Sessions should've never opted out how you go from LA to the bobcats and still not be a starter, he should fire whoever is advising him, I hope he got a raise atleast
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~--~Official 2012 NBA Draft/Offseason Thread~--~
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Sessions should've never opted out how you go from LA to the bobcats and still not be a starter, he should fire whoever is advising him, I hope he got a raise atleast
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man I bet that contract he signed doesnt even average out year per year with that deal he just left
Ramon Sessions wanted a multiyear contract so bad he opted out of 4.5 million playing for the Lakers, couldnt get a multiyear deal, and had to resort to signing a two year deal with the Bobcats
fail fail fail fail fail
Nigga thought he earned the right to make demands after playing half of a half-season
Nigga thought he earned the right to make demands after playing half of a half-season
nigga got brought back to reality real quick
you are a decent NBA PG
thats it
Co fuckin sign
If he was smart he wouldve backed up Steve Nash and learned from him, he could've earned that deal he wanted. Steve Nash is only gone last 2 years and dosent play big minutes. Plus he disappeared in the playoffs, I still can't figure his thought process on this one, if he was smart he'd drop his ego and go back to the Lakers
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NUGGETS OFFER JAVALE MCGEE 5 YEAR $50 Million
The Nuggets continue to pursue restricted free-agent center JaVale McGee, who has a five-year, $50 million offer on the table, a source said. But McGee's representatives don't appear to be in a hurry to get a deal done and will continue to negotiate.
The Nuggets can match any offer another NBA team would make to McGee, 24.
In the 20 regular-season games he played for the Nuggets last season, the 7-footer averaged 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds and made five starts.
In the seven-game playoff series against the Lakers, he averaged 9.6 rebounds, 8.6 points and 3.1 blocked shots. He scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Game 5.
The Nuggets acquired McGee in a trade with the Wizards for Nene.
The price of NBA big men keeps going up. The Nets, now based in Brooklyn, resigned Brook Lopez this week to a four-year contract worth $60 million. Lopez, 24, has career averages of 17.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. The Pacers resigned all-star center Roy Hibbert, 25, to a four-year contract worth $58 million.
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_21065389/denver-nuggets-offer-five-year-50-million-contract
He said earlier that he wants 14 mil a year so the negotiations will continue.
denver just needs a solid solid star.
they would be on point.
they would be on point.
thats actually a good value for him but I doubt he takes it he wants the Max or close to it
Celtics Town
Keyon Dooling & Mickael Pietrus could be used in sign-and-trade for Courtney Lee
6 minutes ago
Sources: New trade offer in works
Teams after this trade: Houston Magic and the Orlando Rockets
Rockets:
Dwight
any three(Hedo, Big Baby, Richardson, and Duhon)
Magic get:
Martin
Patterson
Morris
Parsons
Lamb
Jones
White
1st round picks(including a future lotto pick)
The Houston Rockets have reconstructed their trade proposal to the Orlando Magic for superstar center Dwight Howard, vowing to take back even more long-term salary from the Magic than before in hopes of convincing Orlando to consent to trade Howard directly to Houston, according to sources briefed on the trade talks.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Rockets, should they go ahead with their widely reported plans to release starting power forward Luis Scola via the NBA's amnesty clause, are prepared to absorb the contracts of Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and Chris Duhon -- in addition to sending Orlando multiple future first-round picks and recent draftees -- to give the Magic an opportunity to wipe their payroll virtually clean for their post-Howard rebuilding effort.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is feverishly trying to construct a trade that will allow the Rockets to take back, in addition to Howard, some combination of Richardson, Davis, Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu. The Rockets believe that, with Scola's three remaining seasons valued at roughly $21 million off the books, that they can create the requisite cap space to do so.
Friday thus looms as a pivotal day in the Rockets' all-out quest to trade for Howard. Not only is Houston expected to formally waive Scola on Friday, but sources say that the Rockets will also finalize their long-awaited offer sheet to New York Knicks restricted free agent Jeremy Lin. The Knicks have been adamant that they will match Houston's four-year offer to Lin valued at just under $29 million, but they can take three days to do so once Lin signs.
The Rockets have also committed a four-year offer sheet worth just over $25 million to Chicago Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik. It's believed that the Rockets will make Asik's offer sheet official after the Knicks match on Lin, but Asik's fate is less certain, with the Bulls said to be wavering on whether to bring the bruising big man back. The Rockets promised offer sheets to Asik and Lin early in free agency -- and are thus honor-bound to go through with them to ensure that they'll suffer no future repercussions from agents or players in free agency -- but it's possible that Houston is secretly rooting for both offer sheets to be matched. In that scenario, Houston would only be left with more cap space to try to get the Orlando trade done, which is clearly its No. 1 priority.
Rockets officials, though, remain steadfast in their belief that, even if the Bulls decline to match on Asik, that they'll be able to absorb at least three of the four aforementioned Magic role players: Richardson, Davis, Duhon and Turkoglu. Sources say that the Rockets would have to send Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons to the Magic from their current roster to make the salary-cap math work, as well the draft rights to Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones, all selected in last month's first round.
The Rockets, in addition, would also have to waive a handful of players with non-guaranteed contracts (Shaun Livingston, Courtney Fortson, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, Jon Leuer, Diamon Simpson and Greg Smith) to clear sufficient cap space. But Houston, sources say, is also offering multiple first-round picks to the Magic, including a potential lottery pick acquired this week from Toronto in the Kyle Lowry deal. Future picks are known to hold great appeal to new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan and no team in the recent running for Howard -- Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers are the other two top suitors -- has a first-rounder of that caliber to send to Orlando.
Yet sources with knowledge of Orlando's thinking told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher and ESPN.com's J.A. Adande on Thursday night that the Magic expect a quiet weekend on the Howard front and likely won't revisit the prospect of trading Howard until next week. Of course, such a delay might well be tied to the fact that Houston has to let its dealings with Lin and Asik play out first.
ESPN reported Thursday that Hennigan called the All-Star center Wednesday night to see if he'd reconsider giving Orlando's new regime a chance to keep him, but a source close to Howard told Bucher that Howard was unwilling to change his stance.
The Nets, who remain the only team that Howard has said he'll sign a contract extension with, finally backed away from their months-long pursuit of Howard on Wednesday to sign center Brook Lopez -- one of their key trade chips for any Howard deal -- to a four-year deal valued at slightly more than $60 million. The Nets can't re-enter the Howard Sweepstakes, assuming they last that long, until Jan. 15, when Lopez is eligible to be traded.
The Rockets, meanwhile, continue to ignore the strong signals that Howard refuses to commit to Houston long-term and will threaten instead to just play out next season and head to free agency in July 2013 if Morey does manage to complete a trade for him. The Los Angeles Lakers remain interested in a Howard deal as well, but the Lakers don't have the available future draft picks or the financial flexibility to take on Orlando's unwanted contracts like the Rockets do, meaning that L.A. would almost certainly need an additional team or two to join the trade to get it pushed through.
The Rockets have been discussing a multitude of trade scenarios with the Magic this month, offering to serve both as the team that would acquire Howard in a direct trade between the clubs and also as a third team that would participate in a trade that lands Howard with the Lakers and brings All-Star center Andrew Bynum to Houston.
Now, though, Houston appears to be lasered in on getting Howard at all costs, which would potentially fill their void in the middle since the early injury-forced retirement of Yao Ming in 2011. If Howard could be convinced to stay in Houston after such a swap, it would also more than atone from the collapsed three-way deal with the New Orleans Hornets and Lakers in December that would have landed Pau Gasol in Houston if NBA commissioner David Stern, acting as the lead decision-maker for the league-owned Hornets, hadn't canceled the trade.
It's been an open secret around the league for months that the Rockets were willing to trade for a player of Howard's or Bynum's caliber with no assurance that either one will sign an extension as opposed to becoming a free agent in 2013. Houston's posture, sources said, remains one of confidence that any top-20 player it can acquire will be convinced to stay once he becomes part of the organization.
Sources say that Hennigan, meanwhile, would be more comfortable with taking back a package of youngsters, recent draftees and future first-round draft picks -- while shedding all that long-term salary as well -- than taking on Bynum as Howard's replacement. Although Bynum is the best individual player Orlando has been offered this month, he's also entering the final year of his contract like Howard, which means that the Magic would be in a similar position as they are now with Howard if they traded Bynum and Bynum refused to sign an extension.
Bucher reported Wednesday that the Atlanta Hawks continue to pursue Howard via trade as well, but one source described Atlanta as "not the best option" for the Magic.
Teams after this trade: Houston Magic and the Orlando Rockets
Rockets:
Dwight
any three(Hedo, Big Baby, Richardson, and Duhon)
Magic get:
Martin
Patterson
Morris
Parsons
Lamb
Jones
White
1st round picks(including a future lotto pick)
The Houston Rockets have reconstructed their trade proposal to the Orlando Magic for superstar center Dwight Howard, vowing to take back even more long-term salary from the Magic than before in hopes of convincing Orlando to consent to trade Howard directly to Houston, according to sources briefed on the trade talks.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Rockets, should they go ahead with their widely reported plans to release starting power forward Luis Scola via the NBA's amnesty clause, are prepared to absorb the contracts of Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and Chris Duhon -- in addition to sending Orlando multiple future first-round picks and recent draftees -- to give the Magic an opportunity to wipe their payroll virtually clean for their post-Howard rebuilding effort.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is feverishly trying to construct a trade that will allow the Rockets to take back, in addition to Howard, some combination of Richardson, Davis, Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu. The Rockets believe that, with Scola's three remaining seasons valued at roughly $21 million off the books, that they can create the requisite cap space to do so.
Friday thus looms as a pivotal day in the Rockets' all-out quest to trade for Howard. Not only is Houston expected to formally waive Scola on Friday, but sources say that the Rockets will also finalize their long-awaited offer sheet to New York Knicks restricted free agent Jeremy Lin. The Knicks have been adamant that they will match Houston's four-year offer to Lin valued at just under $29 million, but they can take three days to do so once Lin signs.
The Rockets have also committed a four-year offer sheet worth just over $25 million to Chicago Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik. It's believed that the Rockets will make Asik's offer sheet official after the Knicks match on Lin, but Asik's fate is less certain, with the Bulls said to be wavering on whether to bring the bruising big man back. The Rockets promised offer sheets to Asik and Lin early in free agency -- and are thus honor-bound to go through with them to ensure that they'll suffer no future repercussions from agents or players in free agency -- but it's possible that Houston is secretly rooting for both offer sheets to be matched. In that scenario, Houston would only be left with more cap space to try to get the Orlando trade done, which is clearly its No. 1 priority.
Rockets officials, though, remain steadfast in their belief that, even if the Bulls decline to match on Asik, that they'll be able to absorb at least three of the four aforementioned Magic role players: Richardson, Davis, Duhon and Turkoglu. Sources say that the Rockets would have to send Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons to the Magic from their current roster to make the salary-cap math work, as well the draft rights to Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones, all selected in last month's first round.
The Rockets, in addition, would also have to waive a handful of players with non-guaranteed contracts (Shaun Livingston, Courtney Fortson, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, Jon Leuer, Diamon Simpson and Greg Smith) to clear sufficient cap space. But Houston, sources say, is also offering multiple first-round picks to the Magic, including a potential lottery pick acquired this week from Toronto in the Kyle Lowry deal. Future picks are known to hold great appeal to new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan and no team in the recent running for Howard -- Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers are the other two top suitors -- has a first-rounder of that caliber to send to Orlando.
Yet sources with knowledge of Orlando's thinking told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher and ESPN.com's J.A. Adande on Thursday night that the Magic expect a quiet weekend on the Howard front and likely won't revisit the prospect of trading Howard until next week. Of course, such a delay might well be tied to the fact that Houston has to let its dealings with Lin and Asik play out first.
ESPN reported Thursday that Hennigan called the All-Star center Wednesday night to see if he'd reconsider giving Orlando's new regime a chance to keep him, but a source close to Howard told Bucher that Howard was unwilling to change his stance.
The Nets, who remain the only team that Howard has said he'll sign a contract extension with, finally backed away from their months-long pursuit of Howard on Wednesday to sign center Brook Lopez -- one of their key trade chips for any Howard deal -- to a four-year deal valued at slightly more than $60 million. The Nets can't re-enter the Howard Sweepstakes, assuming they last that long, until Jan. 15, when Lopez is eligible to be traded.
The Rockets, meanwhile, continue to ignore the strong signals that Howard refuses to commit to Houston long-term and will threaten instead to just play out next season and head to free agency in July 2013 if Morey does manage to complete a trade for him. The Los Angeles Lakers remain interested in a Howard deal as well, but the Lakers don't have the available future draft picks or the financial flexibility to take on Orlando's unwanted contracts like the Rockets do, meaning that L.A. would almost certainly need an additional team or two to join the trade to get it pushed through.
The Rockets have been discussing a multitude of trade scenarios with the Magic this month, offering to serve both as the team that would acquire Howard in a direct trade between the clubs and also as a third team that would participate in a trade that lands Howard with the Lakers and brings All-Star center Andrew Bynum to Houston.
Now, though, Houston appears to be lasered in on getting Howard at all costs, which would potentially fill their void in the middle since the early injury-forced retirement of Yao Ming in 2011. If Howard could be convinced to stay in Houston after such a swap, it would also more than atone from the collapsed three-way deal with the New Orleans Hornets and Lakers in December that would have landed Pau Gasol in Houston if NBA commissioner David Stern, acting as the lead decision-maker for the league-owned Hornets, hadn't canceled the trade.
It's been an open secret around the league for months that the Rockets were willing to trade for a player of Howard's or Bynum's caliber with no assurance that either one will sign an extension as opposed to becoming a free agent in 2013. Houston's posture, sources said, remains one of confidence that any top-20 player it can acquire will be convinced to stay once he becomes part of the organization.
Sources say that Hennigan, meanwhile, would be more comfortable with taking back a package of youngsters, recent draftees and future first-round draft picks -- while shedding all that long-term salary as well -- than taking on Bynum as Howard's replacement. Although Bynum is the best individual player Orlando has been offered this month, he's also entering the final year of his contract like Howard, which means that the Magic would be in a similar position as they are now with Howard if they traded Bynum and Bynum refused to sign an extension.
Bucher reported Wednesday that the Atlanta Hawks continue to pursue Howard via trade as well, but one source described Atlanta as "not the best option" for the Magic.
go for it Houston
call his bitch ass bluff
call his bitch ass bluff
If the rockets give up all of that for this dude i will never watch or go to a rockets game AGAIN.....
Cutting scola, trading the rest of your starting 5, all your draft picks, and future picks? All to become the Orlando Magic west??? Man I'll merk Darryl Morey myself.....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2
Cutting scola, trading the rest of your starting 5, all your draft picks, and future picks? All to become the Orlando Magic west??? Man I'll merk Darryl Morey myself.....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2
Jordan Sees Kidd-Gilchrist As 'Scottie Pippen Like Player'
Jul 13, 2012 10:04 AM EDT
Michael Jordan likes what he’s seen from the Bobcats’ first round draft pick, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist.
“I think (Kidd-Gilchrist is) going to be fine,” Jordan said, speaking before the Hooptee Celebrity Golf Classic. “I think the kid has the potential to be, as I call him, a connector. He can connect a lot of dots, a Scottie Pippen-like player.
“Everybody’s complaining about his shooting. He never illustrated to me that he’s afraid to shoot the basketball. He can still shoot the ball. He believes he can make shots. I think the kid is going to be OK.”
Jordan is focused on the future rather than the past.
“Obviously, I’m a competitor. I never want to be in the record book for being a failure,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’ve also got to understand the shortened season, you’ve got a lot of injuries, got a lot of young kids that got thrust into a starting scenario. That was a repercussion of those facts.
“We’re on the road to the right way, to being a good team. Last year was one of those years where … everything happened against us. I take full credit for that. Unfortunately, these things happen. But I see an upside for this franchise, without a doubt.”
Jul 13, 2012 10:04 AM EDT
Michael Jordan likes what he’s seen from the Bobcats’ first round draft pick, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist.
“I think (Kidd-Gilchrist is) going to be fine,” Jordan said, speaking before the Hooptee Celebrity Golf Classic. “I think the kid has the potential to be, as I call him, a connector. He can connect a lot of dots, a Scottie Pippen-like player.
“Everybody’s complaining about his shooting. He never illustrated to me that he’s afraid to shoot the basketball. He can still shoot the ball. He believes he can make shots. I think the kid is going to be OK.”
Jordan is focused on the future rather than the past.
“Obviously, I’m a competitor. I never want to be in the record book for being a failure,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’ve also got to understand the shortened season, you’ve got a lot of injuries, got a lot of young kids that got thrust into a starting scenario. That was a repercussion of those facts.
“We’re on the road to the right way, to being a good team. Last year was one of those years where … everything happened against us. I take full credit for that. Unfortunately, these things happen. But I see an upside for this franchise, without a doubt.”
Pretty much what we knew would happen
Hornets Grooming Austin Rivers To Play Point Guard
Jul 13, 2012 10:12 AM EDT
Austin Rivers is being groomed strictly to play point guard for the Hornets.
“I think now it’s his time to grow,” Hornets assistant coach James Barrego said. “We’re putting the ball in his hands. … Our future’s really bright, and hopefully Austin’s that guy that can take that point guard position and run with it.”
Rivers will get most of his Summer League playing time at the point guard position in hopes that it will become a full-time job.
“He understands the game, which you want in a point guard,” Barrego said. “His instinct is to score. But we’re trying to slow him down, learn our offense, learn our pace, learn our rhythm, and I think those are things he’s going to get.
“He’s slowly working his way in. We want him to be aggressive. We don’t want to take away that instinct, that advantage he is for us. So he’s got to have a balance, but he can’t be in that mode full-time. You can’t be an aggressive point guard all the time, but we want him to put pressure on the defense any time he can.”
Hornets Grooming Austin Rivers To Play Point Guard
Jul 13, 2012 10:12 AM EDT
Austin Rivers is being groomed strictly to play point guard for the Hornets.
“I think now it’s his time to grow,” Hornets assistant coach James Barrego said. “We’re putting the ball in his hands. … Our future’s really bright, and hopefully Austin’s that guy that can take that point guard position and run with it.”
Rivers will get most of his Summer League playing time at the point guard position in hopes that it will become a full-time job.
“He understands the game, which you want in a point guard,” Barrego said. “His instinct is to score. But we’re trying to slow him down, learn our offense, learn our pace, learn our rhythm, and I think those are things he’s going to get.
“He’s slowly working his way in. We want him to be aggressive. We don’t want to take away that instinct, that advantage he is for us. So he’s got to have a balance, but he can’t be in that mode full-time. You can’t be an aggressive point guard all the time, but we want him to put pressure on the defense any time he can.”
The Lakers are targeting Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand and Jermaine O'Neal as they look to improve the frontcourt.
The Lakers hope one of the three veteran bigs accept the veteran's minimum. The team also has the 'mini' mid-level exception, which begins at $3 million per year, but prefer to hold onto that in case a Dwight Howard trade is consummated.
Los Angeles remains in negotiations with Jordan Hill as wel
The Lakers hope one of the three veteran bigs accept the veteran's minimum. The team also has the 'mini' mid-level exception, which begins at $3 million per year, but prefer to hold onto that in case a Dwight Howard trade is consummated.
Los Angeles remains in negotiations with Jordan Hill as wel
Calderon Wants Trade From Raptors; Mavericks Express Interest
Jul 13, 2012 9:57 AM EDT
Jose Calderon has informed the Raptors that he would welcome a trade, according to sources close to the situation.
Toronto would like to receive a trade exception in exchange for Calderon’s $10.6 million salary, which would give them financial flexibility for further moves.
The Mavericks have expressed interest in Calderon, but will first consider an amnesty bid for Elton Brand.
Jul 13, 2012 9:57 AM EDT
Jose Calderon has informed the Raptors that he would welcome a trade, according to sources close to the situation.
Toronto would like to receive a trade exception in exchange for Calderon’s $10.6 million salary, which would give them financial flexibility for further moves.
The Mavericks have expressed interest in Calderon, but will first consider an amnesty bid for Elton Brand.
Hornets Can Get Good Value in the Amnesty Process
Brendan Haywood, Luis Scola, Darko Milicic, and Elton Brand are all there for the taking. Will Demps take the plunge into the amnesty abyss?
We have witnessed an offseason that has seen Gerald Wallace get $40 million, Goran Drigic get $32 million, and Nic Batum get $46 million all over 4 years. Michael Beasley is set to receive $6 million per year (even though his last team was far better with him on the bench) and the New Jersey Nets traded for a shooting guard on the backside of his career who is owed nearly $90 million over the next four seasons. The early days of free agency is the time of year that gets fan bases excited, but more often than not they end up cursing these very same contracts a couple of years down the road.
The next few weeks of the offseason is where teams start to get value. All of the big boy contenders are over the cap, and the teams in rebuilding mode have no desire to give minutes to veterans (choosing instead to play young guys), so they stay out of the free agency process for the most part. Good players are still available, however, and the number of good players on the market is actually increasing every day. Teams are allowed to use their one-time amnesty between July 11th and July 17th this year, and so far four teams have chosen to use it to clear space this year.
Here are the players up for bid and the number of years the winning team would be committing to them for:
Elton Brand (1 year)
Darko Milicic (2 years)
Brendan Haywood (4 years)
Luis Scola (3 years)
Now the way that this process works is that all teams that are below the cap are eligible to place a bid on these players. The winning bid will be spread out evenly over the years that the player has remaining on his contract. The bid average per year can be for an amount up to, but not exceeding, the amount of cap space your team currently has available. As Jason documented yesterday, the Hornets have a little over $10 million available, and can therefore be extremely active in this process.
Last year, seven players were amnestied and only two of them received bids- Travis Outlaw and Chauncey Billups. It took just over $2 million to win the rights to Billups, and $4 million a year got Travis Outlaw. With that as the precedent, it seems logical to think that the Hornets could walk away with two of these guys if they decided to be aggressive with their bidding.
Regardless, the teams that win the rights to these players will be getting them below market price – a market that gave Kwame Brown 7 million dollars (for one season) last year. The prize in this group is obviously Elton Brand, a PF/C that had perhaps his best defensive season of his career last year, and who can still score in the post or off the pick and pop. Brand also provides veteran leadership, something that the Hornets desperately need after trading Jarrett Jack earlier this week. Dallas is said to be intrested in Brand’s services, but the Hornets have about three million more in cap space, meaning that they could outbid Dallas if they want him bad enough.
Brenden Haywood is not a starter by any means, but he is a big body that could give a team 15-20 minutes a night. If you can get that for two to three million dollars a year in this market, you take it and run. Same goes for Darko Milicic, who had an extremely disappointing year last year for Minnesota, but was considered a well above average defensive center in years prior. Lastly we have Scola, a player targeted by GM Dell Demps just 8 short months ago. A supremely talented offensive player, Scola was overpaid at $10 mil per year, but could be one of the best bargains in the league at 4-5.
The Hornets are currently very thin in the front court, having only Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Smith there currently. Ideally, the Hornets would find a player who can score in the low post and a player who can defend bulkier low post players. Darko and Haywood can do the latter, Scola can do the former, and Elton Brand can do both. The blind bid process is a tricky one, because you don’t want to lose out on a player you desire by being too frugal, and you don’t want to overpay a guy you could have had much cheaper, but that’s all part of the game. The Hornets have an opportunity to get one or two of these guys for below market value to round out their front court for next season, and possibly beyond.
And as we have seen in the past, you never expect Dealer Dell to pass up a good value.
Brendan Haywood, Luis Scola, Darko Milicic, and Elton Brand are all there for the taking. Will Demps take the plunge into the amnesty abyss?
We have witnessed an offseason that has seen Gerald Wallace get $40 million, Goran Drigic get $32 million, and Nic Batum get $46 million all over 4 years. Michael Beasley is set to receive $6 million per year (even though his last team was far better with him on the bench) and the New Jersey Nets traded for a shooting guard on the backside of his career who is owed nearly $90 million over the next four seasons. The early days of free agency is the time of year that gets fan bases excited, but more often than not they end up cursing these very same contracts a couple of years down the road.
The next few weeks of the offseason is where teams start to get value. All of the big boy contenders are over the cap, and the teams in rebuilding mode have no desire to give minutes to veterans (choosing instead to play young guys), so they stay out of the free agency process for the most part. Good players are still available, however, and the number of good players on the market is actually increasing every day. Teams are allowed to use their one-time amnesty between July 11th and July 17th this year, and so far four teams have chosen to use it to clear space this year.
Here are the players up for bid and the number of years the winning team would be committing to them for:
Elton Brand (1 year)
Darko Milicic (2 years)
Brendan Haywood (4 years)
Luis Scola (3 years)
Now the way that this process works is that all teams that are below the cap are eligible to place a bid on these players. The winning bid will be spread out evenly over the years that the player has remaining on his contract. The bid average per year can be for an amount up to, but not exceeding, the amount of cap space your team currently has available. As Jason documented yesterday, the Hornets have a little over $10 million available, and can therefore be extremely active in this process.
Last year, seven players were amnestied and only two of them received bids- Travis Outlaw and Chauncey Billups. It took just over $2 million to win the rights to Billups, and $4 million a year got Travis Outlaw. With that as the precedent, it seems logical to think that the Hornets could walk away with two of these guys if they decided to be aggressive with their bidding.
Regardless, the teams that win the rights to these players will be getting them below market price – a market that gave Kwame Brown 7 million dollars (for one season) last year. The prize in this group is obviously Elton Brand, a PF/C that had perhaps his best defensive season of his career last year, and who can still score in the post or off the pick and pop. Brand also provides veteran leadership, something that the Hornets desperately need after trading Jarrett Jack earlier this week. Dallas is said to be intrested in Brand’s services, but the Hornets have about three million more in cap space, meaning that they could outbid Dallas if they want him bad enough.
Brenden Haywood is not a starter by any means, but he is a big body that could give a team 15-20 minutes a night. If you can get that for two to three million dollars a year in this market, you take it and run. Same goes for Darko Milicic, who had an extremely disappointing year last year for Minnesota, but was considered a well above average defensive center in years prior. Lastly we have Scola, a player targeted by GM Dell Demps just 8 short months ago. A supremely talented offensive player, Scola was overpaid at $10 mil per year, but could be one of the best bargains in the league at 4-5.
The Hornets are currently very thin in the front court, having only Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Smith there currently. Ideally, the Hornets would find a player who can score in the low post and a player who can defend bulkier low post players. Darko and Haywood can do the latter, Scola can do the former, and Elton Brand can do both. The blind bid process is a tricky one, because you don’t want to lose out on a player you desire by being too frugal, and you don’t want to overpay a guy you could have had much cheaper, but that’s all part of the game. The Hornets have an opportunity to get one or two of these guys for below market value to round out their front court for next season, and possibly beyond.
And as we have seen in the past, you never expect Dealer Dell to pass up a good value.
The GQ+A: Mario Chalmers
By Mark Anthony Green
The newly minted world champion talks about his victory glow and the Heat's offseason ambitions
The Miami Heat pissed off half the world a few weeks ago, winning their first championship since the Monstars-like team was assembled—mazel tov. And since then, it's been Big Three this, Big Three that. But down the stretch, it was the little guy, 26-year-old Mario Chalmers, who was, as the kids say, "Getting buckets." He took a break from the champagne showers and South Beach celebrations to let us know what it feels to be king.
···
GQ: How has the celebration, the celebrating been?
Mario Chalmers: It's been crazy. It's been everything you could imagine it to be. I haven't been anywhere else besides Miami since we won. This is my first time leaving Miami. And even out here I'm getting the same type of love I was getting in Miami.
GQ: You had some clutch moments during the most important games of the postseason.
Mario Chalmers: Yeah man, it feels good. Even though our team is about the Big Three most of the time, it's good to squeeze in there every now and then just to get a little light shine on you, you know? I mean, I pride myself on being a clutch player. Anytime I see my team needs something, I try to be able to be the person that can do it.
GQ: Is there a difference between winning a championship as a franchise player or as a role player?
Mario Chalmers: That's a tough question because, you know, being at Kansas, I was labeled as one of the superstars on the team, one of the players that gets all the accolades. Then being at Miami... I only get mentioned every now and then. I mean, it might be a little bit of a difference, but to me it really isn't. It's just more things you've got to do, more interviews, more appearances. That's all that comes with being a star.
GQ: A ring is a ring.
Mario Chalmers: Yeah, exactly.
GQ: If you hated the Miami Heat after they won, you probably really hate them now with Ray Allen joining the team, right?
Mario Chalmers: I love it. He's somebody that I've always been a big fan of ever since the movie He Got Game. Ever since I saw that, I've always been a Ray Allen fan. But, you know, he's a great addition to our team. Adding a great shooter like that, it's going to give everybody more space.
GQ: Hypothetical question: Let's say you were the GM for the Miami Heat. Let's say you were Pat Riley, just all of a sudden. So you've got a double-breasted suit and the slicked-back hair.
Mario Chalmers: With the Gators.
GQ: With the Gators. You can pick up any free agent. Who would you pick up?
Mario Chalmers: Any player that's in the free agency right now? And we've got the same team we've got right now? I'm definitely going after Dwight. Some type of big man. That's the only thing we're lacking is a dominant big.
GQ: What do you think about people calling the Heat the Yankees of basketball?
Mario Chalmers: I don't really pay attention to it. I mean, at the end of the day, how can you say somebody paid for a championship when six people took less money? A lot of people left a lot of money on the table just to be in that position, building a good team. And that's what we did.
GQ: A lot of pictures, GIFs, and, um, criticisms surfaced of Chris Bosh celebrating after the win. Have you guys given him shit for the "celebration?"
Mario Chalmers: To be honest, I wasn't paying attention to him then. There was so much going on in that locker room. So many people. So many champagne bottles flying. But I am going to say something to him when I see him. I haven't seen him since the Pinterest came out, but I'll definitely say something to him [laughs].
GQ: What if the basketball gods show us favor and you guys play the Lakers in the finals next year?
Mario Chalmers: It's going to be a good game. They got one of the best point guards playing. His name is Steve Nash. They've got one of the top five players that ever played this game, Kobe. They're probably going to have Pau. They're going to be a good team. Good size. With a team like that, you've just got to keep running. Keep running.
GQ: Kyrie Irving told us that Steve Nash was the hardest person he's had to guard?
Mario Chalmers: Yeah. He lit me up for thirty one time in Miami. But with a player like that, you've just got to try to keep a body on them and hope they have an off night. You can't control a superstar that has an ultimate green light. That's impossible.
GQ: Who's the one point guard in the league that you least look forward to guarding?
Mario Chalmers: Chris Paul. It's always CP. I've never seen somebody get so many ball screens in my life. That's one person that I make sure I eat good, get a good night's sleep before I play him. I always make sure I'm ready for CP.
GQ: What is one thing you haven't done career-wise that you want to do? Maybe it's hit a game-winner, dunk on somebody.
Mario Chalmers: Win an NBA award. All-defensive team, or lead the league in something.
GQ: Last, and most important, question: Does D-Wade still paint his toenails black?
Mario Chalmers: Yeah. Matter of fact, he just did it yesterday. We were texting and he told me he was painting his toenails. He does it every summer. I don't know why.
GQ: Does he wear flip-flops?
Mario Chalmers: Yep, but he wears socks, though. I've never seen him in flip-flops without socks.
GQ: He wears flip-flops and socks with painted toenails?
Mario Chalmers: Yep. That's D-Wade for you.
By Mark Anthony Green
The newly minted world champion talks about his victory glow and the Heat's offseason ambitions
The Miami Heat pissed off half the world a few weeks ago, winning their first championship since the Monstars-like team was assembled—mazel tov. And since then, it's been Big Three this, Big Three that. But down the stretch, it was the little guy, 26-year-old Mario Chalmers, who was, as the kids say, "Getting buckets." He took a break from the champagne showers and South Beach celebrations to let us know what it feels to be king.
···
GQ: How has the celebration, the celebrating been?
Mario Chalmers: It's been crazy. It's been everything you could imagine it to be. I haven't been anywhere else besides Miami since we won. This is my first time leaving Miami. And even out here I'm getting the same type of love I was getting in Miami.
GQ: You had some clutch moments during the most important games of the postseason.
Mario Chalmers: Yeah man, it feels good. Even though our team is about the Big Three most of the time, it's good to squeeze in there every now and then just to get a little light shine on you, you know? I mean, I pride myself on being a clutch player. Anytime I see my team needs something, I try to be able to be the person that can do it.
GQ: Is there a difference between winning a championship as a franchise player or as a role player?
Mario Chalmers: That's a tough question because, you know, being at Kansas, I was labeled as one of the superstars on the team, one of the players that gets all the accolades. Then being at Miami... I only get mentioned every now and then. I mean, it might be a little bit of a difference, but to me it really isn't. It's just more things you've got to do, more interviews, more appearances. That's all that comes with being a star.
GQ: A ring is a ring.
Mario Chalmers: Yeah, exactly.
GQ: If you hated the Miami Heat after they won, you probably really hate them now with Ray Allen joining the team, right?
Mario Chalmers: I love it. He's somebody that I've always been a big fan of ever since the movie He Got Game. Ever since I saw that, I've always been a Ray Allen fan. But, you know, he's a great addition to our team. Adding a great shooter like that, it's going to give everybody more space.
GQ: Hypothetical question: Let's say you were the GM for the Miami Heat. Let's say you were Pat Riley, just all of a sudden. So you've got a double-breasted suit and the slicked-back hair.
Mario Chalmers: With the Gators.
GQ: With the Gators. You can pick up any free agent. Who would you pick up?
Mario Chalmers: Any player that's in the free agency right now? And we've got the same team we've got right now? I'm definitely going after Dwight. Some type of big man. That's the only thing we're lacking is a dominant big.
GQ: What do you think about people calling the Heat the Yankees of basketball?
Mario Chalmers: I don't really pay attention to it. I mean, at the end of the day, how can you say somebody paid for a championship when six people took less money? A lot of people left a lot of money on the table just to be in that position, building a good team. And that's what we did.
GQ: A lot of pictures, GIFs, and, um, criticisms surfaced of Chris Bosh celebrating after the win. Have you guys given him shit for the "celebration?"
Mario Chalmers: To be honest, I wasn't paying attention to him then. There was so much going on in that locker room. So many people. So many champagne bottles flying. But I am going to say something to him when I see him. I haven't seen him since the Pinterest came out, but I'll definitely say something to him [laughs].
GQ: What if the basketball gods show us favor and you guys play the Lakers in the finals next year?
Mario Chalmers: It's going to be a good game. They got one of the best point guards playing. His name is Steve Nash. They've got one of the top five players that ever played this game, Kobe. They're probably going to have Pau. They're going to be a good team. Good size. With a team like that, you've just got to keep running. Keep running.
GQ: Kyrie Irving told us that Steve Nash was the hardest person he's had to guard?
Mario Chalmers: Yeah. He lit me up for thirty one time in Miami. But with a player like that, you've just got to try to keep a body on them and hope they have an off night. You can't control a superstar that has an ultimate green light. That's impossible.
GQ: Who's the one point guard in the league that you least look forward to guarding?
Mario Chalmers: Chris Paul. It's always CP. I've never seen somebody get so many ball screens in my life. That's one person that I make sure I eat good, get a good night's sleep before I play him. I always make sure I'm ready for CP.
GQ: What is one thing you haven't done career-wise that you want to do? Maybe it's hit a game-winner, dunk on somebody.
Mario Chalmers: Win an NBA award. All-defensive team, or lead the league in something.
GQ: Last, and most important, question: Does D-Wade still paint his toenails black?
Mario Chalmers: Yeah. Matter of fact, he just did it yesterday. We were texting and he told me he was painting his toenails. He does it every summer. I don't know why.
GQ: Does he wear flip-flops?
Mario Chalmers: Yep, but he wears socks, though. I've never seen him in flip-flops without socks.
GQ: He wears flip-flops and socks with painted toenails?
Mario Chalmers: Yep. That's D-Wade for you.
Brian T. Smith
Article: Young Jazz show strength in strong Summer League run Orlando, Fla. - Backpack on, about to exit Amway Center and leave behind the Jazz’s five-game Summer League run, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin stole a quick glance at a high-definition television screen filled with rows of statistics.
Second-year Utah center Enes Kanter: 15 points and eight rebounds. Second-year forward Jeremy Evans: 11 points, six boards (three offensive), four blocks. Second-round pick Kevin Murphy: 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including two made 3-pointers.
Even an off game by second-year guard Alec Burks - eight points on 3-of-13 shooting - was buffered by his team-leading 17.2 point average.
Corbin and the Jazz (3-2) got exactly what they wanted out of another mid-July summer swing through Orlando. Development. Progress. A promising glimpse at the future bordered by clear reminders of what young players such as Burks, Kanter, Evans and Murphy still must improve on.
Utah’s a small-market organization attempting to win now while still developing raw talent. A successful 2011-12 season proved the challenging dual approach is possible. A strong 2012 Summer League showed the Jazz’s youth is on the verge of taking the next step.
"The summer is the greatest time of year ...
Article: Young Jazz show strength in strong Summer League run Orlando, Fla. - Backpack on, about to exit Amway Center and leave behind the Jazz’s five-game Summer League run, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin stole a quick glance at a high-definition television screen filled with rows of statistics.
Second-year Utah center Enes Kanter: 15 points and eight rebounds. Second-year forward Jeremy Evans: 11 points, six boards (three offensive), four blocks. Second-round pick Kevin Murphy: 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including two made 3-pointers.
Even an off game by second-year guard Alec Burks - eight points on 3-of-13 shooting - was buffered by his team-leading 17.2 point average.
Corbin and the Jazz (3-2) got exactly what they wanted out of another mid-July summer swing through Orlando. Development. Progress. A promising glimpse at the future bordered by clear reminders of what young players such as Burks, Kanter, Evans and Murphy still must improve on.
Utah’s a small-market organization attempting to win now while still developing raw talent. A successful 2011-12 season proved the challenging dual approach is possible. A strong 2012 Summer League showed the Jazz’s youth is on the verge of taking the next step.
"The summer is the greatest time of year ...
Rockets gamble big for Dwight Howard
Houston’s planned use of the amnesty provision to release power forward Luis Scola, a beloved player both within the organization and among fans, marks the third above-average starter with whom the Rockets have happily parted for precisely zero assets that will help them win basketball games in 2012-13.
Point guard Kyle Lowry, borderline All-Star, tenacious defender, hungry to continue his rise while playing under perhaps the best bang-for-the-buck contract in the NBA? Off to the Raptors, in exchange for a lottery pick.
Goran Dragic, the man who stepped in as a starter for an injured Lowry in March and put up even better numbers? Gone to Phoenix as a free agent, with Houston unwilling to pay Dragic $34 million over four seasons — less than Boston will pay Jeff Green — without at least getting a team option in the fourth year.
Scola, post-up trickster, elite hair-flopper and reliable gamer? Hit the amnesty wire, bro.
(Also: Samuel Dalembert, useful starter on a cheap and partially guaranteed expiring deal, and the only center left on Houston’s roster? Boom — off to Milwaukee, in exchange for three young players who couldn’t get off the bench by the end of last season and a two-spot climb in the 2012 draft.)
This is team-building taken almost to the level of an academic exercise, with Houston, in theory, having salary commitments to as many as 18 current NBA players at some point this weekend when the team’s offer sheets to restricted free agents Jeremy Lin of New York and Omer Asik of Chicago become official.
The goal has been obvious, whether you’re reading the moves or general manager Daryl Morey’s public comments: acquire a star player.
The Rockets concluded that Dragic, at that price, fully guaranteed over four years, was less a carrot in that process than an obstacle — a good but not great player soaking up cap space on a deal that made him a less appealing trade target. Lowry’s deal, which will pay him just $5.75 million next season, would seem to make him a very appealing trade chip, but the Rockets surveyed the league and decided — rightly or wrongly — that a lottery pick from a team (Toronto) with a decent chance at landing in the lottery next season was an even more appealing trade chip.
Scola is set to make about $20 million combined over the next two seasons and has about $1 million guaranteed on his deal in 2014-15. The 32-year-old is still a productive player, but one in decline, and when news broke via Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night that the team would amnesty Scola, one only had to look at Houston’s and Orlando’s cap sheets to see what the Rockets were up to.
To wit: Assuming the Rockets “lose” out on both Asik and Lin, they could maneuver to a monstrous $28 million or so in cap space. They are also armed with shooting guard Kevin Martin’s $12.5 million expiring deal. Let’s be conservative and say the Rockets also send the Magic $6 million or $7 million worth of first- and second-year players along with future first-round picks. Toss that all together, and the Rockets could take back something like $47 million in salary from the Magic in a Howard deal. Guess what? The sum of 2012-13 contracts for Howard, small forward Hedo Turkoglu, point guard Chris Duhon, power forward Glen Davis and shooting guard Jason Richardson is $46.8 million.
And sure enough, ESPN.com is reporting that this is precisely the kind of offer that the Rockets are preparing. Three days ago, the Magic were looking at an offer centered on Brook Lopez, who would come with a maximum contract; draft picks that would fall at the end of the first round; more limited cap relief; and other pieces they might have had to swallow in a precarious three- or four-team sign-and-trade bonanza. Lopez is a fine player, an efficient scorer in the pivot who was durable until a foot injury last season. The 24-year-old may well live up to a max contract if he develops into an above-average defender and rebounder — two things that are sort of important to have at the center position. But if I’m in a full-on rebuild mode, I would prefer not to pay max money to “maybes,” especially if they come with first-round picks that typically yield career arcs like Charlie Ward’s.
That’s not to say Houston’s theoretical offer is easily the best Orlando could get. If the Magic get an indication from Lakers center Andrew Bynum that he’d sign an extension there after a trade, they’d have a young big-man centerpiece locked in for a half-decade. But getting that kind of commitment ahead of time is hard, and if Orlando prefers certainty, this kind of package is hard to beat.
It’s fair at this point to give Morey some ribbing, to caricature him as the MIT genius over-thinking the game with high-level probability studies about what makes a champion instead of just signing and keeping good basketball players. He’s not infallible, and if this all blows up, it would not be a surprise in league circles if he lost his job. But the grounds for ribbing are a little shakier if you also believe that the acquisition of a superstar is the most important ingredient in the construction of a championship. The Rockets team that Morey just detonated was not a championship club and hasn’t been close since the retirement of its last superstar, Yao Ming. Houston has finished ninth in the Western Conference for three straight seasons — just above .500 each time while missing the playoffs — and Morey has positioned it now to either land a star or finally bottom out for a real chance at the No. 1 pick.
What’s interesting here is that Houston could have simply kept Scola, Lowry and all of its young players and opened up max-level cap room next summer. The team has clearly decided the free-agent chase is not the best way to find its superstar. The Rockets for now are going the trade route, banking on their ability to persuade Howard (or Bynum, or whomever) to sign on for the long haul because of Kevin McHale’s coaching, the franchise’s heady environment, Morey’s ability to tweak the roster quickly to Howard’s liking and, most important, the extra year and money only an incumbent team can offer its own free agents. Variations of all those factors helped the Nets re-sign point guard Deron Williams. And the Rockets surely know that Brooklyn, Howard’s preferred destination, will be way over the salary cap next summer; it’s fine to rant about how Howard could still “force his way to Brooklyn,” but you better be able to explain exactly how that is going to happen under the league’s cap and trade rules.
By taking all of these Orlando players in exchange for promising young talent, the Rockets would essentially become a Western Conference version of the team that Howard has already deemed not good enough for him. The Rockets have obviously thought about that and determined that the whole thing is worth the risk. Maybe they’re crazy. Maybe they’re not. For one, Howard likes some of these guys. The Magic acquired Davis in part because Howard requested him specifically, and the star center also has a good relationship with Richardson. Turkoglu’s and Duhon’s deals expire after the 2013-14 season, and both are only 50 percent guaranteed for that season. If ownership is willing to spend, the Rockets could buy out both players and gain immediate cap flexibility — either for a lopsided in-season trade involving another high-priced player, or a huge chunk of cap room for use next summer. (Depending on how many of the Rockets’ young players depart in this theoretical deal/buyout scenario, Houston could have somewhere between $11 million in cap space and near max-level room).
It might work, it might fail, and there were — and still are — safer alternatives available. Houston could just keep all these young guys, sign a couple of stopgap free agents, use the acquired draft picks in the actual draft and see where everything goes. But the Rockets are tired of playing it safe, and they are going all-out for a star. History suggests that a top-10 player is a requirement for the championship, and with the league’s two best players — LeBron James and Kevin Durant — working in their primes on stacked rosters, nudging into the championship picture is going to require a lot of talent.
Houston’s planned use of the amnesty provision to release power forward Luis Scola, a beloved player both within the organization and among fans, marks the third above-average starter with whom the Rockets have happily parted for precisely zero assets that will help them win basketball games in 2012-13.
Point guard Kyle Lowry, borderline All-Star, tenacious defender, hungry to continue his rise while playing under perhaps the best bang-for-the-buck contract in the NBA? Off to the Raptors, in exchange for a lottery pick.
Goran Dragic, the man who stepped in as a starter for an injured Lowry in March and put up even better numbers? Gone to Phoenix as a free agent, with Houston unwilling to pay Dragic $34 million over four seasons — less than Boston will pay Jeff Green — without at least getting a team option in the fourth year.
Scola, post-up trickster, elite hair-flopper and reliable gamer? Hit the amnesty wire, bro.
(Also: Samuel Dalembert, useful starter on a cheap and partially guaranteed expiring deal, and the only center left on Houston’s roster? Boom — off to Milwaukee, in exchange for three young players who couldn’t get off the bench by the end of last season and a two-spot climb in the 2012 draft.)
This is team-building taken almost to the level of an academic exercise, with Houston, in theory, having salary commitments to as many as 18 current NBA players at some point this weekend when the team’s offer sheets to restricted free agents Jeremy Lin of New York and Omer Asik of Chicago become official.
The goal has been obvious, whether you’re reading the moves or general manager Daryl Morey’s public comments: acquire a star player.
The Rockets concluded that Dragic, at that price, fully guaranteed over four years, was less a carrot in that process than an obstacle — a good but not great player soaking up cap space on a deal that made him a less appealing trade target. Lowry’s deal, which will pay him just $5.75 million next season, would seem to make him a very appealing trade chip, but the Rockets surveyed the league and decided — rightly or wrongly — that a lottery pick from a team (Toronto) with a decent chance at landing in the lottery next season was an even more appealing trade chip.
Scola is set to make about $20 million combined over the next two seasons and has about $1 million guaranteed on his deal in 2014-15. The 32-year-old is still a productive player, but one in decline, and when news broke via Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night that the team would amnesty Scola, one only had to look at Houston’s and Orlando’s cap sheets to see what the Rockets were up to.
To wit: Assuming the Rockets “lose” out on both Asik and Lin, they could maneuver to a monstrous $28 million or so in cap space. They are also armed with shooting guard Kevin Martin’s $12.5 million expiring deal. Let’s be conservative and say the Rockets also send the Magic $6 million or $7 million worth of first- and second-year players along with future first-round picks. Toss that all together, and the Rockets could take back something like $47 million in salary from the Magic in a Howard deal. Guess what? The sum of 2012-13 contracts for Howard, small forward Hedo Turkoglu, point guard Chris Duhon, power forward Glen Davis and shooting guard Jason Richardson is $46.8 million.
And sure enough, ESPN.com is reporting that this is precisely the kind of offer that the Rockets are preparing. Three days ago, the Magic were looking at an offer centered on Brook Lopez, who would come with a maximum contract; draft picks that would fall at the end of the first round; more limited cap relief; and other pieces they might have had to swallow in a precarious three- or four-team sign-and-trade bonanza. Lopez is a fine player, an efficient scorer in the pivot who was durable until a foot injury last season. The 24-year-old may well live up to a max contract if he develops into an above-average defender and rebounder — two things that are sort of important to have at the center position. But if I’m in a full-on rebuild mode, I would prefer not to pay max money to “maybes,” especially if they come with first-round picks that typically yield career arcs like Charlie Ward’s.
That’s not to say Houston’s theoretical offer is easily the best Orlando could get. If the Magic get an indication from Lakers center Andrew Bynum that he’d sign an extension there after a trade, they’d have a young big-man centerpiece locked in for a half-decade. But getting that kind of commitment ahead of time is hard, and if Orlando prefers certainty, this kind of package is hard to beat.
It’s fair at this point to give Morey some ribbing, to caricature him as the MIT genius over-thinking the game with high-level probability studies about what makes a champion instead of just signing and keeping good basketball players. He’s not infallible, and if this all blows up, it would not be a surprise in league circles if he lost his job. But the grounds for ribbing are a little shakier if you also believe that the acquisition of a superstar is the most important ingredient in the construction of a championship. The Rockets team that Morey just detonated was not a championship club and hasn’t been close since the retirement of its last superstar, Yao Ming. Houston has finished ninth in the Western Conference for three straight seasons — just above .500 each time while missing the playoffs — and Morey has positioned it now to either land a star or finally bottom out for a real chance at the No. 1 pick.
What’s interesting here is that Houston could have simply kept Scola, Lowry and all of its young players and opened up max-level cap room next summer. The team has clearly decided the free-agent chase is not the best way to find its superstar. The Rockets for now are going the trade route, banking on their ability to persuade Howard (or Bynum, or whomever) to sign on for the long haul because of Kevin McHale’s coaching, the franchise’s heady environment, Morey’s ability to tweak the roster quickly to Howard’s liking and, most important, the extra year and money only an incumbent team can offer its own free agents. Variations of all those factors helped the Nets re-sign point guard Deron Williams. And the Rockets surely know that Brooklyn, Howard’s preferred destination, will be way over the salary cap next summer; it’s fine to rant about how Howard could still “force his way to Brooklyn,” but you better be able to explain exactly how that is going to happen under the league’s cap and trade rules.
By taking all of these Orlando players in exchange for promising young talent, the Rockets would essentially become a Western Conference version of the team that Howard has already deemed not good enough for him. The Rockets have obviously thought about that and determined that the whole thing is worth the risk. Maybe they’re crazy. Maybe they’re not. For one, Howard likes some of these guys. The Magic acquired Davis in part because Howard requested him specifically, and the star center also has a good relationship with Richardson. Turkoglu’s and Duhon’s deals expire after the 2013-14 season, and both are only 50 percent guaranteed for that season. If ownership is willing to spend, the Rockets could buy out both players and gain immediate cap flexibility — either for a lopsided in-season trade involving another high-priced player, or a huge chunk of cap room for use next summer. (Depending on how many of the Rockets’ young players depart in this theoretical deal/buyout scenario, Houston could have somewhere between $11 million in cap space and near max-level room).
It might work, it might fail, and there were — and still are — safer alternatives available. Houston could just keep all these young guys, sign a couple of stopgap free agents, use the acquired draft picks in the actual draft and see where everything goes. But the Rockets are tired of playing it safe, and they are going all-out for a star. History suggests that a top-10 player is a requirement for the championship, and with the league’s two best players — LeBron James and Kevin Durant — working in their primes on stacked rosters, nudging into the championship picture is going to require a lot of talent.
The Sixers sign... THE GREAT... UNSTOPPABLE... kwame brown... 
GREAT SIGNING...
GREAT SIGNING...
DAHITMAN
Rising Star
damn that is way to much
ROCKETS NEED TO HOLD BACK JONES WHITE AND LAMB. THEY ARE OUT THEIR DAMN MIND
Yea thats a raping of epic proportions
See
ray knew what time it was,, they already dangling terry as bait
Nah...they are trying to get Dalas to sign terry to the deal he got in boston and trade him there while taking back bostons expiring contracts and picks.
They want to do that so they can sign Lee with the MLE while getting Terry in a trade.
yup thats the game they will play
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