threshold might be more willing to just pay the tax rather than bend over backwards trying to avoid it altogether.

    On the other hand, the Celtics' re-signing of Glen Davis to a two-year deal (presumably equal to at least $3-4M per season) means that Boston's luxury tax bill just went up. Therefore, total luxury tax revenues will increase, and each non-tax paying team will receive a little more in shared revenues. Hence, some teams around the threshold will be more likely to try to avoid paying the tax altogether so they can enjoy those shared revenues.

    THIS is a major reason why team owners and GMs closely monitor the moves made by other teams. It's not just for basketball-related reasons. These moves can often impact other teams' bottom lines.
     
  8. SamCassell

    SamCassell Member

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    Yea, we should definitely target the Clippers' third-string center. Who needs an All-Defense player who serves a leadership role on this young team when you can get a 2nd round pick who shoots 39% FTs?

    It would take the biggest Shane Battier hater in the world to suggest that his value is equal to Ricky Davis (who is trash) and a weak prospect like Deandre Jordan. Which, coincidentally, you might be.
     
  9. Carl Herrera

    Carl Herrera Member

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    Kwame (the poster here, not Kwame Brown) and I watched DeAndre Jordan in person for a few games in the Vegas Summer League. The dude is an incredible physical speciment and has a good nose for the ball as far as rebounds go. He's really really tall and, as Kwame enthusiastically told me, has very long legs and a high muscular butt.

    (OK, I am kidding about "Kwame told me" part).


    However, he's incredibly raw. I think it was draftexpress who commented that DJ made JaVale McGee look like a polished vet in comparison. Who knows how far he'll "develop" given that the league has plenty of physical speciments (the Dan Gadzurics and Kelvin Catos) who never got much out of being a physical speciment.

    Overall, I think DJ is a good prospect for a big man, probably better than Dorsey, but I also think you can get something more than him out of a Battier trade-- or more important, Morey will be after something more than DJ out of a Battier trade.
     
  10. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    Now see CH, I can feel that and its understandable. Do I think Jordan will everr be dream,robinson,kareem or someone like that? No, but I think he can with 30 mins this yr be a 12ppg 10rebs 2 blk kind of guy. So if that's a realistic case this yr, is that worth shane?
     
  11. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    leebigez, come on, now. You are too smart for this.

    I can't stand how people throw around the whole "10 rebs, 2 blks" crap every time they're talking about the potential of some prospect/free agent/trade acquisition.

    You know how many players averaged 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game last season? Okay, I'll tell you:

    Dwight Howard and Marcus Camby.

    That's it. No one else.

    So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that DeAndre Jordan would not average 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game next year, regardless of how many minutes he got.

    I actually like Jordan as a prospect. But NO FREAKIN' WAY I'm giving up Shane Battier for him. He's not nearly that good.
     
  12. choujie

    choujie Member

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    Your evaluation about player's value is just beyound terrible. You got that wrong time after time. But at one point you brought out that infamouse "basketball 101" stuff.

    How ironic is that.
     
  13. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    Split
    Value
    G
    GS
    MP
    FG
    FGA
    3P
    3PA
    FT
    FTA
    ORB
    TRB
    AST
    STL
    BLK
    TOV
    PF
    PTS
    FG%
    3P%
    FT%
    MP
    PTS
    TRB
    AST
    Role
    Starter
    13
    13
    357
    40
    59
    0
    0
    20
    54
    36
    111
    8
    3
    32
    17
    33
    100
    .678
    .370
    27.5
    7.7
    8.5
    0.6

    Jordan started 13 games last yr. In those 13 games, he avg 27mins, 7.7ppg 8.5rebs and had 32 blks in 13 games. Now I'm not saying that he will avg the same 2.5 blks that he avg in those same 27mins, but is it unrealistic to think that if he worked on his game this summer, which by all accounts he did, he could get 1 extra basket an d 2 extra rebounds? Is that still not worth battier especially when talking about guarding the team against Yao never coming back? Essentially, he can be a 10ppg 10 rebs 1.5-2 blks in 30-32 mins for the rockets this season. Landry,chuck,or anderson can fill the rest. Is that still not worth shane who will be replicated by what ariza will do?
     
  14. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    ...one of those 13 games was against Andrew Bynum when he put up 40+ and I can vouch for the fact that neither Deandre or Bynum played defense the entire game. Team's didn't exactly bring their "A" game when they played the Clippers when 5 of their top 6 guys were out with questionably injuries. Take Jordan's stats with a grain of salt.

    Like Bill Simmons, that Clippers stench is a hard one to wash off.
     
  15. v3.0

    v3.0 Member

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    Leeb, are you DeAndre's dad or something? You must have followed him while he was here in high school at the very least, maybe a booster of his.

    You no longer have an objective opinion about Jordan, it's obsessive jockeying now.
     
  16. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    So saying a 19 yr old center that avg 7.7ppg 8.5rebs and 2.46 blks in 27mins in 13 starts is wrong to think with 5 more minutes and another yr experience that he can't avg 1 more bucket and 1 more rebound. Yeah, I guess I do evaluate it wrong. This team is in transition no matter how much people want to deny it. When you're in transition, you get rid of flatlined players and declining players and try to get younger assets. Shane's value is at its peak right now and he's a declining player. Can you do better than de andre jordan? Maybe, maybe not, but he fills a huge hole left by the injury to yao and retirement of deke.

    Shane is a good role player on a championship team, I won't deny that, but looking at the contenders, who can the rockets get for shane. Just for argument sakes, let say Sa,La,Dallas, Denver,Portland,Utah,orlando,boston,and cleveland are contenders. Of those, the only team you can realistically say that shane will fit and they have assetts is Portland. They've added the veteran leader in Miller, so I'm not sure that's even a match. For argument sakes and the love people have on this board, who could they really get? They're not trading Rudy F. So that basically leaves webster,outlaw,and Batum. I like outlaw a lot, but webster and batum not so much. Does outlaw really help you that much when he's another wing player? Maybe morey can pull a rabbit out the hat with shane, I guess we will see, but as it stands and I know tracy will be there for the beginning of the season, we're looking at maybe a 8th seed and getting smashed by La or Sa.Then what?
     
  17. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    I believe you pay luxury tax on the players you have signed at the end of the year so we still wouldn't pay the tax if we managed to pull off a salary dump trade before the trade deadline....but still as others have mentioned, insurance will likely be paying for part of McGrady's contract and I would imagine there is something similar in place for Yao so Les doesn't have to move contracts off as frantically as you would think. Besides, he really isn't THAT far over.
     
  18. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    No, I watch a lot of west coast games and watched a lot of clipps games. I think as a 20 yr old guys who can hold the forte or maybe even be the man in the middle it would be a good move. We don't know how Yao will return, nor do we know how long he will last. The last few champions have shown that you don't have to have a dream type of center to win the ring. Its true that you do need a post presence, but he doesn't have to be a dump it down every possession type. Recent history also tells you that you don't need a lockdown defender at the wing either. I think ariza makes shane very expendable in the grand scheme of thing and when you factor in the lux tax and stuff, I don't see the problem. When one leader leaves, the cream always rises to the top. You never know who will step up and take the lead and also lead by example and his play. It might be brooks or ariza, who knows, but to get a young guy that can essentially be a double double that makes minimum would be a good deal.
     
  19. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    You have to be under the lux tax by the end of the calender yr. Once the season is over, the payroll dollar amount is what you have. So if they don't do it by trade deadline, then they will pay lux tax. So they have time, sure, but why not do it early so your team can try to get acclimated to each other?
     
  20. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
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    The luxury tax is assessed at the end of the season, not at the end of the calendar year (although I think that's what you meant to say).

    Also, there are some ways to avoid the luxury tax even after the February deadline (although that is the last best chance to avoid it). For instance, if the Rockets failed to dump enough salary by the February trade deadline and were still, say, $850k over the luxury tax threshold, they could still negotiate a buyout with Brent Barry (for example) for $1.1M before March 1 and give him a chance to catch on with a title contender. The ~$900k+ in salary savings would get the Rockets just below the tax threshold. I'm not saying that the Rockets would do that, or that Barry still has any allure to title contenders, but this is simply an example of a way to get back below the threshold even AFTER the trade deadline.
     

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