I would personally go after a bigger name veteran player in Europe and heres why- -salary that you can use in a superstar trade this Summer. You can give a veteran player a prorated 5 mil salary for the remainder of the season this year with a team option for next year. That will set the Rockets up very well for a draft day trade for a 2nd star, or even salary filler for a Gasol 1 year rental as well. Also having another player with a larger salary with a team option this Summer could be a way of keeping Carlos Delfino out of any major trades they need salary to make.
1. I agree Llull caliber player is unlikely. IIRC, though, HOU can technically offer a player, say, a Greg Smith type contract-- small money with 2nd and third year non-guaranteed while contributing something like $4M toward his European buyout. Not sure if someone is in that exact contract status that makes this kind of deal attractive. 2. Alternatively, is there a "Nick Collison" type player on this roster eligible for a bonus+extension even under the new CBA? I was thinking that Chase Budinger might have been someone like this if he was stilla Rocket. 3. Interesting about proration: I wonder if this makes Greg Oden into a good target. Oden can get, say $2.5M from HOU for the remainder of this year with no expectation to play and in exchange agree to a 2-yr deal with 2nd non-guaranteed and with a late guarantee date (like October 31, 2013). For Oden, it's free $2.5M money plus medical/rehab paid by the team with team professionals. For Houston, they get to take an extended look at Oden while retaining the flexibility to waive him with no cost to their 2013 cap should a "big fish" FA requires that cap space. So, how late can we sign a guy and pay him up to the full $5M for 2012-13? The day before the last regular season game? The day before the last playoff game? Until June 30, 2013?
I know we can't sign him until his contract is over, but if he is cut does that make him available for us? I know it won't happen, more of a simple question regarding the amnesty rules
1. Every penny above $550,000 the Rockets pay "for the buyout" is treated as being paid to the player (e.g., "team salary") and is treated like a signing bonus. If the deal is at all guaranteed past this season, it would be prorated across all guaranteed seasons. Again, given the Rockets' apparent mandate to maximize 2013-14 cap room, I don't think working around a significant international buyout is feasible. 2. The Rockets could offer up to $5 million to a player as late as the last day of the regular season. (How would you like to be paid $5 million to dress for one game?!) But, again, any player remotely worth that money would not want only a six-week guarantee; and the Rockets wouldn't want to be on the hook for much 2013-14 salary for that player.
I'd like to see us sign another guard, preferably one who can man the point. I got nervous when Beverely and Lin started picking up fouls last night. Who's out there? Boykins? Or maybe pick up someone like Arenas?
Delonte, arenas or tmac. Players that are serviceable and cheap especially after they have been humbled by non nba employment.
So what I am extracting from this is if we bring over an international player, pay him the $2.5 million so he can exit his contract, we are most likely going to give him a one-year deal, bury him on the bench so no other team gets to see what he looks like over here, and then try to re-sign him to a multi-year minimum salary deal. Kinda tricky if we're trying to keep a player. The other option would be to give an international player the rest of the cap for this year, sign him to a 3-yr deal with a team option after this season, bring him over and plug him into the rotation and make a trade asset out of him for next season. If he doesn't perform well, he gets cut. If he does perform well, we can move him for at least a second rounder if we need the cap space to bring in Dwight. Or we could possilby flip him in a trade deal to bring in Dwight or Pau or Love or Paul if one of those opportunties arise.
Ohlbrecht reportedly rejected the C's offer for a 10 day contract so I'm guessing the Rockets' are going to sign him once the trade clears and they get that open roster spot.
All three of them have baggage. No thanks. Only a Lakers' fan would want those guys around the youngest team in the league.
Interesting subject. Don't forget that there will be some players who get bought out or are waived by their current teams over the next week or so. These will be players who are on the final year of their contract, whose team is not interested in re-signing, and whose team is lottery-bound and playing the kiddies (otherwise known as "tanking"). The two best players who fit this description: Jermaine O'Neal Daniel Gibson As others have pointed out, no team can throw more money at these guys than Houston. Houston would only sign such players through the end of this season. Gibson is a pretty good shooter and is kind of an obvious guy to target. If/when he agrees to a buyout over the next several days, I would imagine that Houston would be interested. Houston would also presumably be interested in O'Neal, but my guess is that O'Neal will want to sign on with a legit title contender, so he can chase a ring. You'd think that the Miami Heat would be interested in O'Neal, and you'd think that the interest will be mutual. O'Neal may well be playing his final season in the NBA, so if Miami wants him, I think there is a 100% chance that he signs with Miami. It wouldn't surprise me if Houston waives Tyler Honeycutt in the near future so as to add two veterans for the stretch run. Houston isn't going to want to exercise the team option on Honeycutt for next season, anyway. Houston has zero incentive to hold on to him, either, since the trade deadline has come and gone. The other option is for Houston to fill one, possibly even two, roster spots with international players who are very low risk-medium reward types, such as Patrick Beverly. The idea is to sign one or two such guys for a pro-rated $800K-$900K 2012-13 salary with team options for 2013-14 and possibly beyond. However, my guess is that Houston doesn't go this route, because a) such players likely wouldn't be able to crack the rotation and, more importantly, b) such players would eat into the team's 2013-14 cap space. If the team were to add a Daniel Gibson and/or a Jermaine O'Neal for the remainder of this season, such a move would obviously not eat into the team's 2013-14 cap space. Finally, the Tracy McGrady option is appealing. He'd come super cheap, he played well in the NBA as recently as last season, and it would be a terrific P.R. move. My preferred course of action: 1) Sign Daniel Gibson; 2) Waive Tyler Honeycutt, sign Tracy McGrady.
^^If O'neal gets bought out I'd be interested. Gibson maybe but we'd play him at the 2 with Lin/Harden playing point. Would be nice to see him play at least a half season with his hometown team though.
Here's a guy Houston may want to sign, and who would likely be worth a three- or even four-year deal, all guaranteed, assuming you can get him for relatively cheap (e.g., three years, $4-$6 mil): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bryant_(basketball) http://www.ridiculousupside.com/201...the-bbl-capture-his-second-straight-mvp-title Bryant would very likely provide incredible bang for your buck at that price and would likely render Greg Smith expendable. Houston could look to trade Smith for an early second round pick, for example. It's not like Houston is going to re-sign Smith to another contract at the end of the 2013-14 (next) season, anyway.
