Wow. Good news. There would be no way to renegotiate that contract within 5 days. That was an unrealistic deadline. For those that don't know, the terms of the contract stated that a decision to pick up the team option (or not) must be made 5 days after the playoffs ended for the Rockets.
bro u made my heart stop when I saw a notification from a thread with this title…I thought we had just given Fred another 3/130 deal and I almost collapsed in a Target parking lot
This also gives the Rockets time to explore trade possibilities as more teams get eliminated from the playoffs, although it sounds likely they'll bring FVV back in one way or another.
If they did this to sign him to an extension, it sucks. I would much rather give him the team option and use his salary in a trade. I fear we are going to re-sign this guy for about 30m for 3 years and that is an absolute disaster with this head coach. Tons of team will trade for an expiring contract. Nobody with a brain will trade for FVV with 3 years guaranteed and Ime will never relegate him to a backup role.
We'll see. If they want to trade him, this give them more time to negotiate. This can only be a good thing.
It’s only a good thing if it gives them more time to negotiate a trade. If it gives them more time for an extension, it is a disaster.
One of the biggest problems is that if they pick up Fred’s option, they are at the luxury tax. That means no re-signing Adams and no picking up the option on Holiday. If they extend Fred at $28M per year, they can bring back Adams at $12M and pick up the option on Holiday (or sign a player for $5M with a portion of the MLE). This also includes the addition of the salary associated with the #9 pick. This would still allow them to trade Fred in the future and gives us other moveable contracts.
If they pick up the option to trade him, I’d rather it be fore multiple players rather than a big swing. Picking up the option will gut our depth. Rather than something like Booker for FVV + Landale (FVV alone won’t be enough salary) + multiple picks, I’d rather see something like FVV + a pick for Collin Sexton + John Collins. Or a three-team trade that brings multiple players back to us. I think the big trade is going to need to involve Jalen, which we would still be in a position to do.
Fred is a crutch. If we extend him, it means Ime won't trust having an offensive assistant coach worth his salt. Find a PG that fills gaps or let the kids play and work out what they can or can't grow into.
So a PG that is low to moderate usage, provides catch and shoot threes, provides defense, and gets offense organized while letting the younger players take a lot of usage afrer the initial setup of the play?
I'm about to really show my lack of point guard knowledge, but couldn't that player be Aaron Holiday? I'm not saying he's better than FVV, but if FVV is a "crutch," and we want instead to "find a PG that fills gaps" so the kids can play, couldn't that be Aaron Holiday? All that said, I like FVV. Just not at $30M per.
Some or all of that five+ years younger with a more sustainable contact. Plus a mythical assistant coach who Ime vibes with and isn't bound by lux tax.
Holiday doesn't have the basketball IQ/court vision/passing ability. He's basically a 6'0" shooting guard. We can try to get Amen a lot more on-ball reps, but I still think the player next to him needs to be a decent playmaker--at least at the level of a combo guard type.
Our best friends are the Bulls. They have 6 PG's (some of them less of a floor general): Jevon Carter Tre Jones Lonzo Ball Coby White Ayo Dosunmu Josh Giddey I would try to get Coby White. He's an expiring contract and can force their hand if we offer him the starting spot on a much better team.
