You get what you pay for (or, the sky is NOT falling)

Okay...I know that not everyone on this board is knee jerking at our slump lately. In fact, I think the majority have it in perspective. But, for anyone who has nightmares about giant tanks, is devastated we're not a 55-win team, or is ready to trade the whole team for Anthony Randolph and a used tampon, consider the following basic economic principle:

You get what you pay for.

This should be common sense, whether it's relating to basketball or any other aspect of life. The best plumber, IT guy, or pro wrestler makes more money doing their job than one that sucks. Although NBA general managers do their best to field a quality team without breaking the bank, there are thirty guys competing to put together the best team, and that means that winning very, very rarely comes without a big payroll.

I know that no one on this board is any stranger to the "hey, look how much money we have sitting in street clothes right now" concept, but as a refresher, the combined salaries of Yao and McGrady are $38.86 million this year. Ignoring for a moment the can he/can't he debate on whether McGrady should be getting minutes, let's just say that's $38.86 million in sunk costs, as far as picking up victories THIS year is concerned. That doesn't leave much under the ~$57.5 million salary cap to put together a respectable team; even under the $70 million luxury tap cap that gives you a bit of a scramble just trying to field a professional starting lineup unless you are a genius.

Enter:


Now, basically every team in the league that is considered a legitimate contender (and by that I mean, the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Cavs...and throw in Nuggets, Mavs and Spurs just to prove my point) is a winning team because they have shelled out the bucks to pay their veteran stars. All of those teams I mentioned, in fact, have a starting lineup that gets payed at least $55 million this year (running up to $63 million for the Spurs). Now, while the Rockets may be paying $38 million for two players who are supposed to be starters, that isn't happening this year and you can hardly blame management for that. That gives the team under $32 million under the luxury tax to assemble a complete 12-man roster...half of what all those contenders are paying just for their starting lineups.

Looking deeper, the starting fives of each NBA team, using my best judgment on teams like Sacramento and Milwaukee that have played with a lot of lineups, looks something like this financially speaking:

Code:

SAS	62978350
LAL	62915363
BOS	61834538
ORL	61436622
DEN	59521974
DAL	57376282
CLE	56257798
WAS	53744701
MIA	53242084
NOH	52558238
PHO	47826657
PHI	46448566
ATL	43802011
TOR	41830653
UTA	41261561
GSW	38465160
LAC	36869880
MIL	34808520
IND	33262639
CHA	31663496
MEM	31144197
CHI	28534960
POR	26191683
DET	25518463
MIN	25086440
NYK	23842880
OKC	20085511
HOU	19337553
SAC	19202970
NJN	15850720

Now, as I mentioned, all the elite teams are up there at the very top of the salary rankings. All the good teams are too, in fact, except for a few select exceptions like Portland and Oklahoma City, who are loaded with rookie contracts and both have legit megastars who are getting paid sub-$5 million.

That leaves the Rockets third from the cheapest starting five in the league; they are surpassed only by New Jersey, who is a disaster of nuclear proportions, and Sacramento, currently riding a seven-game losing streak and falling closer and closer to the bottom of the West. Now, that kind of company would make our horrible losing season a bit more bearable -- if we were having one. Instead, we are four games over .500 and in the thick of a West playoff race that is just as brutal as any of the last five years. Our entire nine-man rotation, by the way? $27.4 million, cheaper than three-quarters of the league's starting fives.

In conclusion, I'm thankful for a GM that can find bargains better than anyone in a business that's ALL about finding bargains, and I'm thankful for a team that gives it everything to be one of the most overachieving teams in the league. For this squad to come down to earth shouldn't be a surprise, and CERTAINLY shouldn't be considered a failure.

 

Yep, it's all his fault that he had a deal lined up and McGrady put the kibosh on it by going into surgery.

You can't just snap your fingers and trade away $38 million in crippled salary without getting crap back. Yes, we'd have more talent now if we'd made a move, but it wouldn't have been a fair return. Our window isn't shut yet for a trade involving either, so unless you think you can judge Morey based on not being psychic about Yao and McGrady's future, it's not exactly his fault that he inherited two monster contracts attached to players that would end up injured.