The stupid desperate contracts were limited to GMs going for hail mary's for their careers last year, for the most part this CBA has killed money to the mid level players.
Were OKC fans' this concerned about Clay Bennett's wallet when the Thunder were debating on whether or not to keep Harden? Harden in his role with OKC might have been just as important to the Thunder as Parsons would be to the Rockets as the 4th best player (assuming they get a 3rd best player in July). OKC would have had Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka locked up for 3+ more seasons. Why did it matter that they were going to potentially lock up Harden on a large contract as well.....??? Nothing but potential luxury tax (when they it wouldn't have impacted them nearly as much as some thought with the increase in salary cap projections). OKC could have allowed Harden to become a RFA just like the Rockets are with Parsons, and locked him up, but chose not to because their owner is cheap basically. It would have made no affect to their salary cap flexibility either way seeing as though they weren't going to have any either way. With the Rockets, they have the luxury of having an owner that looks like he is willing to do what OKC didn't have the guts to do, and folks here are actually questioning this decision??? Just like OKC could have had Harden as their 3rd or 2nd best player for 4 more years, and instead they have Jeremy Lamb and Steven Adams, The Rockets could have Parsons as their 4th best player, or let him walk and take a discounted player like Jordan Hamilton as a cheap replacement. Either way it should NOT matter to us fans what Les has to pay. We should be encouraging him to overpay to keep Parsons if he has to. I'm pretty damn well sure that OKC fans wish their team's owner had been willing to do what it looks like Les Alexander is preparing to do.
I guess that why JJ Reddick signed for 4 years $28 million? If Parsons gets a $50 mil 4 year deal hats off to him but not even Batum got an offer that great. Morey finds a Parsons every year. He finds them in the draft, in trades or on the street. SAS do it the same way. If the role player blows up they let him go and replace him. At least Morey knows what he's doing.
And that would be a bad thing because???? Even if that team sucked, its not like the team lost flexibility it would have had either way. Either way you look at it, the team would be locked up with no cap space until Harden & star #3 are off the books or traded (if you want to think worst case scenario where the Rockets aren't very good with this core). So why would we as fans NOT want Les to go a little crazy with salary to ensure this core group is as good as it can be with the right supporting players (which we all should agree Parsons is important to this core)? It doesn't affect the teams cap flexibility either way. Matching Parsons' offer and using the MLE options would be the last moves Les & Morey could make to maximize the talent put around the core. There is no reason why fans should want this team to sacrifice talent just to save the owner cash for a new yacht or beach house in the Hamptons.
I'm fine with this. We still need one more upgrade, but with a better coach I do honestly believe strongly in a Howard + Harden + Parsons + PF/PG upgrade team. Parsons is worth committing the money to. The value of a versatile player like CP25 increases when you have your prime scorers already in place and don't ask him to score too much.
I don't think people here are necessarily concerned about his wallet. They are trying to think from his perspective to anticipate what he might be willing to do.
Oh, no, its far from a bad thing. I love it. It is just intriguing and surprising. I think if Morey could pull off getting Melo and signing Parsons, we could have the best starting 5 in the NBA. A solid bench defender and Daniels, Canaan, and Covington minimum contracts, we could be a very solid finals contender. Beverley Harden Melo Parsons Dwight Man, Oh Man
Ok, I thought a max with him would start at 12-13, not 14, so it is out of range even for the most desperated GMs. But a 12-13 per year offer for Parsons shouldn't surprise you. We'll see.
I am also a bit surprised that they are looking to go this route but surprised for the better. I personally thought they'd take advantage of the final year on his deal to setup mid-season deals as a fall back if they couldn't get anything done this Summer, but it looks like they are all in on having a big July. Parsons is going to be a very interesting player to keep because I'm very interested to see how he changes as a player once he ages. People forget he's right on the verge of being 6'10" and hasn't yet been willing to sacrifice speed and quickness to bulk up enough to play the 4. You've also got a player that is versatile enough on the perimeter that could fill in for Harden at the 2/3 as the primary facilitator if Harden was ever to go down with an injury. His versatility is extremely underrated as a supporting player in the role he'd have. In the Lakers mid-2000's run, Lamar Odom was paid over 60 million dollars for that 5 year run, and you can probably count on more consistent play from Parsons. A player like doesn't come cheap to a team looking to retain that player that might not be a true star but gives them that versatility they need. Parsons can be just as good if not better for the Rockets as Odom was for the Lakers, and probably wont even command that much this Summer.
Batum is a player who was making 14 points at that moment on a team that won 28 games. Parsons comes from a 16.6 ppg season on an elite team, with highly efficient %s, plus two playoff series where he rose his level until the 19 per game. Batum is considered a better defender, but Parsons is seen around the league as the quintessential versatile small forward and the perfect complement for any star. If Batum got that money, I don't see why Parsons couldn't get 12-13 per year two years later, honestly.
Worst case scenario: Morey strikes out on signing any targets and we still sign Parsons to extension, thus capping us out with the current roster Middle case scenario: Morey strikes out on signing any targets and we let Parsons walk to another team, thus leaving us with max room for 2015 (although this is most unlikely). Best case scenario: Morey hits on his target and we sign Parsons to an extension afterwards using his bird rights. Everyone is happy, everyone is paid.
