That's a high minimum. Batum and Iggy aren't even being paid $13MM a year. Chandler could definitely end up with an 8-10 contract.
Cat, Bima, others.... Can we trade for Melo BEFORE free agency begins? That would give us his bird rights and allow us to know with certainty we can resign Parsons.
No, you're misinterpreting the meaning. It's as meh said, it simply means that a team with cap space can't sign and trade somebody else's free agent. It's just saying that you can only sign and trade your own players. That's to prevent teams from using their cap space to broker S&T deals for teams without cap space. He gave you an example of a deal that involved S&T on both sides (Iggy and Foye).
Poison pill is part of the Arenas Provision and is only applicable to 2nd round picks with 1 or two years experience. Parsons is a 3 year vet so the Arenas provision doesn't apply.
Prediction: Parsons signs with Magic for 14.5 million per, Houston doesn't match. Signs Melo, Covington starts, and averages 12 ppg and 6 rpg. Everyone is happy. Parsons is the best player for his hometown team. Houston doesn't overpay. Signs Melo, and HOU is a better team than last year.
Yes, this is a win win situation for everybody Parsons get a lot of money one year earlier. ( he probably has agree terms with Morey already, Rockets made him a big favor) Rockets get the possibility to add another star, and have 3 All star players and Parsons All this can happen, because Les put the money on the table and allows Morey go hard over the cap.
Ahh.. Thanks for the clarification. I guess I need to put my next career as a lawyer on ice for the time being.
I think you are overrating him. A lot of us do, I think. He's such a great player for his current price that we think he's going to command a massive salary. But taking the homer glasses off, he doesn't do anything extraordinary. He's a good all-around basketball player that fits well within a team and can step up on occasion to carry the team. For example, Luol Deng got an avg. $11.8 mil per year contract several years ago. That is the absolute ceiling for Parsons value, IMO. Deng is absolutely a superior player. I think he averages out at $10m/yr, tops.
Most of you guys are worried parsons will have to find another team to sign with before rockets decide to match. I understand that thinking since that is how morey has done things in the past with their restricted free agents. However, as I mentioned previously the key here is the relationship between morey and parsons.
On a different note any team willing to pay a cent above $10MM for Parsons is overpaying. He is a good player who does a bit of everything but is not special in any category. A good offensive player in the right system but a below average defensive player. Doesn't have lateral quickness to keep up with quick 3's neither strong enough to guard 4's. Rockets system with all the attention on Harden adn Howard plus the fast up tempo face makes Parsons look better than he actually is. Parsons is on the same tier more or less with Batum and Leonard although I rate the latter two higher than Parsons as they are excellent defenders. For comparison, Batum got a 4 year / 48MM deal which was a slight overpay in itself.
I'll state this point again: Overpaying for Parsons makes no sense for any other team EXCEPT the Houston Rockets (assuming they already brought in a 3rd star). That was the whole point of the owners getting the CBA they got last go around. Free agency is overwhelmingly in the favor of the home team. No other team would have the luxury of overpaying for Parsons with their precious cap space. If they had the cap space, they would want to preserve that for a true star player. The CBA, and RFA in particularly favors the Rockets to go crazy with Parsons' contract & feel no burden other than Les' pocketbook. For other teams rebuilding, it kills their ability to rebuild further unless they believe Parsons is their future rebuilding block superstar.
You are probably right about Parsons value but I think overpaying him is not a big issue this time Rockets priority is fight for a ring right now, and not keep flexibility with good contracts. It is time to pull the trigger If we land Carmelo or another Star we will lose our flexibility to bring good players to Houston so Rockets must keep Parsons (it will be near impossible get a player like him) with all our caps limits in the future
I think Morey has something in the bag. Someone has agreed to a trade or to sign with us. Maybe even a top 10 pick in the draft? OTOH, I would be perfectly happy with a situation where we sign Parsons to a reasonable deal (roughly $9m/season) after we get another all star caliber player like Kyle Lowry. I think someone like that is enough to propel us to a championship.
