Did anyone notice that this year’s salary cap and luxury tax threshold is actually more than last season? http://www.nba.com/2010/news/07/07/salary.cap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2 The Rockets are currently obligated to pay $61,743,313.00 in salary to players under contract. Patrick Patterson will get about 1.5 million dollars do to where he was drafted and if Scola gets 7 million and Lowry gets 4 million that would be an extra 12.5 million in salary. The Houston Rockets total salary commitment for 2010-2011 season would be $74,243,313.00 which would be about 4.2 million over the luxury tax threshold. http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp Code: [i][b]Players[/b][/i] [i][b]Salary[/b][/i] [b]Yao Ming[/b] $17,686,100 [b]Kevin Martin[/b] $10,600,005 [b]Shane Battier[/b] $7,429,500 [b]Jared Jeffries[/b] $6,883,800 [b]Trevor Ariza[/b] $6,322,320 [b]Jordan Hill[/b] $2,669,520 [b]David Andersen[/b] $2,500,000 [b]Chuck Hayes[/b] $2,334,125 [b]Aaron Brooks[/b] $2,016,692 [b]Alex Johnson[/b] $885,120 [b]Mike Harris[/b] $854,389 [b]Jermaine Taylor[/b] $780,871 [b]Chase Budinger[/b] $780,871 [b]Total Salary[/b] $61,743,313 What does this mean for the Rockets? The possibility for Daryl Morey to get the team back under the luxury tax threshold is a very real possibility. The expiring contracts of Shane Battier and Jarred Jefferies will likely be used in my opinion to acquire talent but also to help get the Rockets under the luxury tax. I think not getting Bosh could cause the Rockets to think twice about using the MLE. If they add another 5.7 million in salary then they are very likely not going to be in a position to get back under the threshold. Mike Harris and Alexander Johnson are un-guaranteed contracts but they only add up to about 1.7 million in salary. What are the possibilities? I think a trade for a backup center is the desired scenario for Daryl Morey. One possibility that make sense on the court but probably not for salary cap reasons would be Emeka Okafor for the expiring contract of Jarred Jeffries and David Anderson (not guaranteed for next season). Bringing Okafor off of the bench for Yao Ming would not be fun for opposing teams. He is still young at only 27 plus he is an outstanding defender and rebounder. The down side is that he eats up the Rockets cap flexibility for the coming seasons. Both Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks will be free agents next season and both will be expensive. Having Okafor’s 12+ million dollar salary in 2011 ensures the Rockets will be paying a high luxury tax penalty next season. Okafor is very good but at his current salary he is clearly over paid. Tyson Chandler would make a lot of sense for the Rockets. He is another young center that can play defense and rebound. He is more expensive than Okafor but only for this season. He would come off the books next season when the Rockets will have to re-sign Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks. The problem is what would be New Orleans reason for trading to the Rockets? He is an expiring contract so trading Shane Battier and Jarred Jeffries would likely have limited appeal unless a draft pick or another player were added. Perhaps the four team trade that has been rumored will still happen. Hidden Assets If Les is still willing to go over the luxury tax threshold after not getting Bosh he has some hidden assets Daryl Morey can use. The following players are still the property of the Houston Rockets because they have not submitted their paper work for retirement to the NBA and the Rockets have not renounced their rights. http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp Code: Jake Tsakalidis Maciej Lampe Patrick Patterson Frederic Weis Torraye Braggs Mark Jackson Dikembe Mutombo The Rockets could use one of these players to complete a sign and trade for a player in the same way that Mark Cuban used Keith Van Horn to complete a sign in trade for Jason Kidd a couple of years ago.
Yeah, it was talked about here, but not about the Rockets: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=189308&highlight=salary
