I'm in the wait and see camp. I'm not saying the Rockets front office is terrible (see Hawks, Atlanta) but some people here are combining myth and blind loyalty. There's nothing wrong with criticizing where there needs be and praising the good decisions too. In my opinion, I am truly hopeful for this team next year. If healthy, I expect them to be anywhere in the 4-7 seed range in the West...I know that's a big range, but I'd accept landing in there as some semblance of returning to competitiveness. Now let's just clear up some things about the Mike James issue: The Rockets wanted Mike James. The Rockets did not turn him down and were hoping that he'd still sign even though they didn't meet all his demands (trade kicker and 3rd year opt out). They were disappointed with him turning them down so they went to V-Span, who was plan B. Look I really hope V-Span works out, but the Rockets themselves wanted James before V-Span. Now about the trade kicker. Here are some players who have had trade kickers in their contracts: webber, mutumbo, oakley, geiger, LeBron, Wade, Z Ilgauskas, Ruben Patterson, Malik Rose, Kurt Thomas, Manu Ginoboli, Dan Dickau, Mark Blount, Etan Thomas, Paul Pierce, bobby simmons, jarred jeffries, christian laettner, Odom, KG, Tsakalidis, Loy Vaught, antonio davis I think it is a common misconception to see Mike James' trade kicker request as outragous, as something that "no one" has, as something that's only for the elite players. A trade kicker is NOT a no-trade clause. It IS waivable by the player if it prevents salaries from matching. It IS easier nowadays to match salaries with trade kickers because of the 20% rule. Trade kickers have a MAXIMUM of 15% of the remaining salary value. Look, I think they should have gotten James, but I don't mind them going to battle this season with V-Span and JL3 instead. But it is either blind loyalty or lack of knowing the facts if one believes that the trade kicker issue is anything more than trying to save a possible million bucks. It is pure PROPOGANDA, when the channel 2 (or 11 or 13, I forgot) sports guy after Mike James signed with the T-Wolves...that guy said "Kobe Bryant doesn't even have a trade kicker" trying to make it sound like some outlandish thing...sigh....that was such an ignorant remark totally throwing this misconception about trade kickers. This was not the Carlos Beltran situation where he was a Met all along. The Rockets could have afforded Mike James. The Rockets wanted Mike James. Mike James wanted a deal where after already being traded from the Rockets, he could still get traded again but get million more if that were to do so. He was signing a freakin MLE!!!!! Mike James at the MLE plus trade kicker is not a bad deal. Moochie for 7 years 22 mill was a bad deal. MoTay was a bad deal. Matt Maloney was a bad deal. Charlie Ward, Charles Oakley, Derek Anderson, Clarence Weatherspoon, Mark Jackson, Ryan Bowen, Rod Strickland...those were bad deals. --- Anyhow again, it is foolish to think that EVERYTHING the Rockets org does is Good (or Bad). Some moves are good and some are bad and their merits are rightfully debated here. I don't know if they still need a Vet, but I do think they still need a backcourt shooter. I hope V-Span or JL3 can be those guys, or maybe Luther Head can develop more, but at this point they still need better shooting (Battier only shoots from the corners well).
Kim, excellent post. During the last ten years Rocket's management has made so many bad contracts, you listed only some of them, that the "James affair" should be seen in that context. Thanks for the clarification. We are all crazy Rocket's fans, we all want them to do well, but some view any critique as disloyalty. I have a strong "truth" orientation. I wildly applaud management when they do smart things (draft Ming, trade for TMac) and pound them when they do stupid things (too numerous to mention). I am a customer, without people like me, they don't exist.
Im not sold on the improvement of other teams. What did GS do other then get a new coach. i dont think they added anyone that would make a healthy rox team afraid. As for the hornets, they did make some big splashes, but in Peja they got a great shooter who is often injured, and in chandler I think they have a totally overrated player with no offensive game. They also drafted two big men who rarely do much in their rookie years. i think the lakers, nuggets and kings didnt get any better either. With the rox they did add some players who's value is not known yet. But if Yao and Tmac are healthy, that is like adding two all star players to the roster compared to last year since they played so little, especially with one another. If Yao and Tmac both play 70 games I think we win at least 50-55 games.
Regarding James and the trade kicker, I think there is a little more to it. Given that Texas doesn't collect state income tax, I figured CD thought James would sign here even without the trade kicker. Financially, it makes sense to James to sign with Rox, even without the trade kicker. The trade kicker money may or may not come for him, but 6% annual saving on his $5 million is guranteed money! Plus, James had his family here and it is generally accepted that Houston is a better place to live than Minesota. ANY reasonable preson could have sorted out which option was better, and I bet CD thought James would see it that way. Did they miscalculated the situation? Yes. They miscalculated how big an egomaniac idiot James was! He turned down the BETTER offer and took the less offer! Stop whining about it, you guys! Do you really want someone whose ego is so big that he cannot see 2>1?
Without the trade kicker, Houston Rockets could trade Mike James at any time without paying him more. So that state tax saving doesn't mean much if mj is traded within a short period time. Emotionally, he was obviously frustrated that Houston traded him for a much less player after he had a great year with the team. If he signs with Houston and gets traded again, perhaps it is more humiliating. Everyone will laugh at him for his trust in Rox. Plus signing with Minnesota gives him a bigger role and the flexibility to opt out at the third year seeking for more money. Trade kicker guarantees him stay at the same place or he gets paid more. It is not all about ego. It is a business decision and a no-brainer. I thought you are smart enough to understand that. Obviously I am wrong or maybe you just want to play the spin game.
The problem with the trade kicker wasn't that James asked for it. It was reported he demanded it AT THE LAST MINUTE. Essentially, he tried to blackmail the Rockets into giving him more money by threatening to leave if they didn't concede this kicker. Not up front, but when the Rockets apparently thought they already had a deal. As an organization that has to negotiate with players every offseason, the Rockets didn't take kindly to this tactic and called his bluff. We'd be a better team with James, but Mike James is still a role player. The failure to add Mike James hasn't completely doomed this team, nor has the Gay trade.
I guess we can all agree to disagree on the trade kicker thing. Some here think it's a big deal and others don't. Some only see things from the perspective of it being James' fault and others see things from the perspective that it was the Rockets fault. I see it as a little bit of both. While I certainly am dissappointed with James not signing, I think the Rockets could and should have given in to the demands because overall, his contract would still be a very good contract (trade friendly, good value, non-long term...so only the trade kicker thing is not the great part, but as I showed earlier, players have em and they still can be moved). All I wanted to clarify was what exactly a trade kicker is, because there was a lot of misconception and a lot of propoganda out there. I don't mind differing opinions and I love a good discussion, but I hate propoganda. I wanted the Rockets to sign Mike James even though he demanded a trade kicker because in real financial terms it meant that the Rockets would pay him around 1 million if they were to trade him. They saved that money through the Battier trade because they didn't have to sign Gay to a rookie scale contract. Subsequently it was also reported that after the James deal fell through, it allowed the Rockets to go after V-Span and sign JL3 and Novak. While the first part is true, I recall reading quotes and some stories that made it seem like because of the good fortune of James not coming here, only then could JL3 come here and only then could they sign Novak because they split the rest of the MLE not committed to V-Span to sign the 2 rooks. Maybe I read too much into it, but again I saw that as propoganda. They were going to get Novak no matter what. And I believe they could get JL3 without the MLE money left too. I mean, it's now known that the Rockets still have $2.13 million or so left of the MLE!!!!!!! So yeah, I like the signings and I hope they work out. But their off-season moves look a little tainted with not trying to spend that extra buck to get the best. For those of you who haven't, please go check out the goldmine find of one your fellow bbsers at www.nba.com/hotzones check out Mike James' shot chart then check out Rafer's and Head's and Kirk Snyder's Then you will know why I think they need more back court shooting and really hoped James would be here because he provided that. I really hope those other guys can step it up.
I think shooting % is more of teammates setting you up, practicing amount, and the coach's strategy. The Suns always have some of the best shooters every year. It's because they set you up properly, and anytime you are in a cold streak, they will make you shoot at least 175 3's(I read thier training camp regime once) to kill yourself out of that thing. Once you find your hotspot, if it's 1 or 2 or 3 or whatever, you must shoot 30 of them every practice. That's the minimum, that's the warm-up. Not just spot up, you got to sprint down and catch it, weave and catch it, v-cut, sprint to the other side of the 3pt line, everything..total of 30 3's though. With Yao and Tracy setting them up, percentages go up, but mainly if we do a smarter pratice on them, they can light people up.
The trade kicker doesn't give him the player option at thrid year. I thought CD said the player option was ok. Look, if he produces as he should be able to, there is no point of trading him away. Last year he was traded only because Sura went down and we needed a playmaker desperately. They made it clear that the trade would never have happened otherwise. If that didn't massage his ego enough, what could? Besides the state tax benefit, he had his family in Houston. And do you know how freaking cold it is in Minesota? I'd take a 15% pay cut to move from Minesota to Houston. I'd take a 30% pay cut to move from where I am now to Houston! Besides, I believe he would have had better chance to upper his value in 2 years with Yao/Tmac than with KG. If CD agreed on the player option, it was apparent to me which option was better. This is business. James just let his ego and emotion take over. He didn't even give CD a headsup "I cannot see the tax saving is bigger than trade kicker and I can see Houston is much more pleasant place than Minesota. Please bear with my idiocracy". He phoned CD to inform him that he already took Minny's offer as soon as minny agree to meet his requests.
No guy with one good year before a contract year deserves a trade kicker! I personally hated his selfishness when he was here and I'm sure glad that the rockets didn't sign him after watching him neglect the post when he did play.
Mike James would have been a good pickup, but I think that the Rockets have shown that they cannot be trusted when it comes to things like trade-kickers and other moves. They have locked up average players that have good contract years to deals way bigger than they deserve. So I think that in the end it was good to see someone err on the side of caution. As for if the team is swinging too far to the youth side, I say YES and it's about time. It was a good run with Sura and his buddies, but they showed us what is wrong with a JVG-favored older team. They get hurt. They break down. They're slow when they play. It's time for something new. Younger players with speed/athletecism to match up with Dallas & Phoenix. Players that will get out and run. Score a few points so that every play isn't dump into Yao or McGrady 1v1. It's about time we got some youth that will actually play!!!
Are you sure the kicker only would have cost 1 million bucks. I thought it had to be more then that to cause this much fuss. If it really was only 1 million dollars that prevented James from being traded by the Rox in the future how could he really think that was enough to prevent it from happening. Point being, if the rox had a good trade offer for James, 1 million bucks wouldnt have stopped them from doing it, so why was it so important to him to have. You are right some only blame the Rox and some only blame James. In the end, it is a business decision. But if i was the owner, and i was paying someone about 25 million to play basketball, I would expect to be able to trade him anywhere I wanted to without penalty. I guess I blame James more cuz how can you say you want your family to be stable and they have a house in Houston, but you move to Minnesota.
Just the facts: Mike James' contract with the T-Wolves that he wanted from the Rockets 2006 = 5.215 million 2007 = 5.632 million 2008 = 6.083 million Player Option after year 3 Mike James must decide by July 1 2009 whether or not to exercise option to play in the 2009 season 2009 = 6.570 million Total Value 23.5 million Trade kicker is 15% of the remaining contract (option year 4 not included unless he has already exercised his option) in season ratio included So if the T-Wolves trade Mike James next off-season, the kicker would be %15 would be 1.76 million (2.74 million if option already exercised). If they trade James after 2 years (off-season before 2008) the kicker would be 0.912 million (1.9 million if option already exercised). If Mike James has not exercised his option and the Wolves trade him in the middle of his 3rd season, then his kicker would be 0.456 million (1.442 million if option already exercised). If Mike James exercises his option and the Wolves trade him after 3 years, then his kicker would be 0.986 million. ----------- In my opinion it's a good deal because the Rockets don't have anyone who can hit consistently and in large volume from the Left Center And Right Center 3 pt areas. And the Rockets shoot a lot from there. And they're team % 3 from those zones are terrible.
